7 26 
TtiE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANif. 
its wood, as is the roof of Westminster Hall, built by William 
Rufus in the year 1099, still free from any appearance of 
decay, and one of the finest productions in its kind, of human 
art in point of size, beauty, strength, and durability.”— 
Sylva , p. 81. 
It may, however, he safely affirmed that the roof of West¬ 
minster Abbey is not constructed of chestnut wood. In 
reference to the subject and also to the supposed indigenous 
nature of this tree, we cannot resist the following extract 
from P. J. Selby, Esq. 
“By some, the chesnut has been considered as indigenous to 
England, and Sir J. E. Smith (in the 6 Eng. Flor. 5 ) says, 
that it appears to be wild in the south and west of England. 5 
The more general opinion, however, is, that it is not a native, 
but was introduced at a very distant period, probably by the 
Romans, and it is even supposed that the famous chesnut 
at Tortworth, in Gloucestershire, the remains of which are 
still in existence, may have been planted during their sway. 
The belief which so long and so generally prevailed, and, 
indeed, we may add still partially exists, that the roofing and 
main beams of many of our ancient buildings and houses were 
framed of chesnut, naturally gave rise to the idea that a tree 
so abundant and generally distributed, as it must have been 
in former ages, must also have been of indigenous growth, 
for this supposed chesnut timber, we may remark, is not 
confined to buildings in the southern and midland districts 
of the kingdom, but is also found in the northern counties, 
and even in Scotland, for Sir T. Dick Lauder, apparently 
not aware of the discoveries of Daubenton and others, instances 
the roof of the parliament houses in Edinburgh, as con¬ 
structed of chesnut .”—History of Forest Trees, p. 324. 
Our author adds the following in a note :— 
“It is remarkable that the same belief of the use of ches¬ 
nut wood in ancient buildings also prevailed in France. 
Buffon, however, and afterwards Daubenton, showed that 
timber taken for that of the chesnut was, in fact, that of 
Quercus sessiliflora.” —Ibid., p. 325. 
Leaving, then, the further discussion of this subject for a 
future article, we may yet state that chestnut-wood, of middle 
size, is highly valued for a great many purposes, and as a 
nurse to other trees it is most useful. 
The bark is worth about half that of the oak for use in 
tanning. 
The fruit has ever been highly extolled on the Continent 
as an article of food ; la galette, a kind of cake, and la polenta, 
a thick paste thinned with milk, form in Italy, and parts of 
