xxvii.] CHESTNUT. 217 



THE CHESTNUT TREE (Castanea vescd). :,' 



The sweet Chestnut attains to large dimensions, and 

 is found thinly scattered over most of our English 

 counties. It is abundant in the southern parts of Europe, 

 and extends eastward to the Caucasus. It is also met 

 with in the mountainous parts of Virginia, Georgia, and 

 Carolina, in North America. 



The wood is brown in colour, of moderate hardness 

 and weight, has a clean fine grain, and is rather porous. 

 The medullary rays cannot be distinctly traced in it, and 

 It has no alburnum or sap-wood. These two characteristic 

 points serve to distinguish it from the British Oak, for 

 which it has sometimes been mistaken. There is also 

 this further difference between them, the Chestnut is of 

 slower growth than the British Oak. 



The Chestnut timber stood in high favour at one time, 

 and it is even supposed that preference was given to it 

 over Oak for employment in some of our oldest and best 

 specimens of civil architecture, but upon careful exami- 

 nation of the woods during reparations it has generally 

 proved to be Oak of native growth that had been used, 

 and not Chestnut. 



The Chestnut is scarcely ever used now except for 

 very common or ordinary works, such as posts, rails, 

 palings, hop-poles, &c. ; but as it is durable when kept 

 wholly submerged, it may be used for piles, sluices, &c., 

 with advantage. 



It is on record that specimens of the sweet Chestnut 

 have attained to a very great size and remarkable 

 longevity ; one standing lately in Sicily is said to have 

 measured 160 feet in circumference ; the centre part, 

 however, was quite gone, and the cavity thus formed was 

 considered to be sufficiently large to give shelter to a 



