62 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



Elwes and Henry write : " The wood when young is as good or better 

 than oak (because it has much less sap-wood) for fencing, gate-posts, 

 piles, and hop-poles." 



It is very durable for all forms of constructional work either indoors 

 or exposed to the weather, while only to a small extent is it liable to 

 the attack of insects or boring worms, or subject to fungous growth. 

 Elwes speaks of a park fence composed of oak and chestnut, where 

 after twenty years the oak was found much wasted, while the chestnut 

 remained as sound as when put down. There is every reason to believe 

 that in Northern France, before the sixteenth century, the craftsmen in 

 wood were already aware of the advantages of combining the two woods, 

 as in nearly all the work they executed in cathedrals and churches, 

 chestnut is found mixed with oak. If this occurrence is accidental it is 

 remarkable. The beautiful carved stalls and panels in the choir of the 

 Cathedral at Amiens are certainly of mixed oak and chestnut, as 

 is the woodwork of the church of St. Ouen at Rouen. The wood 

 is very suitable for carved work and has been much used in this 

 connection. Elwes quotes Sir George Birdwood as stating that 

 " the late Mr. T. BlashiU, who was architect to the London County 

 Council, pointed out in a letter to the Times that the only instance he 

 knew of chestnut wood in English mediaeval carpentry is that of the 

 chancel screen of the church, formerly of the Knights of St. John, at 

 Rodmersham in Kent. The Rev. A. H. J. Massey, Vicar of Rodmersham, 

 tells me, however, that the chancel screen is a modem one of oak, with 

 portions of an ancient screen of chestnut wood worked into it ; but the 

 screen separating the Lady Chapel from the chancel is composed entirely 

 of chestnut wood." 



The large beam in the common room of Peterhouse, the oldest College 

 . in Cambridge, is generally supposed to be of chestnut, and without cut- 

 ting it out, the utmost examination possible confirms the opinion. The 

 panels taken from the wainscoting of a hall in Ireland were found to 

 be of mixed oak and chestnut throughout, and indistinguishable except 

 on examination with the lens. It seems probable, therefore, that 

 chestnut has often been used intentionally with oak as a preservative. 



Occasionally trees are found which are affected by the same brown 

 colouring which is to be foimd in oak. One tree, to which Elwes refers, 

 produced some very beautiful wood. This has been utilised for the 

 doors and overmantel of a room at Rapsgate Park, Colesborne, where 

 it presents a rich decorative appearance, very hard to equal. 



A large trade is carried on in split chestnut laths for park fencing, 

 for which purpose it provides a very economical as well as an ornamental 

 appearance. It is also used for the backs of aU kinds of domestic brushes. 



The annual layers of growth can be clearly distinguished with the 



