158 FOEESTS, WOODS, AND TEEES 



a large volume of excellent timber on a short rotation. 

 The wood, moreover, is useful in all stages of the growth of 

 the tree, so that thinnings are valuable. Chestnut coppice 

 is also very productive. The wood is nearly equal to that 

 of oak in strength and durability, heartwood being formed 

 very early, while the proportion of sapwood is very 

 small. It is extremely useful for fencing, building, furni- 

 ture, etc. 



In suitable soils and situations, the production of timber 

 by this species is very great. At Witley, Worcestershire, a 

 plantation 67 years old was 78 feet in height and yielded 

 3800 cubic feet (quarter-girth measurement) of timber per 

 acre, equivalent to an average annual increment of 56 cubic 

 feet per acre. At Highnam, Gloucester, a plantation 60 

 years old attained 73 feet in height and contained 3262 

 cubic feet per acre, equal to an average annual increment 

 of 55 cubic feet per acre. 



Old trees, when felled, are often found to be affected 

 with ringshake, which makes the timber useless, except for 

 fuel. This defect is generally ascribed to unsuitable soil or 

 long rotation ; but is really due to the occurrence, during the 

 life of the tree, of an exceptionally severe winter, when, 

 with a great fall in temperature, the tissue inside the cam- 

 bium layer of the stem becomes frozen, resulting in a 

 rupture which shows itself later as ringshake. Sound old 

 chestnut is common in the milder parts of Ireland. At 

 Westwick, Norfolk, ringshaken chestnut, 7 years old, when 

 felled, showed by a count of the rings on the stump that 

 the main shake occurred in the winter 1879-1880, noted 

 for its very low temperature for a lengthened period. On a 

 pond near this tree, skating was carried on from the preced- 

 ing Christmas till 19th March 1880. In one butt there 

 was an additional but slighter shake in 1874—1875, a very 

 severe winter ; while in another, the additional shake coin- 

 cided with 1854-1855, when great frost occurred. This 

 liability to shake in severe winters makes chestnut an un- 

 reliable timber tree in the north and in all inland districts. 

 In any case, it should not be allowed to stand too long. 



