aOOO AHBORETUM ANl> FKUTICETUM. PART J 11. 



the trunk divides. A number of tCRder shoots spring out annually from its topmost branches, 

 and still give it, by the brightness of their loliage, an appearance of freshness altogether unex. 

 pected in such a ruin." Not far from this tree, in the same park, is the Fallon Chestnut, also 

 figured by Strutr. Gilpin mentions some fine chestnuts on the banks of the river Tamar, in Corn- 

 wall, at an old house belonging to the Edgecumbc family; and also 70 or &U trees at ISecchworth 

 Castle, in Surrey, with trunks measuring from 1- ft. to 18 ft., and even iiO ft., in girt. One of these 

 trees was measured by Mitchell, and found to be IS fl. in circumference, and 'M ft. high. At Win. 

 ley, near Hitchin Priory, in Hertfordshire, a chestnut, in 17ft9, girted upwards of 14 yards (4'Jft) 

 at .'i ft 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 Marti/n's Miller it is stated, on the authority of Ord's MS., that the stem of an 

 old chestnut near Fraiting, in liisex, 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; oneof which, in 1795, measured 17 ft. (i in. iti girt. At Shelford Lodge, Harapstead, 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 magnitiCL'ut group of these trees at VVinton, in Fast I^olhian ; and has given a figure of one at 

 Riccarton, in the county of lidinburgh, the trunk of which measures 27 ft. in circumference, and the 

 head covers a space 77 ft. in diameter. " A Spanish chestnut at Preston Hall measures, at 1 ft, from 

 the ground, 18 ft. in girt ; and at lUI^., I9ft." A chestnut at Kinfauns Castle, in Perthshire, whicl> 

 was cut down in 1760, had a trunk which measured i.'-JfL Sin. in circumference; and, though 

 it was hollow, all the branches liad leaves and fruit upon them the year it was cut down It was 

 sujiposed to be above 200 years old. The great chestnut tliat 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 loth, 17j9. Sang has given the dimensions of 17 large chestnuts, the 

 smallest of which measured 8 ft. 6 in. in circumference at 4 ft. Irom 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 su])posed to have been 

 upwards of jOO years oM. — In Ireland, there have been many fine chestnuts in diHi;rent parts of the 

 country. An avenue at Duganston, cut down in 179.3, containeil trees which measured from 14 ft. 

 to 16 ft 6 in. in circumference, with trunks, some of them 24 ft,, and others ,>6 It. in length. At 

 Cranraore, 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 circurafirence at 1 ft. from the ground, and could 

 have afforded planks 16 ft. long, and 12 in. broad. They grew in a strong loam on aliraestone rock." 

 (Hai/fs's Treat., p. 162.) — In France, near Sancerre, M. Hose saw a chestnut ,;2 ft. 6 in. in circum- 

 ference at 6ft. from the ground, which, 6u0 years before, was called the Great Chestnut of Sancerre. 

 It was supposed to be 1(X)0 years old, notwithstHoding which its trunk looked perfectly healthy on its 

 exterior ; and it bore every year an ininieni-e quantity of fruit. Near Bode, where there arc 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, W stakes, and 3(X) faggots. At Plessis, 

 near Becherel, there is a chestnut, the trunk of which measured above 30 ft. 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 Kiiglish prisoners of war, who were confined 

 at Becherel, frequently visited this tree ; and, from their rejiort, few English travellers pass any where 

 near it without turning out of their road to see the celebrated chestnut of Plessis. {Jiosc.) Near 

 Paris, at La Celle, Dr. Neill mentions, in his Horticultur.il Tour, an ancient plantation oi marronicrs, 

 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 graftmg, no less than 22 ft. 

 6 in. in circumference ; while, immediately below the graft, the stock was only 15 ft. 6 in in circum- 

 ference. In theTorest of St. Germain en Laye, the deputation, of which Dr. Neill is the organ, found 

 chestnuts {chutaigntem, not marroniers,) scattered up and down as singletrees, and in small separate 

 plantations. They were frequently of great age and large dimensions; the bole sometimes measur- 

 ing 13 It., 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 produce. tSeep. 19S7) The 

 expression, " Thick as the leaves of \'alombrosa," has, indeed, almost passeil into a proverb. (See 

 Lauder's Gilpin, \o\. 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). 



Exisii/iff Trees of Castunea vdscn. Tlie oldest trees in the immediate neighbourhood of Lon- 

 don are in Greenwich Park and Kensington Gardens; but they are, for the most part, hollow 

 tnniks, with pollard-like heads. At Muswell Hill is the old chestnut figured in our last Volume, 

 which if G6ft. high ; at Mount Grove, Hanipstead, it is 57 ft. high, diameter of the trunk ,!ft. 6 in., 

 and of the head 44 ft ; near Richmond, in the grounds of the Countess of Shaftesbury, it is 60 ft. 

 high, diameter of the trunk 11 ft. 6 in., and of the head 6(Jft. — South of London. In l)evoiishire, 

 at Bicton, it is 28 ft. Gin. high, diameter of the trunk 7 ft ; at Killerton, 34 years planted, it is 56ft. 

 high, diameter of the trunk 2 tX. 6 in., and of the head 57 tt ; at Endsleigh Cottage, 22 years planted, 

 it is 50 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 5 in., and of the head 14 ft. In Dorsetshire, at Melbury 

 Park, 1(X) years old, it is 65 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 9ft., and of the head (H) ft ; at Conipton 

 House, 60 years planted, it is 60 tt. high, diameter of the trunk 3 ft. 4 in. In Hampshire, at Stratli- 

 fieldsaye, it is 98 ft. high, with a tiunk 4 ft. in diameter. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, 10 years planted, 

 it is ,)Oft. high, diameter of the trunk 9 in. (for the old trees at Cobham, see p. 1999.) ; at Walder. 

 share is a fine old tree (Jig. 19J6.), 91 ft. high, with a trunk 24 ft. 10 in. in circumference at 1 ft from 

 the ground, and 15 ft. loin, at the height of 28 ft. The trunk is 51 ft. high before it divides into 

 branches, and the diameter ot the head is 65 ft. It grows in a sheltere<l situation, in loam on gravel. 

 In Somersetshire, at Nettlecombe, 120 years old, it is 60 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 6 ft., and of 

 the head 72 ft. 6 in. 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 i ft from the ground, 

 8ft., and of the head 222 ft. 'J'he timl)er contained in this tree was eslniiated at H loads 25ft. 

 Another tree at the same place was ti") ft. high, the trunk (i ft. (i ni. in diameter, and was estimated 

 to contain 13 loads S ft. of timber. At F'ariiham Castle are some remarkably hue old chestnuts : one is 

 71) ft. high, diameter of the trunk 7 ft 6 in., and of the head (Sift. ; ami another 65 ft. high, diameter 

 of the trunk 7 ft., and of the head (MUt In Sussex, at Cowdray, there is a magnificent avenue, 



