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■ The third fort grows in South Carolina, from whence | pohderofity ; thofe of them that fwim upon the fur 



fome of the fruit with their outer covers, were fent to " 



his grace the Duke of Bedford, a few' years pafl: 



theie were as large and round as a tennis-ball, and 



armed all over with ftrong fpines like a hedge-hog : 

 , thefe capfuh^ were divided regularly in four cells, 



each containing one fmall Chefnut. At that time I 

 : compared thefe with father Plumier's defcription and 



fio-ure, which he exhibited under the title of Sloanea, 



, and found them to agree exaftly ; and upon looking 



/ throuo-h the box in which thefe were fent, I found 



K. fome of the leaves of the tree, which alfo tallied with 



-' ,r his defcription, which confirmed my former opinion j 



'therefore, as I could fee no other difference between 



, . ^ .the fruit of this and the common Chefnut, but its 



1i, having four regular cells, divided by partitions, 



:. i; whereas thofe of the Chefnut have generally but three; 



.t-^ therefore I have joined them together, being perfuaded, 



'-'-^i: that farther obfervations willjuftify my fo doing, 



■ ^^ It does npt appear where Plumier found this tree 



; '- igrowing naturally, though it is probable, it might 



! ! " be in Louifiana ; for I think it could not be in either 



'^ of the Weft India iflands, where the heat is too great 



for this tree to thrive ; though this is tender while 



r young, for two or three young plants which were 



, raifed in England, did not furvive the third winter. 



The firft of thefe trees was formerly in greater plenty 

 - ambngft us than at prefent, as may be proved by the 



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face of the water fhould be rejected as goqd for 

 nothing ; but fuch as fink to the bottom, you may 

 be fure are good. 



In fetting thefe feeds or nuts, the beft way is, to make 

 a drill with a hoe (as is commonly praftifed in fetting 

 Kidney Beans) about four inches deep, in which you 

 iliould place the nuts, at about four inches diftance, 

 with their eye uppermoft -, then draw the earth over 

 them with a rake, and make a fecond drill at about 

 a foot diftance from the former, proceeding as before, 

 allowing three or four rows in a bed, with an alley 

 between, three feet broad, for a conveniency of 

 clearing the beds, &c. When you have ftniftied your 

 plantation, you muft be careful that it is not de- 

 ftroyed by mice, or other vermin ; which is very often 

 the cafe, if they are not prevented by traps, or other 



means. 



In April thefe nuts will appear above ground -, you 

 muft therefore obferve to keep them clear from 

 weeds, efpecially while young : in thefe beds they 

 may remain for two years, when you fliould remove 

 them into a nurfery,- at a wider diftance. The beft 

 feafon for tranfplanting thefe trees, is either in Oc- 

 tober or the latter end of February ; but Oftober is 

 the beft feafon : the diftance thefe ftiould have in the 

 nurfery, is three feet row from row, and one foot in 

 the rows : you muft be careful in tranfplanting thefe 



old buildings in London, which were for the moft 1 trees, to take thern up without injuring their roots. 



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nor ftiould they remain long out of the ground ; but 

 if they have a downright tap-root, it fliould be 

 cut off, efpecially if they are intended to be removed 

 again ; this will occafion their putting out lateral 

 roots, and render them lefs fubjedt to mifcarry when 

 they are removed for good. 



The time generally allowed them in this nurfery, is 



three or four years, according to their growth; but the 



younger they are tranfplanted, if defigned for timber, 



the better they will fucceed ; during which time you 



fhould be careful to keep them clear from weeds, ob- 



ferving alfo to prune off lateral branches, which would 



retard their upright growth ; and where you find any 



that are difpofed to growcrooked, either by their upper 



bud being hurt, or from any other accident, you may 



theyearafterplanting, inMarch, cut themdown tothe 



• lowermoft eye next the furface of the ground, v/hich 



will caufe them to make one ftrong upright faoot, 



■ and may be afterwards trained into good ftrait tiees : 



but this fliould not be praftifed, unkfs the plants 



large caflcs, tuns, &c. for their wines in Italy, are have abfolutely loft their leading flioot; for although 



made of this timber*, and it is for that, and many " the ftems of the trees fliould be very crooked (as 4s 



generally the cafe with them when young) yet when 

 they are tranfplanted out, and have room to grow, 

 as they increafe in bulk, they wall grow more up- 

 right, and their ftems will become ftrait, as I have 

 frequently obferved where there have been great 

 plantations made of them. 



But in doing of this, you muft becareful not todifturb 

 or break their roots, which, perhaps might deftroy 

 them. Thefe trees require no other manure than their 

 own leaves, which fliould be fuffered to rot upon the 

 ground i and in the fpring of the year, the ground 

 fhould have a fiig-ht dipraino;, when thefe fliould be 



part of this timber ; and in a defcription of London, 



written by Fitz-Stephens, inPIenry the Second's time, 



. he fpeaks of a very noble foreft, which grew on the 



north part of it : proxime (fays he) patet forefta in- 



gens, faltus numerofi ferarum, latebr^e cervorum, ( 



\ damarum, aprorum, & taurorum fylveftrium, &c. 



And there are now fome remains of old decayed 



. Chefnuts, in the woods and chaces notfar diftant from 



( London, but particularly on Enfield Chace ; v/hich 



plainly proves, that this tree is not fo great a ftranger 



to our climate, as many people believe; and may 



.. be cultivated in England, to afford an equal profit 



' ." with any of the other forts of larger timber-trees, 



f. fince the wood of this tree is equal in value to tlie 



-, beft Oak, and, for many purpofes, far exceeding it; 



" " as particularly for making veffels for all kinds of 



■f liquor, it having a property (when once thoroughly 



'^♦feafoned) of maintaining its bulk conftantly, and is 



* not fubjed to ftirink or Iwell, as other timber is too 



i' apt to do : and I am certainly informed, that all the 



l. more purpofes, in greater efteem among the Italians, 

 ;.than any other timber whatever. It is alfo very va- 

 fi luable for pipes to convey water under ground, as 

 -i enduring longer than the Elm, or any other wood. 

 ^'In Italy it is planted for coppice-wood, and is very 

 much cultivated in ftools, to make ftakes for their 

 ^ Vines; which, being ftuck into the ground, will 

 ^ endure feven years, which is longer than any other 

 ^ ftakes will do, by near half the tin)e. ,The ufefulnefs 

 " of the timber. 



together with the beauty of the tree, 

 *r renders it as well worth propagating as any tree 

 ; J whatever. ; 



t' Thefe trees are propagated by planting the nuts in 

 ^ \ February, in beds of frefli undunged earth: The 

 beft nuts for fowing, are fuch as are brought from 



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Portugal and Spain, and are commonly fold in winter 

 *'f for eating, provided they are not kiln-dried, which is 

 ■' generally thecafeof moft of thofebrought from abroad, 

 ^ which is done to prevent their fprouting or fl:iooting 

 ; - in their paffage ; therefore, if they cannot be procured 

 J-"' frefli from the tree, it will be much better to ufe 

 ^^ thofe of the growth of England, which are full as - 

 •-■ good to fqw for timber or beauty, as any of the fo- 

 reign nuts, though their fruit is much fmaller: thcfc 

 jhouid be preferved, until the feafon for fowing, in 

 land, where mice, or other vermin cannot come to 

 them, otherwife they will foon deftroy them : before 

 you fet them, it will be proper to put them into 

 water, to try their goodnefs, which is known by their 



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buried between their roots, but not too clofe to the 

 trees, which might be injurious to their young fibres. 

 After having remained three or four years in the 

 nurfery, they will be fit for tranfplanting, either in 

 rows to grow for timber, or in quarters for wil- 

 dernefs plantations; but if you intend them for timber, 

 it is by much the better method to low them in 

 furrows (as is pradtifed for Oaks, &c.) and let them 

 remain unremoved ; for thefe trees are apt to have 

 a downright tap-root, w^hich, being hurt by tranf- 

 planting, is often a check to their upright growth, 

 and caufes them to ftioot out into lateral brandies, as 

 is the cafe with the Oak, Walnut, &c. 

 Therefore, wherever any of thefe trees are planted 

 for timber, thev fliould remain unremoved: but 

 where the fruit of them is more fought after, then it 

 is certainly the better w^ay to tranfplant them ; for as 



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