from which it may reasonably be presumed to have been standing before the conquest/’ When this 
etching was made, it was barely included within the garden wall, wdiich bore hard upon it; but the 
present Lord Ducie removed the incumbrance, and at the same time applied fresh earth to the roots, 
which seems to have enlivened it. So late as the year 377 8 it produced great quantities of fruit, 
which though small, were sweet and well flavoured. 
Mr. Lysons also has etched two views of this famous tree, from the S. W. and the N. W. He 
says that in 17Q1 it measured forty-four feet four inches round in the thickest part, which is much 
less than the dimension given by Bradley, and yet this is exceeded by that of Sir Robert Atkyns, who 
gives it nineteen yards. Sir Robert is of opinion that it was originally several trees; and Mr. Marshall 
thinks it to be two trees grown together. Sir Robert Atkyns mentions the tradition of its having 
been growing in the reign of King John; and Mr. Peter Coliinson relying on the accounts of Evelyn 
and Bradley, supposed it to have been planted in the reign of King Egbert. But Mr. Lysons says, 
that there does not seem to be any authority to show at what period it became remarkable for its 
size, except a very vague tradition; and it could never have been a boundary of the manor, for it 
stands in the centre of it. 
The Chesnut is a tree which deserves our care as much as any of the trees which are propagated 
in this country, either for use or beauty; being one of the best sorts of timber, and affording a good 
shade. The leaves continue late in the autumn, turning then to a golden colour; nor are they so 
liable to be eaten by insects as are those of the Oak, which of late years have frequently happened to 
the latter, and has rendered them very unsightly great part of summer, which I have never observed 
to be the case with the Chesnut, which renders them more valuable for parks and plantations for 
ornament; and there is no better food for deer, and many other animals, than their nuts, which most 
of them prefer to acorns; but yet there should not be many of these trees planted too near the habi¬ 
tation; because when they are in flower, they emit a very disagreeable odour, which is very offensive 
to most people. 
The shade also of the Chesnut, like that of the Ash, is injurious to other plants; it should there¬ 
fore be planted in thickets, or in detached plantations * Or if these trees be planted in large wilder¬ 
ness quarters next the walks, or in woods by the side of the ridings ; and left untrimmed as they 
ought to be, they will feather to the bottom, and hide the naked and crooked stems of other trees.-]- 
To recommend the restoration of this noble and useful tree, which has unaccountably been in~a 
manner lost among us, we must observe, that it may be cultivated in England so as to afford an equal 
profit without any other sort of timber tree; since the wood is equal in value to the best Oak, and 
for many purposes far exceeding it, particularly for casks, for which it is much used in Italy; and 
for pipes to convey water under ground. In Italy it is planted as coppice-wood, to make stakes for 
their vines, which will continue seven years. 
It must therefore be very proper for stakes in espaliers and dead hedges, for hop-poles, hurdles, &c. 
It was formerly used for all the same purposes as Oak, in building, mill-work, and household furni¬ 
ture. And lately some of it that was finely variegated has been successfully employed in doors and 
ballustrades of a stair-case; a colour being given them, by rubbing them over with alum water, then 
laying on with a brush a decoction of logwood chips, and lastly a decoction of Brazil wood; they 
have been frequently taken for mahogany. 
Some persons assert that the timber of Chesnut is brittle, and decays at heart; w T hilst, according 
to others, it will last longer than Oak, is not subject to cracks or flaws, and is never attacked by 
* Boutcher. 
f Evelyn’s Silva by Hunter, 
