13 



and oak, and to note their characteristics. We can then apply the knowledge so 

 acquired to the examination of any old timber that may be asserted to be chest- 

 nut, and decide confidently as to the fact. It happens that for many years I have 

 been in the habit of using chestnut timber; first seeing the trees faUen, and 

 afterwards watching the process of converting the timber to various purposes. I 

 exhibit specimens grown in Herefordshire and in Essex, together with specimens 

 of oak, some being of recent growth, and others taken from buildings erected m 

 the fifteenth century. Prom these it will be seen that the two kinds of wood are 

 distinguished by very clear marks. The medullary rays, which form a very 

 curious and interesting part of the anatomy of exogenous trees, are, in most kmds 

 of wood, so faintly marked as not to be visible to the naked eye, although they 

 are very distinct under the microscope. They are, however, very clearly visible 

 without such aid in the cross-section of all the species of the oak that I have seen, 

 and they are especiaUy noticable in our English species, radiating in clear bright 

 lines from the centre towards the bark. They vary a good deal in the closeness 

 with which they are arranged and the thickness of each ray, they are, however, 

 always perfectly distinct, although in old timber there are variations in colour 

 that sometimes render it necessary to look closely at the cross-section in order 

 to distinguish the ray from the intervening tissue. These variations are probably 

 due to Tuch causes as have determined the habit of gro\vth of individual trees. 

 Thus the timber of oak trees grown in hedgerows will be of coarser texture than 

 that grown in moderately thick woods, and considerable variations are due to 

 soil and climate. Generally, in quick growing timber, the rays are further apart, 

 and in such as is of straight and clean growth, the vertical plates, of which the 

 rays are composed, are of more even shape. In all the American oak timber that 

 I have seen, the rays are very distinct and far apart, the timber being very straight 

 and probably of rapid growth. The most conspicuous efifect of the medullary 

 plates, is, however, seen in the vertical sections of an oak tree, taken as nearly as 

 possible through the centre, when the exposure of parts of each plate causes the 

 beautiful pattern known as the silver grain, so much valued in wainscot, and 

 particularly in gnarled specimens of English oak. The same effect may be seen 

 in a very slight degree in the wood of the beech. But no such effect can be 

 observed in any specimens of Spanish chestnut, whether we look at the cross- 

 section or the vertical section. It is therefore impossible for anyone who really 

 knows this distinction to mistake chestnut timber for oak whether it is old or of 

 recent date. 



And yet there is scarcely an old roof of any importance, for size or beauty 

 of design, that has not been reputed to be of chestnut timber. The halls at West- 

 minster, Hampton Court, and Eltham Palace are the most familiar instances, the 

 popular belief now being ahnost wholly in favour of the superior excellence of 

 chestnut when compared with oak. It is very common to meet with old workmen 

 who are confident that they can distinguish the two woods, and who will pro- 

 nounce any very well-preserved specimen to be of chestnut. One sometimes finds 

 a man who holds a contrary opinion, and one such, a country builder of great 



