STUDY XIII. Î37 



food : it is the cheftnut-tree I mean, A judgment 

 may be formed of the duration and of the beauty 

 of it's wood, from the ancient vvainfcotting of the 

 market St. Germain, before it was burnt down. 

 The joifts were of a prodigious length and thick- 

 nefs, and perfectly found, though more than four 

 hundred years old. The durable quality of this 

 wood may ftill be afcertained, by examining the 

 wainfcotting of the ancient caille of Marcouffi, 

 built in the time of Charles VI. about five leagues 

 from Paris. We have, of late, entirely neglefted 

 this valuable tree, which is now allowed to grow- 

 only as coppice- wood in our forefts. It's port, 

 however, is very majeftic, it's foliage beautiful, 

 and it bears fuch a quantity of fruit, in tiers mul- 

 tiplied one a-top of the other, that no fpot, of the 

 fame extent, fown with corn, coqld produce a crop 

 of fubiiftcnce fo plentiful. 



It muft be admitted, as we have feen, in dif- 

 Gufiing the charaders of vegetables, that this tree 

 takes pleafure only in dry and elevated fituations ; 

 but we have another, adapted to the vailles and 

 humid places, of not much inferior utility, whether 

 we attend to the wood or to the fruit, and whofe 

 port is equally majeftic : it is the walnut-tree. 

 Thefe beautiful trees would magnificently decorate 

 our great roads. With them might, likewife, be 

 intermixed other trees, peculiar to each diftrid. 



They 



