(April 7 2006 continued....)Since the Southend cone came from a small tree with 90 mm long needles in pairs within each cluster on a twig it was relatively easy to identify the cone as the Maritime Pine Pinus pinaster Aiton. The Chalkwell cone resembled the scales of the Stone Pine Pinus pinea L. but in stranded material from the Netherlands side of the North Sea the cone length varied from 80 to 150 mm at a much greater diameter of 100 mm (C.J.E. Brochard, G.C. Cadée 2005, Tropische drijfzaden van de Nederlandse kust, in Tabellensie Strandwerkgemeenschap no. 30). The Kriobcone Pine Pinus attenuata Lemmon with a length of 140 mm at Texel and 130 mm at Schiermonnikoog is a better match in general shape except for the Kriobs which could perhaps have become worn or lost at Chalkwell. It would be instructive to see which species were being sold in England and Canada as ornaments last Christmas and how long these two cones will float.