97 



longer than elm, or any other timber, when 

 used for water pipes, or other purposes, 

 under ground. 



The chesnut-wood has recently been suc- 

 cessfully applied to the purnoses of dyeing 

 and tanning, thus forming a substitute for log- 

 wood and oak bark. Leather tanned by it, 

 is declared, by the gentleman who made the 

 experiment, to be superior to that tanned 

 with oak bark ; and in dyeing, its affinity for 

 wool is said, on the same authority, to be 

 greater than that of either galls or sumach, 

 and consequently the colour given is more 

 permanent : it also makes admirable ink. 



The great chesnut-tree, near Mount Etna, 

 is perhaps one of the most extraordinary trees 

 in the Old World. It is called " The ches- 

 nut-tree of a Hundred Horses/' from the 

 following traditionary tale: Jean of Arragon, 

 when she visited Mount Etna, was attended 

 by her principal nobility, when a heavy shower 

 obliged them to take refuge under this tree, 

 the immense branches of which sheltered the 

 whole party* According to the account given 

 of it by Mr. Howel, this chesnut-tree is 160 

 feet in circumference, and, although quite hol- 

 low within, the verdure of the branches is not 

 affected; for this species of tree, like the 

 willow and some others, depends upon its 



H 



