THE AGE OF TREES 41 



"A thousand years! If Uncle had not said it, I 

 should not believe it." This from Jules. 



"Sh! You must listen to the end without saying 

 anything/' cautioned'his uncle. 



"The largest tree in the world is a chestnut on 

 the slopes of Etna, in Sicily. Look at the map : you 

 will see down there, at the extreme end of Italy, op- 

 posite the toe of that beautiful country which has the 

 shape of a boot, a large island with three corners. 

 That is Sicily. On that island is a celebrated moun- 

 tain which throws up burning matter a volcano, in 

 short. It is called Etna. To come back to our chest- 

 nut, I must tell you that they call it 'the chestnut of a 

 hundred horses,' because Jane, Queen of Aragon, 

 visiting the volcano one day and, overtaken by a 

 storm, took refuge under it with her escort of a hun- 

 dred horsemen. Under its forest of leaves both 

 riders and horses found shelter. To surround the 

 <riant, thirty people extending their arms and join- 

 ing hands would not be enough. The trunk is more 

 than fifty meters round. Judged by its size, it is less 

 a tree-trunk than a fortress, a tower. An opening 

 large enough to permit two carriages to pass abreast 

 goes through the base of the chestnut and gives ac- 

 cess into the cavity of the trunk, which is fitted up 

 for the use of those who go to gather chestnuts; 

 for the old colossus still has young sap and seldom 

 tails to bear fruit. It is impossible to estimate the 

 age of this giant by its size, for one suspects that a 

 trunk as large as that comes from several chestnuts, 

 originally distinct, but so near together that tin-s- 

 have become \\<-l<lr<l into one. 



