THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



No. 201. CHESTNUT. Castanea sativa. Gaertn. 

 Plate XV. Fig. 127. 



Natural Order. Cupuliferse. 



Synonyms. C. vesca, Gaertn. C. vulgaris, Lam. 



Sources of Supply. Europe, North America. 



Alternative Names. Sweet, Spanish, or Edible Chestnut. 

 American Chestnut in the U.S.A. (12). Europeesche or Kaap- 

 sche Kastanje in South Africa (51). 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry- weight 32-46! lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 6, firm ; compare Oak. Smell none. 

 Taste astringent and unpleasant. Burns well, but the embers 

 expire in still air and leave the carbonized wood. Solution 

 colourless. 



Grain. Coarse and open. Surface somewhat lustrous, but the 

 rays and pores dull. 



Bark. Smooth, dull, dark brown, about the thickness of an 

 annual ring when young : lenticels small and round. When old, 

 thicker, fissured, usually in a spiral or latticed form. 



Uses, etc. "Difficult to obtain large logs quite sound . . . durable 

 only in favourable situations : soon decays in alternate wet and 

 dry, ... a useful coopers' wood, . . . clap-boards, ladders, 

 hoops" (69). "Elastic (i.e. the young wood), durable . . . a post 

 has been known to last eighty years in the ground . . . gives way 

 without warning at the breaking-point " (95). This appears to 

 refer to the American species, C. vulgaris, var. americana, which 

 is reputed to be extremely durable when exposed. Splits rather 

 easily with a scaly fracture. 



Authorities. Hartig (42), pp. 21, 29. Schwartz (106), p. 483. 

 Nordlinger (87), p. 515. Ditto (86), vol. hi. p. 79. Mathieu (69), 

 p. 325. C. Robb (95). Gamble (37), p. 379. Wiesner (131), L. 

 12, p. 890. 



Colour. Heart-wood, light to dark brown, well defined from 

 the white sap-wood, which is about 2-6 rings wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Prominent, size 2, very variable : coarse, 1 or few- 

 rowed pore-ring, succeeded by much smaller pores arranged in 

 branched, radial lines (i.e. dendritically), all readily visible to 

 the unaided eye : not many, 3-12 per sq. mm. in the pore-ring : 

 20-55 per sq. mm. in the later wood : large pores, oval, to o - 5 by 

 o - 3 mm. diam. 



Rays. Need lens, very fine, size 7, one size only : difficult to see, 

 especially in transparent section : scarcely denser than the 

 ground-tissue : long : very numerous, 8-10 per mm. : direct but 

 avoiding the large pores. 



Rings. Very distinct on account of the prominent pore-ring 



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