Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

I heard, or read, somewhere recently that Longfellow's smith was
actually doing business beneath the boughs of a horse chestnut (one of
the Aesculus tribe, not the Castaneas). It's been forty years or more
since I read that particular bit of bucolic tripe, but I don't recall
any internal evidence supporting any such conclusion. On the other
hand, I don't remember anything to the contrary either......though I
do recall something about an actual particular tree being referenced
and later used for something or other.

Be that as it may, Longfellow was an easterner and would certainly
have been familiar with the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), as
anyone living in America in the 18th century could not help but be.
The horse chestnuts, eminent in their own rights, as any unbiased
sylviculturist must admit, could not hold a candle to the magnificent
forest giant that carpeted the landscape from the fall line in the
east to the foothills of the far west, such as it was at the time, and
from Georgia and Alabama to the far reaches of the Adirondacks and
Poconos and beyond. Anyone in the least familiar with the griant
forest that spanned the great Appalachian chain MUST have known the
American chestnut well.

In her recent book, "The American Chestnut," Susan Freinkel's
subtitle, "The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree" is no mere
hyperbole. Given the ethos and the economics of the place and time,
the American chestnut WAS a perfect tree. Unlike most fruit bearing
trees (yes, they ALL produce some sort of fruit or other in strictly
scientific botanical terms, but I won't bother differentiating.....you
know what I mean.....or you never will) the chestnut produced an
abudant crop every year, as opposed to the normal pattern of a single
boom year followed by several of bust. And it was a crop that
fattened, annually, a few billion passenger pigeons, some millions of
turkeys, innumerable squirrels, uncountable other small rodents,
millions of deer, hundreds of thousands of bears, raccoons, foxes,
dogs, crows, ravens, jays woodpeckers and......not least important by
any means from a colonial American point of view.....millions of hogs,
who were turned loose in the forests every fall to feast on the free
bounty (you knew that part, except that the textbooks almost
invariable speak of acorns, walnuts, beechnuts, butternuts and
hickories, with only an occasional reference to the chestnut) and
fatten up for market or home butchery. Incidentally, the reason most
often given for the chestnut's annual bounty is that unlike most nuts,
its are very low in fats, high in carbohydrates. Fats require a much
greater caloric investment. Whatever.

The really odd thing about all of this is that the chestnut comes
wrapped in perhaps Nature's most formidable physical defense
mechanism. The thousands of needle sharp (you've heard this a million
times, but in this case it is most literally true) spines surrounding
the chestnut burr are proof against even the most ravenous of pigs,
bears, and squirrels. Were it not for the fact that the burrs split
and spill their guts (as it were) when the nuts are ripe, ALL would go
hungry. The burrs would pile up several feet thick beneath a mature
tree (as it is, they may be up to six inches deep anyway) until they
rotted away, and NOTHING but worms and maggots could get at the
contents.

So?

So, that's the way it used to be. But those days are
gone.....forever. In 1904, in the Bronx Zoological Gardens, a
perceptive sylviculturist noticed that his chestnuts were dying.
Thirty or so years later they were gone......ALL gone.....4 or 6
billion trees had died of a blight (a fungus that hitchhiked in on
Chinese chestnuts) and/or an ax or saw wielded by a land owner advised
by the USDA that he might as well cut the trees down and get something
for the wood before the blight killed them. THE dominant tree of the
eastern American forest....Gone. Forever. Finis. And most Americans
living today can't remember ever hearing of it......and certainly
haven't ever seen one.

Wellllllll.......

Not quite forever (which is a very long time)......maybe.

Trees (and what IS a "tree" anyway.....and how does one explain this
remarkable display of parallel evolution in so many botanical
taxa?.....but that's a theme for some day when a world populated by
adults is interested in discussion) have, like most other plants and
animals, evolved numerous and often remarkable strategies for
survival. A common strategy among trees, at which the chestnut
excels, is regrowth from stumps. When a chestnut is felled, whether
by human or inhuman agency, it sends up vigorous new growth from the
still living tissue at the edges of the stump. The key to this
strategy, in this instance, is that the blight generally takes several
years to reinfect the new growth to a stage which once again proves
fatal. In the meantime, the chestnut, an extraodinarily fast grower,
matures to the point of bearing fruit which results in new trees that
keep ahead, barely, of the blight. No less important is the fact that
the blight spores, light and windborne as they are, nevertheless have
a limited range of travel. Isolated pockets of chestnuts have thrived
(mostly unnoticed.....which is, in large part, why they survived) for
the past century in out of the way places. One such place is
southwestern Wisconsin where, until the 1980s, when they were
"discovered" by spore laden scientists, chestnut "forests" (actually
small to large groves) were entirely blight free. No such luck
today. But there are still thousands of blight free trees. Nobody
knows how many there are here....or elsewhere. That's because (in
part) the people that own them or know them aren't talking.....that's
how they stay blight free.

But......

But, some people are talking and growing and showing and sowing and
sharing and hybridizing and grafting and cross-pollinating. There are
hybrids (with the Chinese.....not as ironic as it sounds, if you think
about it and understand the rudiments of biology) and backcrosses and
blah and blah......

The bottom line is that an essentially extinct native species (and an
economically as well as aesthetically important one) turns out to be
not quite so extinct after all.....not yet, anyway.

So?

So, the American Chestnut is still critically endangered.....poised on
the very brink of extinction.....but it is also balanced precariously
on the very brink of recovery. And YOU can make a
difference.....maybe. All you have to do is to plant a couple of
chestnut trees (not too far apart.....50-100 feet, max.....because
they do not self pollinate) and wait a few years (perhaps as few as
four or five in good growing conditions.....yeah, they are THAT
amazing) for the appearance of another crop of nuts to pass on and
keep the gene pool alive.

Sure.....easy to say.....but where does one come by such a precious
commodity as highly endangered American Chestnut seed (which, by the
way, are MUCH more palatable than their Chinese and European cousins,
though also considerable smaller.....but's lets not talk about eating
endangered seed right now, o.k.?) if they are so rare and endangered?

Ah! The crux of the matter..... at last!

Right here.

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).

So, who wants to save a specis?

giles

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:
I heard, or read, somewhere recently that Longfellow's smith was
actually doing business beneath the boughs of a horse chestnut (one of
the Aesculus tribe, not the Castaneas). It's been forty years or more
since I read that particular bit of bucolic tripe, but I don't recall
any internal evidence supporting any such conclusion. On the other
hand, I don't remember anything to the contrary either......though I
do recall something about an actual particular tree being referenced
and later used for something or other.

Be that as it may, Longfellow was an easterner and would certainly
have been familiar with the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), as
anyone living in America in the 18th century could not help but be.
The horse chestnuts, eminent in their own rights, as any unbiased
sylviculturist must admit, could not hold a candle to the magnificent
forest giant that carpeted the landscape from the fall line in the
east to the foothills of the far west, such as it was at the time, and
from Georgia and Alabama to the far reaches of the Adirondacks and
Poconos and beyond. Anyone in the least familiar with the griant
forest that spanned the great Appalachian chain MUST have known the
American chestnut well.

In her recent book, "The American Chestnut," Susan Freinkel's
subtitle, "The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree" is no mere
hyperbole. Given the ethos and the economics of the place and time,
the American chestnut WAS a perfect tree. Unlike most fruit bearing
trees (yes, they ALL produce some sort of fruit or other in strictly
scientific botanical terms, but I won't bother differentiating.....you
know what I mean.....or you never will) the chestnut produced an
abudant crop every year, as opposed to the normal pattern of a single
boom year followed by several of bust. And it was a crop that
fattened, annually, a few billion passenger pigeons, some millions of
turkeys, innumerable squirrels, uncountable other small rodents,
millions of deer, hundreds of thousands of bears, raccoons, foxes,
dogs, crows, ravens, jays woodpeckers and......not least important by
any means from a colonial American point of view.....millions of hogs,
who were turned loose in the forests every fall to feast on the free
bounty (you knew that part, except that the textbooks almost
invariable speak of acorns, walnuts, beechnuts, butternuts and
hickories, with only an occasional reference to the chestnut) and
fatten up for market or home butchery. Incidentally, the reason most
often given for the chestnut's annual bounty is that unlike most nuts,
its are very low in fats, high in carbohydrates. Fats require a much
greater caloric investment. Whatever.

The really odd thing about all of this is that the chestnut comes
wrapped in perhaps Nature's most formidable physical defense
mechanism. The thousands of needle sharp (you've heard this a million
times, but in this case it is most literally true) spines surrounding
the chestnut burr are proof against even the most ravenous of pigs,
bears, and squirrels. Were it not for the fact that the burrs split
and spill their guts (as it were) when the nuts are ripe, ALL would go
hungry. The burrs would pile up several feet thick beneath a mature
tree (as it is, they may be up to six inches deep anyway) until they
rotted away, and NOTHING but worms and maggots could get at the
contents.

So?

So, that's the way it used to be. But those days are
gone.....forever. In 1904, in the Bronx Zoological Gardens, a
perceptive sylviculturist noticed that his chestnuts were dying.
Thirty or so years later they were gone......ALL gone.....4 or 6
billion trees had died of a blight (a fungus that hitchhiked in on
Chinese chestnuts) and/or an ax or saw wielded by a land owner advised
by the USDA that he might as well cut the trees down and get something
for the wood before the blight killed them. THE dominant tree of the
eastern American forest....Gone. Forever. Finis. And most Americans
living today can't remember ever hearing of it......and certainly
haven't ever seen one.

Wellllllll.......

Not quite forever (which is a very long time)......maybe.

Trees (and what IS a "tree" anyway.....and how does one explain this
remarkable display of parallel evolution in so many botanical
taxa?.....but that's a theme for some day when a world populated by
adults is interested in discussion) have, like most other plants and
animals, evolved numerous and often remarkable strategies for
survival. A common strategy among trees, at which the chestnut
excels, is regrowth from stumps. When a chestnut is felled, whether
by human or inhuman agency, it sends up vigorous new growth from the
still living tissue at the edges of the stump. The key to this
strategy, in this instance, is that the blight generally takes several
years to reinfect the new growth to a stage which once again proves
fatal. In the meantime, the chestnut, an extraodinarily fast grower,
matures to the point of bearing fruit which results in new trees that
keep ahead, barely, of the blight. No less important is the fact that
the blight spores, light and windborne as they are, nevertheless have
a limited range of travel. Isolated pockets of chestnuts have thrived
(mostly unnoticed.....which is, in large part, why they survived) for
the past century in out of the way places. One such place is
southwestern Wisconsin where, until the 1980s, when they were
"discovered" by spore laden scientists, chestnut "forests" (actually
small to large groves) were entirely blight free. No such luck
today. But there are still thousands of blight free trees. Nobody
knows how many there are here....or elsewhere. That's because (in
part) the people that own them or know them aren't talking.....that's
how they stay blight free.

But......

But, some people are talking and growing and showing and sowing and
sharing and hybridizing and grafting and cross-pollinating. There are
hybrids (with the Chinese.....not as ironic as it sounds, if you think
about it and understand the rudiments of biology) and backcrosses and
blah and blah......

The bottom line is that an essentially extinct native species (and an
economically as well as aesthetically important one) turns out to be
not quite so extinct after all.....not yet, anyway.

So?

So, the American Chestnut is still critically endangered.....poised on
the very brink of extinction.....but it is also balanced precariously
on the very brink of recovery. And YOU can make a
difference.....maybe. All you have to do is to plant a couple of
chestnut trees (not too far apart.....50-100 feet, max.....because
they do not self pollinate) and wait a few years (perhaps as few as
four or five in good growing conditions.....yeah, they are THAT
amazing) for the appearance of another crop of nuts to pass on and
keep the gene pool alive.

Sure.....easy to say.....but where does one come by such a precious
commodity as highly endangered American Chestnut seed (which, by the
way, are MUCH more palatable than their Chinese and European cousins,
though also considerable smaller.....but's lets not talk about eating
endangered seed right now, o.k.?) if they are so rare and endangered?

Ah! The crux of the matter..... at last!

Right here.

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).

So, who wants to save a specis?

giles

Moron.


--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 11:35*am, rw wrote:


Moron.


Nope, it's "Marone".

http://www.welt.de/lifestyle/article...xplodiert.html

American Chestnut; http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewik...n_Chestnut.JPG

European Chestnut ( marone );http://www.kornels-welt.de/blog/pictures/
pflanzen/marone_edelkastanie.jpg

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 12:25*pm, Mike wrote:
On Nov 4, 11:35*am, rw wrote:



Moron.

Nope, it's "Marone".

http://www.welt.de/lifestyle/article...arone_nicht_ex...

American Chestnut; *http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewik...n_Chestnut.JPG

European Chestnut ( marone );http://www.kornels-welt.de/blog/pictures/
pflanzen/marone_edelkastanie.jpg

http://www.kornels-welt.de/blog/pict...elkastanie.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._2900_2004.jpg

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 4:35*am, rw wrote:


Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

"Giles" wrote in message
...
On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:


Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Now that is an idiotic question I have ever read.

How on earth could he possibly know if he wants any of your chestnuts, when
he doesn't even read your posts?

Imbecile!

Oh yeah, I hope all is well with you and yours Wolfgang!

Opie --who, if he had any hair, would pull it out. I'll be so happy when I
have completed my MPA, as I have not had an opportunity to hunt Bambi in the
last 4 years :~ ^ ( Of course, one must take time to fly fish!

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:



Moron.


So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).

So, who wants to save a specis?

giles

ok!!

i know a few acres on england branch in graham county that would like to
participate. perhaps you guys can attend to the planting one month next
spring, or we can arrange suitable instructions for planting by one
lacking a green thumb, with seeds to be delivered before i make my next
pilgrimage?

jeff

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 3, 8:40*pm, Giles wrote:
I heard, or read, somewhere recently that Longfellow's smith was
actually doing business beneath the boughs of a horse chestnut (one of
the Aesculus tribe, not the Castaneas). *It's been forty years or more
since I read that particular bit of bucolic tripe, but I don't recall
any internal evidence supporting any such conclusion. *On the other
hand, I don't remember anything to the contrary either......though I
do recall something about an actual particular tree being referenced
and later used for something or other.

Be that as it may, Longfellow was an easterner and would certainly
have been familiar with the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), as
anyone living in America in the 18th century could not help but be.
The horse chestnuts, eminent in their own rights, as any unbiased
sylviculturist must admit, could not hold a candle to the magnificent
forest giant that carpeted the landscape from the fall line in the
east to the foothills of the far west, such as it was at the time, and
from Georgia and Alabama to the far reaches of the Adirondacks and
Poconos and beyond. *Anyone in the least familiar with the griant
forest that spanned the great Appalachian chain MUST have known the
American chestnut well.

In her recent book, "The American Chestnut," Susan Freinkel's
subtitle, "The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree" is no mere
hyperbole. *Given the ethos and the economics of the place and time,
the American chestnut WAS a perfect tree. *Unlike most fruit bearing
trees (yes, they ALL produce some sort of fruit or other in strictly
scientific botanical terms, but I won't bother differentiating.....you
know what I mean.....or you never will) the chestnut produced an
abudant crop every year, as opposed to the normal pattern of a single
boom year followed by several of bust. *And it was a crop that
fattened, annually, a few billion passenger pigeons, some millions of
turkeys, innumerable squirrels, uncountable other small rodents,
millions of deer, hundreds of thousands of bears, raccoons, foxes,
dogs, crows, ravens, jays woodpeckers and......not least important by
any means from a colonial American point of view.....millions of hogs,
who were turned loose in the forests every fall to feast on the free
bounty (you knew that part, except that the textbooks almost
invariable speak of acorns, walnuts, beechnuts, butternuts and
hickories, with only an occasional reference to the chestnut) and
fatten up for market or home butchery. *Incidentally, the reason most
often given for the chestnut's annual bounty is that unlike most nuts,
its are very low in fats, high in carbohydrates. *Fats require a much
greater caloric investment. *Whatever.

The really odd thing about all of this is that the chestnut comes
wrapped in perhaps Nature's most formidable physical defense
mechanism. *The thousands of needle sharp (you've heard this a million
times, but in this case it is most literally true) spines surrounding
the chestnut burr are proof against even the most ravenous of pigs,
bears, and squirrels. *Were it not for the fact that the burrs split
and spill their guts (as it were) when the nuts are ripe, ALL would go
hungry. *The burrs would pile up several feet thick beneath a mature
tree (as it is, they may be up to six inches deep anyway) until they
rotted away, and NOTHING but worms and maggots could get at the
contents.

So?

So, that's the way it used to be. *But those days are
gone.....forever. *In 1904, in the Bronx Zoological Gardens, a
perceptive sylviculturist noticed that his chestnuts were dying.
Thirty or so years later they were gone......ALL gone.....4 or 6
billion trees had died of a blight (a fungus that hitchhiked in on
Chinese chestnuts) and/or an ax or saw wielded by a land owner advised
by the USDA that he might as well cut the trees down and get something
for the wood before the blight killed them. *THE dominant tree of the
eastern American forest....Gone. *Forever. *Finis. *And most Americans
living today can't remember ever hearing of it......and certainly
haven't ever seen one.

Wellllllll.......

Not quite forever (which is a very long time)......maybe.

Trees (and what IS a "tree" anyway.....and how does one explain this
remarkable display of parallel evolution in so many botanical
taxa?.....but that's a theme for some day when a world populated by
adults is interested in discussion) have, like most other plants and
animals, evolved numerous and often remarkable strategies for
survival. *A common strategy among trees, at which the chestnut
excels, is regrowth from stumps. *When a chestnut is felled, whether
by human or inhuman agency, it sends up vigorous new growth from the
still living tissue at the edges of the stump. *The key to this
strategy, in this instance, is that the blight generally takes several
years to reinfect the new growth to a stage which once again proves
fatal. *In the meantime, the chestnut, an extraodinarily fast grower,
matures to the point of bearing fruit which results in new trees that
keep ahead, barely, of the blight. *No less important is the fact that
the blight spores, light and windborne as they are, nevertheless have
a limited range of travel. *Isolated pockets of chestnuts have thrived
(mostly unnoticed.....which is, in large part, why they survived) for
the past century in out of the way places. *One such place is
southwestern Wisconsin where, until the 1980s, when they were
"discovered" by spore laden scientists, chestnut "forests" (actually
small to large groves) were entirely blight free. *No such luck
today. *But there are still thousands of blight free trees. *Nobody
knows how many there are here....or elsewhere. *That's because (in
part) the people that own them or know them aren't talking.....that's
how they stay blight free.

But......

But, some people are talking and growing and showing and sowing and
sharing and hybridizing and grafting and cross-pollinating. *There are
hybrids (with the Chinese.....not as ironic as it sounds, if you think
about it and understand the rudiments of biology) and backcrosses and
blah and blah......

The bottom line is that an essentially extinct native species (and an
economically as well as aesthetically important one) turns out to be
not quite so extinct after all.....not yet, anyway.

So?

So, the American Chestnut is still critically endangered.....poised on
the very brink of extinction.....but it is also balanced precariously
on the very brink of recovery. *And YOU can make a
difference.....maybe. *All you have to do is to plant a couple of
chestnut trees (not too far apart.....50-100 feet, max.....because
they do not self pollinate) and wait a few years (perhaps as few as
four or five in good growing conditions.....yeah, they are THAT
amazing) for the appearance of another crop of nuts to pass on and
keep the gene pool alive.

Sure.....easy to say.....but where does one come by such a precious
commodity as highly endangered American Chestnut seed (which, by the
way, are MUCH more palatable than their Chinese and European cousins,
though also considerable smaller.....but's lets not talk about eating
endangered seed right now, o.k.?) if they are so rare and endangered?

Ah! *The crux of the matter..... at last!

Right here.

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. *Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).

So, who wants to save a specis?

giles

I can plant some. I understand that they do ok into the southern BC
mainland down into Oregon. I will try a few here in Pugetopolis, and a
few in a non-native hedge row over on the dryside (SE WA,) I think
there are some over in the older areas of Walla Walla settled before
the civil War. I understand we are mostly blight free in the West.
Thanx
Dave

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 7:13*am, "Mark Bowen" wrote:
"Giles" wrote in message

...
On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Now that is an idiotic question I have ever read.

Huh?

How on earth could he possibly know if he wants any of your chestnuts, when
he doesn't even read your posts?

Oh.....I forgot about that part.

Imbecile!

Hey, it ain't easy being bombastic, pedantic, combative, prolix,
smarmy, humorless, nasty, and semi-literate all at once! :(

Oh yeah, I hope all is well with you and yours Wolfgang!

One can always complain (what the ****, it's free, right?) but some of
us are cursed by having to dig deep and look hard to find anything
worthwile to complain about. Still, you get used to it in time. Tell
your mom I says howdy.

Opie *--who, if he had any hair, would pull it out. I'll be so happy when I
have completed my MPA, as I have not had an opportunity to hunt Bambi in the
last 4 years :~ ^ ( *Of course, one must take time to fly fish!

You should come here and hunt in Milwaukee. The entire metropolitan
area (with the negligible exception of a few blocks in the middle of
downtown) is filthy with the vermin. Yesterday, around mid-morning, I
saw an enormous ten pointer, in full rut, calmly watching traffic
along 13th street (a major 4 lane arterial) near the airport. Like
thousands of others, he inhabits the parks and the parkways that line
the several streams which converge in the city, and much of the Lake
Michigan shoreline.

g.
who, due to circumstance largely beyond his control, hasn't wet a line
in over a year........well, some of them are beyond his control,
anyway.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 7:47*am, rw wrote:
Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.

You, of all people, really should take some of them and plant them.
After all, wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for
something.....anything.....more than just hating? :)

g.
the boy just WILL NOT learn!

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:

g.
who, due to circumstance largely beyond his control, hasn't wet a line
in over a year........well, some of them are beyond his control,
anyway.

Ask your doctor about Viagra. And if you have an erection lasting more
than four hours, don't consult your doctor. Call a hooker.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 7:47 am, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.


You, of all people, really should take some of them and plant them.
After all, wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for
something.....anything.....more than just hating? :)

g.
the boy just WILL NOT learn!

Numb nuts.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 7:50*am, jeff wrote:
Giles wrote:

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. *Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).

So, who wants to save a specis?

giles

ok!!

i know a few acres on england branch in graham county that would like to
participate. *perhaps you guys can attend to the planting one month next
spring, or we can arrange suitable instructions for planting by one
lacking a green thumb, with seeds to be delivered before i make my next
pilgrimage?

jeff

Well strike me ****in' dumb and blind! Graham county is as likely a
candidate for the ancient ancestral birthplace of the proto-American
Chestnut as any place on Earth.....and it never occurred to me! What
better place to stage a resurrection?

Seeds are currently refrigerated, and will remain so through January.
Like so many other plants in "temperate" latitudes (why is it that
nobody ever talks about longitudes where climate is concerned?
Reykjavík is considerably farther north than Fargo, and guess in
which place you'd rather spend a winter in a teepee or yurt or
whatthe****ever) the chestnut has evolved mechanisms for dealing with
prolonged cold spells (actually, biologists have long known that it
isn't the cold, per se, that troubles so many critters.....it's the
lack of liquid water.....or, drought, to speak in the vernacular, that
makes winter such a bitch in places where temperatures hovering below
zero celsius reign for months at a time). These mechanisms have worked
very well (we know this because all these multifarious species have
survived.....Q.E.D., ainna?) but the law of unintended consequences
(like the great fundamental organizing principle of the
universe.....coincidence) is inexorable and exacts a heavy
toll......the fukkers CAN'T reproduce without having their nuts (so to
speak) frozen (more or less) for a few months! HAH! Bottom line is
that seeds won't be ready until after they have cooled their jets for
a couple/three months and then get slowly humidified in a refrigerated
bath of moist dirt and sphagnum moss for another couple/three weeks.
In short, shipping will take place in early February.....more or
less. Detailed instructions for care and feeding for the next couple
of years will accompany each shipment........this ain't a "benign
neglect" kinda proposition, given that the former dominance of the
species was dependent as much on profligate reproduction (which we
cannot match with a few measly hundreds of nuts) as on anything else.

How many ya want? :)

giles

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 1:52*pm, DaveS wrote:


I can plant some. I understand that they do ok into the southern BC
mainland down into Oregon.

Interesting. I've heard and read virtually nothing about chestnut
plantings west of the Mississippi. But it stands to reason that they
have been widely planted outside their native range, as our own
experience here in Curdistan attests. Moreover, horticulturists in
general have always found it impossible to resist the temptation to
plant exotics......witness the fact that this is precisely how
Castanea dentata got into trouble in the first place......and
precisely why salvation still looms on the horizon.

I will try a few here in Pugetopolis, and a
few in a non-native hedge row over on the dryside (SE WA,)

C. dentata was preeminently the dominant species of the Appalachian
mountain chain, which is to say that it is naturally suited to a
regime of moderate elevation and a moist climate with moderate
temperatures. That said, experience has shown that it is notoriously
unfussy with regard to growing conditions. It does well in a
relatively wide range of soil types, moisture levels, temperature
ranges, and other variables. It is also an extraordinarily fast
grower.....for a deciduous hardwood in a temperate climate. It easily
outstrips its native competitors, oak, walnut, butternut, hickory,
maple, bass, etc. Not quite as fast as aspens, some willows, and a
few others (including the monstrous exobiotic eucalypts) but easily
the fastest grower among the hardwoods with which it naturally
occured. My friend, Larry, has a good few four year old trees (both
natives and hybrids) that are as much as ten to twelve feet tall and
are already producing viable seed. His chestnuts in the twelve to
eighteen year class far exceed the growth of all the walnuts and oaks
they grow among. One lovely eighteen year old specimen (from which we
harvested many nuts in the past few weeks) stands about thirty feet
tall and an astonishing 14 inches dbh, as compared to the twenty foot
height and 10 or inches dbh of the surrounding oaks and walnuts.

I think
there are some over in the older areas of Walla Walla settled before
the civil War.

Perhaps the same vintage, more or less, as the famed "forest" near
West Salem , Wi., allegedly planted by a returning Civil War veteran,
and which, incidentally, was also blight free until the 1980s when it
was discovered by scientists eager to study and save and who, not so
incidentally, almost certainly infected what had remained a pristine
and blight free reservoir with spores they brought in from already
infected areas.

I understand we are mostly blight free in the West.

For now.....perhaps. But don't be too generous with gps coordinates.
Trout streams are impossible to keep secret precisely, if somewhat
quixotically, or ironically (or whatever .....ly one prefers) because
too many people care. Paradoxically, both the plight and potential
salvation of the American chestnut are inextricably linked to the fact
that nobody much gives a ****. It really is a terribly delicate
balance.

Thanx

You're welcome. So, how many you want (bearing in mind that there is
a considerable investment in varmint proofing)?

giles.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 8:55*pm, Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 1:52*pm, DaveS wrote:

I can plant some. I understand that they do ok into the southern BC
mainland down into Oregon.

Interesting. *I've heard and read virtually nothing about chestnut
plantings west of the Mississippi. *But it stands to reason that they
have been widely planted outside their native range, as our own
experience here in Curdistan attests. *Moreover, horticulturists in
general have always found it impossible to resist the temptation to
plant exotics......witness the fact that this is precisely how
Castanea dentata got into trouble in the first place......and
precisely why salvation still looms on the horizon.

I will try a few here in Pugetopolis, and a
few in a non-native hedge row over on the dryside (SE WA,)

C. dentata was preeminently the dominant species of the Appalachian
mountain chain, which is to say that it is naturally suited to a
regime of moderate elevation and a moist climate with moderate
temperatures. *That said, experience has shown that it is notoriously
unfussy with regard to growing conditions. *It does well in a
relatively wide range of soil types, moisture levels, temperature
ranges, and other variables. *It is also an extraordinarily fast
grower.....for a deciduous hardwood in a temperate climate. *It easily
outstrips its native competitors, oak, walnut, butternut, hickory,
maple, bass, etc. *Not quite as fast as aspens, some willows, and a
few others (including the monstrous exobiotic eucalypts) but easily
the fastest grower among the hardwoods with which it naturally
occured. *My friend, Larry, has a good few four year old trees (both
natives and hybrids) that are as much as ten to twelve feet tall and
are already producing viable seed. *His chestnuts in the twelve to
eighteen year class far exceed the growth of all the walnuts and oaks
they grow among. *One lovely eighteen year old specimen (from which we
harvested many nuts in the past few weeks) stands about thirty feet
tall and an astonishing 14 inches dbh, as compared to the twenty foot
height and 10 or inches dbh of the surrounding oaks and walnuts.

I think
there are some over in the older areas of Walla Walla settled before
the civil War.

Perhaps the same vintage, more or less, as the famed "forest" near
West Salem , Wi., allegedly planted by a returning Civil War veteran,
and which, incidentally, was also blight free until the 1980s when it
was discovered by scientists eager to study and save and who, not so
incidentally, almost certainly infected what had remained a pristine
and blight free reservoir with spores they brought in from already
infected areas.

I understand we are mostly blight free in the West.

For now.....perhaps. *But don't be too generous with gps coordinates.
Trout streams are impossible to keep secret precisely, if somewhat
quixotically, or ironically (or whatever .....ly *one prefers) because
too many people care. *Paradoxically, both the plight and potential
salvation of the American chestnut are inextricably linked to the fact
that nobody much gives a ****. *It really is a terribly delicate
balance.

Thanx

You're welcome. *So, how many you want (bearing in mind that there is
a considerable investment in varmint proofing)?

giles.

I'll be putting metal screen over the seeds till they sprout, then
cage. But Im not certain whether to grow them as protected seedlings,
then transplant with a cage into the hedgerow. Here the problem is
deer, and on the dryside deer and beaver. I have to plant the dryside
ponderosa at least in tubular 18" plastic and that is not very
effective so fence wire cages are really what work best, especially
for my apple trees. That means a lot fewer trees but bigger. All of
which means that I'll be growing then to seedlings at least, but more
probably 3-4 year olds.

As to the number of seeds . . . I'd like to end up with about 2 dozen
trees. So whatever you figure the germination rate etc. is, to yield
something like 24 or so.

Dave

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

"rw" wrote in message
...
Giles wrote:

g.
who, due to circumstance largely beyond his control, hasn't wet a line
in over a year........well, some of them are beyond his control,
anyway.

Ask your doctor about Viagra. And if you have an erection lasting more
than four hours, don't consult your doctor. Call a hooker.

I rather the term, highly skilled professional

john

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 7:50 am, jeff wrote:
Giles wrote:

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).
So, who wants to save a specis?
giles
ok!!

i know a few acres on england branch in graham county that would like to
participate. perhaps you guys can attend to the planting one month next
spring, or we can arrange suitable instructions for planting by one
lacking a green thumb, with seeds to be delivered before i make my next
pilgrimage?

jeff

Well strike me ****in' dumb and blind! Graham county is as likely a
candidate for the ancient ancestral birthplace of the proto-American
Chestnut as any place on Earth.....and it never occurred to me! What
better place to stage a resurrection?

Seeds are currently refrigerated, and will remain so through January.
Like so many other plants in "temperate" latitudes (why is it that
nobody ever talks about longitudes where climate is concerned?
Reykjavík is considerably farther north than Fargo, and guess in
which place you'd rather spend a winter in a teepee or yurt or
whatthe****ever) the chestnut has evolved mechanisms for dealing with
prolonged cold spells (actually, biologists have long known that it
isn't the cold, per se, that troubles so many critters.....it's the
lack of liquid water.....or, drought, to speak in the vernacular, that
makes winter such a bitch in places where temperatures hovering below
zero celsius reign for months at a time). These mechanisms have worked
very well (we know this because all these multifarious species have
survived.....Q.E.D., ainna?) but the law of unintended consequences
(like the great fundamental organizing principle of the
universe.....coincidence) is inexorable and exacts a heavy
toll......the fukkers CAN'T reproduce without having their nuts (so to
speak) frozen (more or less) for a few months! HAH! Bottom line is
that seeds won't be ready until after they have cooled their jets for
a couple/three months and then get slowly humidified in a refrigerated
bath of moist dirt and sphagnum moss for another couple/three weeks.
In short, shipping will take place in early February.....more or
less. Detailed instructions for care and feeding for the next couple
of years will accompany each shipment........this ain't a "benign
neglect" kinda proposition, given that the former dominance of the
species was dependent as much on profligate reproduction (which we
cannot match with a few measly hundreds of nuts) as on anything else.

How many ya want? :)

giles

i've never seen a live chestnut tree, or, if i did, i didn't recognize
it as such. so...i figure 10 ought to give me and england branch enough
chances, but i'll defer to your wisdom about such things. i want to
plant a few in the open at the edges of my pastured areas, and some on a
forested ridge where they are unlikely to be seen or trampeled upon. i
have a guy looking after the pasture areas (mowing, weed-eating) and i
think he will be an enthusiastic participant as well. i can relay any
instructions you provide. thanks!

jeff

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 8:55*pm, rw wrote:
Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 7:47 am, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.

You, of all people, really should take some of them and plant them.
After all, wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for
something.....anything.....more than just hating? * * * :)

g.
the boy just WILL NOT learn!

Numb nuts.

Still, t's a good thing you've got hate, otherwise you'd have
absolutely nothing to live for. You owe me big. :)

g.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 4, 8:43*pm, rw wrote:
Giles wrote:

g.
who, due to circumstance largely beyond his control, hasn't wet a line
in over a year........well, some of them are beyond his control,
anyway.

Ask your doctor about Viagra. And if you have an erection lasting more
than four hours, don't consult your doctor. Call a hooker.

Have you ever given any thought to why it is that our little exchanges
invariably lead to you visualizing my dick? Not that I mind.....hell
it doesn't cost ME anything.....but what sort of impression do you
suppose it leaves in the minds of readers when you announce this
obsession so persistently?

g.
guess where my hands are. :)

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 2:39*am, DaveS wrote:
On Nov 4, 8:55*pm, Giles wrote:





On Nov 4, 1:52*pm, DaveS wrote:

I can plant some. I understand that they do ok into the southern BC
mainland down into Oregon.

Interesting. *I've heard and read virtually nothing about chestnut
plantings west of the Mississippi. *But it stands to reason that they
have been widely planted outside their native range, as our own
experience here in Curdistan attests. *Moreover, horticulturists in
general have always found it impossible to resist the temptation to
plant exotics......witness the fact that this is precisely how
Castanea dentata got into trouble in the first place......and
precisely why salvation still looms on the horizon.

I will try a few here in Pugetopolis, and a
few in a non-native hedge row over on the dryside (SE WA,)

C. dentata was preeminently the dominant species of the Appalachian
mountain chain, which is to say that it is naturally suited to a
regime of moderate elevation and a moist climate with moderate
temperatures. *That said, experience has shown that it is notoriously
unfussy with regard to growing conditions. *It does well in a
relatively wide range of soil types, moisture levels, temperature
ranges, and other variables. *It is also an extraordinarily fast
grower.....for a deciduous hardwood in a temperate climate. *It easily
outstrips its native competitors, oak, walnut, butternut, hickory,
maple, bass, etc. *Not quite as fast as aspens, some willows, and a
few others (including the monstrous exobiotic eucalypts) but easily
the fastest grower among the hardwoods with which it naturally
occured. *My friend, Larry, has a good few four year old trees (both
natives and hybrids) that are as much as ten to twelve feet tall and
are already producing viable seed. *His chestnuts in the twelve to
eighteen year class far exceed the growth of all the walnuts and oaks
they grow among. *One lovely eighteen year old specimen (from which we
harvested many nuts in the past few weeks) stands about thirty feet
tall and an astonishing 14 inches dbh, as compared to the twenty foot
height and 10 or inches dbh of the surrounding oaks and walnuts.

I think
there are some over in the older areas of Walla Walla settled before
the civil War.

Perhaps the same vintage, more or less, as the famed "forest" near
West Salem , Wi., allegedly planted by a returning Civil War veteran,
and which, incidentally, was also blight free until the 1980s when it
was discovered by scientists eager to study and save and who, not so
incidentally, almost certainly infected what had remained a pristine
and blight free reservoir with spores they brought in from already
infected areas.

I understand we are mostly blight free in the West.

For now.....perhaps. *But don't be too generous with gps coordinates.
Trout streams are impossible to keep secret precisely, if somewhat
quixotically, or ironically (or whatever .....ly *one prefers) because
too many people care. *Paradoxically, both the plight and potential
salvation of the American chestnut are inextricably linked to the fact
that nobody much gives a ****. *It really is a terribly delicate
balance.

Thanx

You're welcome. *So, how many you want (bearing in mind that there is
a considerable investment in varmint proofing)?

giles.

I'll be putting metal screen over the seeds till they sprout, then
cage. But Im not certain whether to grow them as protected seedlings,
then transplant with a cage into the hedgerow. Here the problem is
deer, and on the dryside deer and beaver. I have to plant the dryside
ponderosa at least in tubular 18" plastic and that is not very
effective so fence wire cages are really what work best, especially
for my apple trees. That means a lot fewer trees but bigger. All of
which means that I'll be growing then to seedlings at least, but more
probably 3-4 year olds.

As to the number of seeds . . . I'd like to end up with about 2 dozen
trees. So whatever you figure the germination rate etc. is, to yield
something like 24 or so.

Dave-

From my perspective, the major point of the exercise is to produce
more seed in order to plant more trees and thus help to maintain the
gene pool until such time as blight resistent strains ensure the
survival of the species. In order to produce viable seed, the trees
must be planted fairly close together, no more than a hundred feet
apart, because chestnuts do not self-pollinate and the pollen doesn't
travel far. Thus, given the limited supply of nuts, the best policy
is to do everything possible to assure that each seedling is given
it's best chance for survival. I think that, in general, direct
seeding in situ is probably the least stressful in that it eliminates
handling, differing soil types, changes in watering regime, etc. On
the other hand, direct seeding comes with its own set of
perils.....predation by critters that even plastic tubing and
screening can't keep out, the vagaries of weather, and a less than
100% germination rate. One way to help assure that a tree would
survive at each selected location is to plant several seeds and then
cull the excess. But this would require a lot of seeds to
spare.....which we don't have.

The seeds that Becky and I got from Larry last year were kept
refrigerated in small zip-lock sandwich bags. At some time in the
early winter, I think, Larry put some potting soil and damp sphagnum
moss in each bag of 6 or 8 seeds. In a few weeks the fertile nuts
sprouted in the bags. When we got ours in January or February a
rather stout root was visible protruding from each viable nut.
Obviously, this method eliminates the need to plant multiple seeds in
one location in the hope that at least one of them will germinate, and
the necessity of culling or transplanting in the event that more than
one does. But it makes the timing of direct planting more
problematic. Too early and lingering winter weather can kill them.
Too late and drying soils or whatever.....

We opted for potting and early development indoors in a sunny
location. The seedlings were put outside after the danger of a late
frost was past. Keeping them close to the house also eliminated the
need for traveling to some remote location for watering. However, we
lost 12 of our 14 seedlings to squirrels. The nut persists for long
after the roots, stems and leaves emerge. Part of the success of the
species can be explained by the fact that the store of food in the nut
continues to nourish the seedling for weeks after sprouting. But the
lingering food is a sore temptation to predators. Squirrels, mice,
turkeys, raccoons and various other species will dig them up and kill
the seedlings in the process long after one would think that danger
has past.

Distilling all this, I decided that I would follow Larry's protocol
and sprout the nuts in my refrigerator and then send out the live
seeds sometime in the winter with instructions on how best to care for
them on arrival at their new homes. But I've done some more reading
in the last couple of days and now I'm not so sure. One excellent
source full of information:

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accf.html

suggests that the best method of propagation is to direct seed in situ
in October (as nature intended) when the nuts fall to the ground, but
this once again brings up the problem of germination rates and an
entire winter of exposure to the elements and predators. Besides,
it's too late for that now.

So.......

So, I guess it's up to you. I can send them now (more or less) and
let you deal with the dilemma however you see fit, or I can send them
out after stratification.

How's that for a short and definitive answer? :)

giles

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 8:55 pm, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 7:47 am, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.

You, of all people, really should take some of them and plant them.
After all, wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for
something.....anything.....more than just hating? :)

g.
the boy just WILL NOT learn!

Numb nuts.


Still, t's a good thing you've got hate, otherwise you'd have
absolutely nothing to live for. You owe me big. :)

g.

Poopy pants.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 11:51*am, rw wrote:
Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 8:55 pm, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 7:47 am, rw wrote:

Giles wrote:

On Nov 4, 4:35 am, rw wrote:

Moron.

So.....you don't want any chestnuts?

g.

Imbecile.

You, of all people, really should take some of them and plant them.
After all, wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for
something.....anything.....more than just hating? * * * :)

g.
the boy just WILL NOT learn!

Numb nuts.

Still, t's a good thing you've got hate, otherwise you'd have
absolutely nothing to live for. *You owe me big. * * * :)

g.

Poopy pants.

Moron.

g.

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 7:12*am, jeff wrote:
Giles wrote:
On Nov 4, 7:50 am, jeff wrote:
Giles wrote:

Becky and I have about five hundred of them......the details of the
acquisition (which necessarily include yet another paean to the great
fundamental driving principle of the universe, coincidence) are fodder
for another time....to be provided to anyone who asks.....or who asks
for nuts. *Meanwhile, here they are, free for the asking ("free"
refering strictly to the cost of acquisition.....they may, over the
lifespan of the trees.....or yours, for that matter.....require some
small cost in care and attention).
So, who wants to save a specis?
giles
ok!!

i know a few acres on england branch in graham county that would like to
participate. *perhaps you guys can attend to the planting one month next
spring, or we can arrange suitable instructions for planting by one
lacking a green thumb, with seeds to be delivered before i make my next
pilgrimage?

jeff

Well strike me ****in' dumb and blind! *Graham county is as likely a
candidate for the ancient ancestral birthplace of the proto-American
Chestnut as any place on Earth.....and it never occurred to me! *What
better place to stage a resurrection?

Seeds are currently refrigerated, and will remain so through January.
Like so many other plants in "temperate" latitudes (why is it that
nobody ever talks about longitudes where climate is concerned?
Reykjavík *is considerably farther north than Fargo, and guess in
which place you'd rather spend a winter in a teepee or yurt or
whatthe****ever) the chestnut has evolved mechanisms for dealing with
prolonged cold spells (actually, biologists have long known that it
isn't the cold, per se, that troubles so many critters.....it's the
lack of liquid water.....or, drought, to speak in the vernacular, that
makes winter such a bitch in places where temperatures hovering below
zero celsius reign for months at a time). These mechanisms have worked
very well (we know this because all these multifarious species have
survived.....Q.E.D., ainna?) but the law of unintended consequences
(like the great fundamental organizing principle of the
universe.....coincidence) is inexorable and exacts a heavy
toll......the fukkers CAN'T reproduce without having their nuts (so to
speak) frozen (more or less) for a few months! *HAH! *Bottom line is
that seeds won't be ready until after they have cooled their jets for
a couple/three months and then get slowly humidified in a refrigerated
bath of moist dirt and sphagnum moss for another couple/three weeks.
In short, shipping will take place in early February.....more or
less. *Detailed instructions for care and feeding for the next couple
of years will accompany each shipment........this ain't a "benign
neglect" kinda proposition, given that the former dominance of the
species was dependent as much on profligate reproduction (which we
cannot match with a few measly hundreds of nuts) as on anything else.

How many ya want? * * * :)

giles

i've never seen a live chestnut tree, or, if i did, i didn't recognize
it as such. *so...i figure 10 ought to give me and england branch enough
chances, but i'll defer to your wisdom about such things. *i want to
plant a few in the open at the edges of my pastured areas, and some on a
forested ridge where they are unlikely to be seen or trampeled upon. *i
have a guy looking after the pasture areas (mowing, weed-eating) and i
think he will be an enthusiastic participant as well. i can relay any
instructions you provide. thanks!

jeff-

O.k., I"ve got you down for 10. See my response to Dave at around
11:30 today for some hopelessly muddled ruminations on how we should
best proceed. I iposted there a url to a site full of good
information. I include it here again:

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accf.html

I'd appreciate it if you (and anyone else who's interested in getting
some chestnuts, whether or not you've already stated that interest
here or via email) would send me an email with "Chestnut order" in the
subject line and the quantity desired and your mailing address in the
body. I'll create a folder to drop them all into. Otherwise I know
that I'll mess it up.

giles

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

Giles wrote:

O.k., I"ve got you down for 10. See my response to Dave at around
11:30 today for some hopelessly muddled ruminations on how we should
best proceed. I iposted there a url to a site full of good
information. I include it here again:

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accf.html

I'd appreciate it if you (and anyone else who's interested in getting
some chestnuts, whether or not you've already stated that interest
here or via email) would send me an email with "Chestnut order" in the
subject line and the quantity desired and your mailing address in the
body. I'll create a folder to drop them all into. Otherwise I know
that I'll mess it up.

giles

wow...reading that vt site revealed and emphasized how naive i am about
such stuff. i've a new admiration for chestnuts and those who seek to
restore them... i fear i'm unworthy of trust for such an endeavor.
but...if you provide explicit instruction, rachel (as trustworthy as any
i've known) and i will do our best. if we can begin the seed/nut in a
sheltered environment at our home, then plant a growing tree in graham
county later, that might have best prospect for success.

jeff

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 9:37*am, Giles wrote:

"Stratify then send" sounds like the best way to go. Will do the Email
thing. Thanx
Dave

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 3:43*pm, jeff wrote:


wow...reading that vt site revealed and emphasized how naive i am about
such stuff. i've a new admiration for chestnuts and those who seek to
restore them... i fear i'm unworthy of trust for such an endeavor.
but...if you provide explicit instruction, rachel (as trustworthy as any
i've known) and i will do our best. *if we can begin the seed/nut in a
sheltered environment at our home, then plant a growing tree in graham
county later, that might have best prospect for success.

jeff

Becky shares my utmost confidence in yours and Rachel's ability to
provide for her precious babies. And we agree that caring for them in
your home before casting them before the cruel fates in Graham county
is the wisest course of action. :)

giles

Under the spreading chestnut tree....
 

On Nov 5, 4:31*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Nov 5, 9:37*am, Giles wrote:

"Stratify then send" sounds like the best way to go.

Check.

Will do the Email thing.

Most excellent.

Thanx
Dave

You're welcome.

giles