2i8 



CHAPTER XX. 



OF CHESNUTS. 



Different Sorts cultivated in England. — Chesnut Trees are 

 excellent Timber. — Hoxv to Propagate y Plant , and Head 

 them. 



The Chesnut, Castaiiea, is a native, of the South 

 of Europe, and is said to take its name from 

 Castanea, a city of Thessaly, where anciently it 

 grew in great plenty. It belongs to the eighth 

 order of Linnaeus's twenty-first class, Moncecia 

 Polyandria, and is named Castanea Fesca. PoiL et, 

 Turp. Fr, t. 88. 



The sorts mostly cultivated in England are 

 those commonly called Spanish Chesnuts, which 

 run into great varieties when raised from seed ; 

 and a sort called, in America, Chinquapin, or 

 Dwarf Virginian Chesnuts ; but this is only raised 

 for the sake of variety. 



The former are very fine trees, and well worth 

 cultivating both for use and ornament. The 

 timber is reckoned equal to Oak, and, for making 

 casks, even superior to it ; as, when seasoned, it 

 is not so liable shrink or swell as Oak. These 

 trees have also a very noble appearance, and are 

 therefore very fit to plant in parks, &c. 



