DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 151 



French periodical, that experiments have been made, by 

 which it is ascertained that the kernel yields nearly sixteen 

 per cent, of good sugar. 



As a timber tree, this is greatly inferior to the oak, being 

 looser grained, and more liable to decay ; and the American 

 wood is more open to this objection than that produced on 

 the opposite side of the Atlantic. It is however in general 

 use among us, for posts and rails in fencing ; and when the 

 former are charred, they are found to be quite durable. 



The finest natural situations for this tree, appear to be the 

 mountainous slopes of mild climates, where it attains the 

 greatest possible perfection. Michaux informs us, that the 

 most superb and lofty chestnuts in America are to be found 

 in such situations, in the forests of the Carolinas. Abroad, 

 every one will call to mind the far-famed chestnuts of Mount 

 Etna, of wonderful age and extraordinary size. The great 

 chestnut there has excited the surprise of numerous travellers ; 

 at present, however, it appears to be scarcely more than 

 a mere shell, the wreck of former greatness. When visited 

 by M. Houel, {Aboretzwi Brit.) it was in a state of decay, 

 having lost the greater part of its branches, and its trunk was 

 quite hollow. A house was erected in the interior, and 

 some country people resided in it, with an oven, in which, ac- 

 cording to the custom of the country, they dried chestnuts, 

 filberts, and other fruits, which they wished to preserve for 

 winter use ; using as fuel, when they could find no other, 

 pieces cut with a hatchet from the interior of the tree. In 

 Brydone's time, in 1770, this tree measured two hundred and 

 four feet in circumference. He says it had the appearance 

 of five distinct tirees ; but that he was assured that the space 

 was once filled with solid timber, and that there was no bark 

 on the inside. This circumstance of an old trunk, hollow in 



