I now come to that part of Mr. Miller's reply, relating to the China varnish-tree, that was raised from seeds sent to the Royal Society by Father D'Incarville; where he still insists on it, that this is the same with the spurious varnish-tree of Kœmpfer. His reasons are, that notwithstanding the indentation and roundness of the bottom of the lobe-leaves of the China varnish-tree, and tho' the lobe-leaves of the spurious Japan varnish-tree come to a point at the base, and are no-way indented, but quite even on the edges; yet he says, because they have an equal number of pinnæ, or lobe-leaves, on the whole leaf of each tree, they must be the same.
Philos. Trans. Vol. L. Tab. XVII. p. 447.
Rhus sinense foliis alates foliolis oblongis
Acuminatis ad basin sultrotundis et dentatis.
J. Mynde delin et sc.
Ex Horto Betanice Philippe Carter. & Webb. Armig.
In answer to this, I say their lobe-leaves are not equal; for I have examined both the specimens and drawings of Dr. Kœmpfer's spurious varnish-tree, and I don't find that the number of the pinnæ exceed seven on a side: whereas I have a small specimen of a leaf by me, that was taken from the top of one of D'Incarville's China varnish-trees, which is above eight feet high, and stands in an open exposure; and this leaf, tho' but a foot long, has 12 lobe-leaves, on a side, and each lobe indented at the base[210]. At the same time I observed, that the leaves of the young shoots of another tree were a yard long, as they were this summer at the garden of the British Museum. Another thing is remarkable in the leaves of this China varnish-tree; and that is, the lobes of the leaves, as they approach to the end, grow smaller and smaller; whereas in the spurious Japan varnish-tree they are rather, if there is any difference, larger towards the end.
I shall make this further remark, that tho' these indentations on the lobe-leaves may vary in number in this China varnish-tree; yet, as I observed before, since they are continued on even in the smaller leaves at the top of the branches of a tree eight feet high in the open ground, it appears to me, that this specific character, besides the form and insertion of the lobe-leaves, will ever distinguish it as a different species from the Fasi-no-ki, or spurious varnish-tree of Kœmpfer.
Mr. Miller now goes on to tell us, he is confirmed in his belief of their being the same, by making some observations on the seeds of this China varnish-tree; and therefore asserts, that they are the same. It is natural to suppose he compared them with the accurate drawings of the seeds of Kœmpfer's Fasi-no-ki, p. 794. that being the only place where the seeds of it are described.