THE pla:n"ter's guide. 



341 



of this tree, although the timbers of some of them, as 

 exainined by INIr Knight, might be of Oak ; and the 

 roofs of Westminster Abbey, and the ParHament House 

 in Edinburgh, attest its dm-ability. There are stiil 

 remains of ancient Chestnuts in the old forests and 

 chases in the neighbourhood of London. As there is no 

 tree that deserves more to be recommended to the 

 planter's notice, whether for planting or transplanting, I 

 rejoice to perceive that a good deal has been done, within 

 the last twenty years, both in Scotland and England, to 

 provide a supply for another generation. 



The Chestnut thrives well in the valleys of the High- 

 lands as well as in the low country of Scotland, parti- 

 cularly at Dunkeld, Taymouth, and Inverary. It rejects 

 land that is cold and clayey, and luxuriates most in a deep 

 sandy loam, or in a gravelly and alluvial soil on the banks 

 of rivers ; but it requires, as already stated, rather a 

 mild climate. I do not consider my climate here (about 

 four hundred feet above the level of the sea) as sufficiently 

 good to raise it in perfection, as is proved by the constant 

 tendency, when young, to lose its top-shoots in the spring, 

 owing plainly to immaturity of the wood. 



Having neglected to plant the Chestnut thirty years 

 ago, I regret that I cannot command now any subjects 

 for transplantation ; but I have removed the tree for 

 others with the greatest success. It is, however, to be 

 observed, that it shares in the family failing, which has 

 been above noticed in its relative, the Beech, — namely, a 

 too great susceptibility in its roots and fibres of exposure 

 to the atmosphere. On this account, precautions similar 

 to those recommended for the Beech should be resorted 

 to in transplanting it ; and especial care should be taken 

 to perform the operation soon after the fall, and in no 

 case later than the month of February. In transplanting 



