Castanea 857 



Emerson mentions a tree at Bolton, Mass., which in 1840 was 15^ feet in girth 

 at 6 feet, with an unbranched trunk 24 feet long ; and another, on the road to 

 Sheffield, which was 21 feet in girth at 4 feet from the ground. He states that 

 though near the coast it does not ripen fruit so well, yet that in the interior when 

 growing in sunny places it yields abundance of sweet and delicious nuts ; and 

 according to Sargent these, though smaller than European chestnuts, are superior 

 to them in sweetness and flavour, and are sold for food in the eastern cities. 



In Garden and Forest 1 there are several pictures of the chestnut in America, 

 one representing a large tree at Dauphin in Pennsylvania, which is about 6 feet in 

 diameter. Another represents a young forest in West Virginia about forty years old, 

 showing good natural reproduction. A tree on a farm belonging to D. M. Ridgely, 

 near Dover in Delaware, is noted for its excellent fruit, and it has been propagated, 

 the chestnuts being known as Ridgely or Dupont chestnuts. 



In the United States Bureau of Forestry Bulletin No. 53 (1904), R. Zon gives 

 an interesting account of the chestnut tree in Maryland, where it is an important 

 timber tree, being used for railway sleepers, telegraph poles, and fencing. It is 

 usually coppiced, and Zon states that the sprouts usually come from the root collar, 

 only 10 per cent, arising from the top of the stump. He has never seen any sucker 

 shoots. The capacity of sprouting from the stool is retained to an advanced age, 

 over 100 years. The tree in America usually becomes unsound at about 100 

 years old. 



The American chestnut has rarely been tried in cultivation in Europe, and 

 though not likely to succeed so well as the common species, there are thriving 

 young trees at Kew. 



Emerson states that the timber is one of the best native woods on which to lay 

 mahogany veneers ; and Mr. Weale informs me that it is now imported into England 

 both in logs and boards ; but the demand is not very great. It is used by builders 

 as a substitute for oak, and by cabinetmakers. It carves well, and as it fumes readily, 

 is a favourite wood with makers of antique furniture. In the log its value is from 

 is. 6d. to is. c-d. per cube foot in Liverpool. In the board it is worth from 2s. to 

 2S. 6d. After conversion it cannot be distinguished from the English -grown 

 chestnut. Hough states that the wood is rich in tannin, which is extracted and 

 used for tanning purposes. (H. J. E.) 



CASTANEA PUMILA, Chinquapin 



Castanea pumila, Miller, Diet., ed. 8, No. 2 (1768); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 2002 (1838); 



Sargent, Silva N. Amer., ix. 17, tt. 442, 443 (1896), and Trees N. Amer., 221 (1905). 

 Fagus pumila, Linnaeus, Sp. PL 998 (1753). 



A tree, rarely attaining in America 50 feet in height and 9 feet in girth, 

 usually much smaller. Bark light-brown, slightly furrowed and broken on the surface 



1 Garden and Forest, ix. 114, f. 12, 234, f. 34 (1896), and vii. 484 (1894). Cf. also Ibid. x. 372, f. 48 (1897). 

 IV U 



