141 



THE CHESTNUT BLIGHT AND CONSTKUCTIVE CON- 



SEKVATION. 



By DR. RUSSELL SMITH, OF THE WHARTON SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY 



OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for ti horse!" In these words 

 Shakespeare makes the defeated King Kichard HI express the 

 value of a certain piece of property, as lie ])iiced tlie field of. de- 

 feat, seeking lliglil, — not wlnit the horse wouhl actually cost in 

 the horse market; not wliat he Avouhl bring in I lie lioi-sc nnirkcl, 

 was the basis of valuation, )»ul what was going to liapi)i'ii lo 

 Richard III if he had to go witliout liini. 



On that basis I question if the estimates of the value of the 

 chestnut species have been placed anywhere near high enougiu 

 The United States, with a big timber cut, is witliin from one to 

 three decades of an era of timber scarcity which will put us in 

 the position of having to go raise timber, rather than go find tim- 

 ber. In the timber-raising epoch the chc^stnut C(nnes to tlie 

 front. Taken altogether it is for Mic next sixty years of I his 

 r.ation a tree witliout a peer, for no other (i-cc can (ouch it U>v all- 

 around efficiency. 



1. It grows rapidh'. No other good tree of the forest can 

 equal it in the speed with Avhich it makes wood. By the time 

 the white oak acorn makes a baseball bat the clu^stnut stump hag 

 made a railroad tie. Cut it down and it throws its shoots up 

 six feet the first year and keeps them going. This astoundingly 

 fast start, in connection with its record fast growth, makes it a 

 forest marvel. 



2. The wood of no other tree is so generally useful. It is dur- 

 able in the ground as posts, a quality which makes it a standard 

 telegraph and telephone pole, and a good railroad tie or mine 

 ]>ro]). It is dural)le above ground, giving it many virtues as lum- 

 ber. It is also a beautiful, prized, and ninch used wood for in- 

 terior finish. Lastly, it is full of tannin, so ihat any chi]), to]), 

 slab oi' scra]» can be digested for this valuable manufacture. 



