2000 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
the trunk divides. A number of tender shoots spring out annually from its topmost branches, 
and still give it, by the brightness of their foliage, an appearance of freshness altogether unex- 
pected in such a ruin.” Not far from this tree, in the same park, is the Fallen Chestnut, also 
figured by Strutt. Gilpin mentions some fine chestnuts on the banks of the river Tamar, in Corn- 
wall, at an old house belonging to the Edgecumbe family; and also 70 or 80 trees at Beechworth 
Castle, in Surrey, with trunks.measuring from 12 ft. to 18 ft., and even 20 ft., in girt. One of these 
trees was measured by Mitchell, and found to be 18 ft. in circumference, and 90 ft. high. At Win- 
ley, near Hitchin Priory, in Hertfordshire, a chestnut, in 1789, girted upwards of 14 yards (42 ft.) 
at 5ft. from the ground: its trunk was hollow, and in part open; but its vegetation was vigo- 
rous. At Great Canford, in Dorsetshire, there were four large chestnut trees in the,time of Grose; 
one of which measured 37 ft. round, and bore fruit plentifully, though the tree was much shivered 
and decayed by age. In Martyn’s Miller it is stated, on the authority of Ord’s MS., that the stem of an 
old chestnut near Fraiting, in Essex, yielded 30 loads of logs; and another is mentioned in Glouces- 
tershire, which contained within its hollow trunk “a pretty wainscoted room, enlightened with 
windows, and furnished with seats.” In Greenwich Park there are, some large and old chestnut 
trees ; one of which, in 1795, measured 17 ft. Gin. in girt. At Shelford Lodge, Hampstead, in the 
same year, a chestnut measured 15 ft. in girt at 5 ft. from the ground—In Scotland, a number of 
large chestnut trees are mentioned by Dr. Walker, Mr. Sang, and Sir T. D. Lauder. The latter ob- 
serves, that the chestnut is found near all the old aristocratical residences in Scotland. He mentions 
a magnificent group of these trees at Winton, in East Lothian; and has given a figure of one at 
Riccarton, inthe county of Edinburgh, the trunk of which measures 97 ft. in circumference, and the 
head covers a space 77 ft. indiameter. ‘* A Spanish chestnut at Preston Hall measures, at 1 ft. fro 
the ground, 18 ft. in girt ; and at 10ft., 19 ft.” A chestnut at Kinfauns Castle, in Perthshire, whict. 
was cut down’ in 1760, had,a trunk which measured 22 ft. Sin. in circumference; and, though 
it was hollow, all the branches had leaves and fruit upon them the year it was cut down. It was 
supposed to be above 200 years old. The great chestnut that stood at Finhaven, in Forfarshire, was 
long accounted the largest tree of the kind in Scotland. We have given some account of it in our 
General History, p. 90. At Levenside, in Dumbartonshire, a chestnut of surprising bulk was thrown 
down by a hurricane, January 13th, 1739, Sang has given the dimensions of 17 large chestnuts, the 
‘smallest of which measured 8 ft. 6 in. in circumference at 4 ft. from the ground, with a trunk 36 ft. 
in length, and stands at Leslie House, in Fife; and the largest, which was blown down about the 
end of the last century, had a trunk which measured 17 ft. in circumference, and was 22 ft. in height. 
This chestnut, along with several other very large ones at the same place, is supposed to have been 
upwards of 300 years old.—In Ireland, there have been many fine chestnuts in different parts of the 
country. An avenue at Duganston, cut down in 1793, contained trees which measured from 14 ft. 
to 16 ft. Gin. in circumference, with trunks, some of them 24ft., and others 36 ft. in length. At 
Cranmore, near Belfast, is a very large chestnut tree, already mentioned, p. 112. At Bellione, trees 
planted 27 years had trunks 5 ft., and one 7 ft., in circumference at 1 ft. from the ground, and could 
have afforded planks 16 ft. long, and 12in. broad. They grew in a strong loam on alimestone rock.” 
(Hayes’s Treat., p. 162.)—In France, near Sancerre, M. Bosc saw a chestnut 32 ft. 6in. in circum- 
ference at 6ft. from the ground, which, 600 years before, was called the Great Chestnut of Sancerre. 
It was supposed to be 1000 years old, notwithstanding which its trunk looked perfectly healthy on its 
exterior ; and it bore every year an immense quantity of fruit. Near Bode, where there are still some 
very large chestnut trees, there was one which fell in 1807, and which produced 18 cords of wood of 
144 French cubic feet, 2500 poles 8 French feet long each, 90 stakes, and 300 faggots. At Plessis, 
near Bécherel, there is a chestnut, the trunk of which measured above 30ft. in circumference at 
about 4ft. from the ground; but its roots, which rise up out of the earth, would give it a much 
greater extent if it were measured at the surface. ‘The English prisoners of war, who were confined 
at Bécherel, frequently visited this tree; and, from their report, few, English travellers pass any where 
Near it without turning out of their road to see the celebrated chestnut of Plessis. (Bosc.) Near 
Paris, at La Celle, Dr. Neill mentions, in his Horticultural Tour, an ancient plantation of marroniers, 
or cultivated chestnuts. Most of them, he says, are grafted trees ; and, in some instances, the graft 
had greatly overgrown the stock. One aged tree measured, at the place of grafting, no less than 22 ft. 
6 in. in circumference ; while, immediately below the graft, the stock was only 15 ft. 6in in circum- 
ference. In the’Forest of St. Germain en Laye, the deputation, of which Dr, Neill isthe organ, found 
chestnuts (chdtaigniers, not marroniers,) scattered up and down as single trees, and in small separate 
plantations. They were frequently of great age and large dimensions; the bole sometimes measur- 
ing 13 ft., 14 ft., and 15 ft. in circumference, and being sometimes quite hollow, though the head was 
vigorous. (p. 365.) In Tuscany, the chestnut trees of Valombrosa are celebrated for their size, the 
abundance of their leaves, and the deepness of the shade which they preduce. (See p. 1987.) The 
expression, “ Thick as the leaves of Valombrosa,”’ has, indeed, almost passed into a proverb. (See 
Lauder’s Gilpin, vol. i. p.101.) In Sicily, the chestnuts of Mount Etna have been already men- 
tioned. The dimensions of the 3 largest (Castagno di Cento Cavalli, Castagno di Santa Agata, and 
Castagno della Nave) have been already given (p, 1987.). 
Existing Trees of Castanea vésca. The oldest trees in the immediate neighbourhood of Lon- 
don are in Greenwich Park and Kensington Gardens; but they are, for the most part, hollow 
trunks, with pollard-like heads, At Muswell Hill is the old chestnut figured in our last Volume, 
which is 66 ft. high ; at Mount Grove, Hampstead, it is 57 ft. high, diameter of the trunk: 3 ft. 6 in., 
and of the head 44ft.; near Richmond, in the grounds of the Countess of Shaftesbury, it is 60 ft. 
high, diameter of the trunk 11 ft. 6in., and of the head 60ft.—South of London. In Devonshire, 
at Bicton, it is 28 ft. Gin. high, diameter of the trunk 7 ft.; at Killerton, 34 years planted, it is 56 ft. 
high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6in., and of the head 57 ft. ; at Endsleigh Cottage, 22 years planted, 
it is 50 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 5in., and of the head 14ft. In Dorsetshire, at Melbury 
Park, 100 years old, it is 66 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 9 ft., and of the head 60 ft.; at Compton 
House, 60 years planted, it is 60 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 3ft.4in. In Hampshire, at Strath- 
fieldsaye, it is 98 ft. high, with a trunk 4 ft. in diameter. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, 10 years planted, 
it is 30 ft. high, diameter of the trunk Qin. (for the old trees at Cobham, see p. 1999.) ; at Walder- 
share is a fine old tree (fig. 1926.), 91 ft. high, with a trunk 24 ft. 10in. in circumference at 1 ft, from 
the ground, and 15 ft. 10 in. at the height of 28 ft. The trunk is 51 ft. high before it divides into 
branches, and the diameter of the head is 65ft. It grows in a sheltered situation, in loam on gravel. 
In Somersetshire, at Nettlecombe, 120 years old, it is 60 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 6ft., and of 
the head 72ft. 6in. In Surrey, at Betchworth Castle, are some remarkably large chestnut trees. 
One measured for us in May, 1837, was 80 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk, at | ft. from the ground, 
8 ft., and of the head 222ft. The timber contained in this tree was estimated at 14 loads 25 ft. 
Another tree at the same place was 65 ft. high, the trunk 6 ft. Gin, in diameter, and was estimated 
to contain 13 loads 8 ft. of timber. At Farnham Castle are some remarkably fine old chestnuts : one is 
76 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 7 ft. 6in., and of the head 60 ft. ; and another 65 ft. high, diameter 
of the trunk 7 ft., and of the head 60ft. In Sussex, at Cowdray, there is a magnificent avenue, 
