235 



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Evelyn, by subsequent writers, is still 

 more unfortunate, for the tree in question 

 is neither described nor even mentioned 

 by name. Evelyn honestly cited the pas- 

 sage as evidence that there formerly ex- 

 isted a great forest near London, in which 

 he thought it probable that Chestnut 

 timber, among other kinds, might grow; 

 and the authors who followed him, perhaps 

 not taking the pains to refer to the original 

 | work, and mistaking the drift of his re- 

 l marks, took it for granted that the tree 

 i was mentioned, and considered the evi- 

 I dence conclusive, as well they might. Ar- 

 ! guments founded on the facts that trees 

 | are individually mentioned as being in 

 i existence at periods more or less remote, 

 and that there are in England several 

 places which have long borne a name taken 

 from these trees, e.g. Chesteney, Cheshunt, 

 Cheston, Shesterhunte, Chasteners, &c, 

 and consequently that the trees must have 

 grown there in considerable abundance 

 before such names were given — are far 

 from conclusive ; for when it is recollected 

 that the Sycamore was, in the time of 

 Gerard, a ' rare exotic,' and 250 years after- 

 wards as common a hedge tree as the elm, 

 we cannot deny that there was abundance 

 of time between the Roman period and the 

 earliest notice of Chestnut trees in our 

 histories, for those trees to have propa- 

 gated themselves to any extent. On the 

 whole, then, rather than set aside the 

 positive statement of ancient authors that 

 the Chestnut was first introduced from 

 Asia into Europe by the Greeks, and 

 transported thence into Italy by the 

 Romans, it may with reason be concluded 

 that this tree, though long naturalized in 

 England, is not an aboriginal native, but 

 was introduced by the Romans at a very 

 early period, and in process of time propa- 

 gated itself so widely as to have raised a 

 doubt whether it was not a really native 

 tree. 



Its history may be briefly told as fol- 

 lows :— It was first introduced into Europe 

 from Sardis in Asia Minor, whence it was 

 called the Sardian !Nut, and at a later period 

 Jupiter's Xut, and Husked S\it, from its 

 being enclosed in a husk or rind instead of 

 a shell. Several modem authorities, mis- 

 quoting a passage in Pliny, attribute its 

 introduction into Italy to Tiberius Caesar, 

 a palpable error, for it is evident from the 

 writings of Virgil that Chestnuts were 

 abundant in Italy long before the time of 

 that emperor. By the Romans it was 

 called Castanea from Castanuni, a town of 

 Magnesia in Thessaly, where it grew in 

 great abundance, and from which it is said 

 that they first brought it. From Italy and 

 Greece it appears to have spread itself over 

 the greater part of temperate Europe, 

 ripening its fruit and sowing itself wher- 

 ever the vine flourishes. In France, Italy, 

 and Spain it attains a great size. On the 

 Alps and Pyrenees it flourishes at an ele- 

 vation of between 2,500 and 2,800 feet, the 

 nuts having, perhaps, been carried to chose 

 lofty situations by the animals which Jay 

 up stores of winter food. It is still more 



r abundant in Asia Minor, Armenia, and 

 ! the Caucasus ; and it is also found in 

 I America as far north as latitude 44°. It 

 ! ripens its fruit in the warmer parts of 



Scotland, but rarely, if at all, in Ireland. 



| The Chestnut blossoms in July, and soon 



| the upper part of the spike bearing the 



barren flowers withers and drops off, 



leaving the lower part of the spike still 



supporting the fertile flowers, with the 



embryo of the future nuts attached. To- 



j wards the end of September the latter 



• begin to ripen, and in October fall to the 



i ground, where they open with A r alves and 



I expose the ripe nuts. Each case contains 



i from two to five nuts, two or more of 



] which are often mere empty rinds; but 



j all, whether solid or otherwise, have the 



■ remains of the flower, in the shape of a few 



I dry bristles, on their points. The Chestnut 



tree retains its leaves until late in the 



! autumn, when they become of a rich 



I golden hue. Owing to the tufted, and 



[ consequently weighty, character of the 



; foliage, and the brittleness of the timber, 



the tree is liable to be injured by autumnal 



storms ; but the leaves are rarely attacked 



by insects. The timber of young trees is 



applied to many useful purposes, but when 



matured is of little value, being brittle 



and apt to crack and fly into splinters. In 



the hop countries the growth of chestnut 



coppice is much encouraged, poles from 



this tree and the oak being preferred to 



all others. French, Cliataigner ; German, 



Kastanienbaum. [C. A. J.] 



Theophrastus called it the Euboean nut, 

 from Euboea, now Kegropont, where it 

 was very abundant : and that being the 

 case, the fruit may have been thence im- 

 ported into Italy, although the tree, in a 

 wild state, may have previously existed 

 | there. Professor Targioni observes that 

 not only have the extensive woods in the 

 Apian Alps, and other parts of the Apen- 

 nines, every appearance of being really j 

 indigenous, but further evidence that 

 woods of this tree existed in Tuscany from 

 very remote times may be found in the [ 

 j number of places which have derived their 

 ! names from them, such as Castagna, Cas- 

 tagneta, &c. He therefore concludes that 

 we may safely give, as the native country 

 of the wild Chestnut, the South of Europe, 

 from Spain to the Caucasus. Some have 

 even asserted that the tree is a native of 

 Britain ; but from the fact of its never 

 being found here in such quantities as to j 

 form natural forests, whilst its seed only 

 ripens in warm seasons or favourable lo- 

 calities, this seems very unlikely. It was j 

 i probably introduced into this country by i 

 I the Romans for the sake of its fruit. 

 : Gregor, in Morton's Cyclopedia, says the 

 oldest Chestnut tree in England is sup- 

 [ posed to be that at Tortworth, the seat of 

 I Earl Ducie, in Gloucestershire. Evelyn 

 I states it to have been remarkable for its 

 i magnitude in the reign of King Stephen 

 (1135). It was then called ' the great Chest- 

 nut of Tortworth,' from which it may 

 reasonably be presumed to have existed 

 ! before the Conquest. It bore fruit abun- 



