THE CHESTNUT. 



31 



the hollow of one of which, he says, contained 

 three hundred sheep, and thirty people had often 

 been in it on horseback. I shall not pretend to 

 say, that this is the same tree he means, or 

 whether it was ever one tree or not. There are 

 many others that are well deserving the curiosity 

 of travellers. One of these, about a mile and a 

 half higher on the mountain is called, II Castagno 

 del Galea; it rises from one solid stem to a con- 

 siderable height, after which it branches out, and 

 is a much finer object than the other. I measured 

 it about two feet from the ground, it was seventy- 

 six feet round. There is a third, called Cas- 

 tagno del Nave, that is pretty nearly of the same 

 size. All these grow on a rich soil, formed origi- 

 nally, I beheve, of ashes thrown out of the moun- 

 tain." 



When Houel visited it, it was in a state of 

 decay. A house was erected in the interior, with 

 an oven, in which, according to the custom of the 

 country, they dried chestnuts, filberts, and other 

 fruits which they wished to preserve for winter 

 use ; using as fuel, when they could find no other, 

 pieces cut with a hatchet from the interior of the 

 tree. 



M. Brunner is of opinion that the five stems 

 of which the tree is composed, have always been 

 distinct trunks, proceeding from one root, and 

 that they grew in this manner in consequence of 

 the original main trunk having been cut down, 

 according to a custom prevalent in Sicily, before 

 it had attained a great size, after which its place 

 was supplied by young shoots thrown out just 

 above the root, so that in reality the five stems are 

 as many trees proceeding from a common origin. 



