Replies

1. 
   ClarkCustoms | Mar 08, 2007 06:11pm | #1

   Santander,

   About the only thing I know about Chestnut is it was killed off by some sort of blithe in the early to mid 1900's here in the US. I take old buildings apart and use the materials to build furniture with(kind of a recycle type of thing)sometimes I'll run across many hundreds of board feet in a building especially if it's been built before the 1900's. As far as your question goes,I believe it would take someone with far more smarts than I would know what the difference is. The only difference I could see is for some reason chestnut likes it there better than here. (Ok so I just pulled that one out from someplace it probably should have stayed)

   Sincerely,

   Jim at Clark Customs 

    

1. 
   Santander | Mar 09, 2007 12:53am | #5

   As far as woodworking qualities and appearance do you know of any differences

2. 
   DanCC | Mar 08, 2007 07:23pm | #2

   American Chestnut and European are different species.  'American' is larger and produces better nuts.  The blight affects European chestnuts as well, but not bad.  There are some Asian varieties of chestnut that are not affect by the blight.  the blight is fungus that attacks the tree above the ground and destroys the outer growing surface.  A breeding program is fairly far advanced to develop a variety that has the size, shape and nut quality of the American variety and the resistance of the Asian types.  The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station has done a great deal of research in the area.  A good fact sheet is at:    http://www.caes.state.ct.us/FactSheetFiles/PlantPathology/fspp008f.htm

   Dan Carroll

   
   

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   Edited 3/8/2007 11:27 am by DanCC

1. 
   joinerswork | Mar 08, 2007 09:57pm | #3

   Dan,

   My understanding is that VPI (Va Tech) has a chestnut breeding program as well, and that they are very close to having a supply of viable breeding stock.  Va DoF is supposedly playing with sedlings now, that are blight resistant.  Exciting to think of having this valuable tree back in our forests.

   Ray

1. 
   DanCC | Mar 09, 2007 12:19am | #4

   There are three or four locations with breeding programs, not keeping all the eggs in one basket.  There is also tests in different climates as well.  the folks up north got into it early on because they were hit first with the blight.  the biological control is also interesting.  It is aparently derived from a spontaneous development in Italy/So France in the 1950's that has allowed the European chestnuts to recover naturally.  It has something to do with rendering the fungi unable to reproduce.  The stumbling block is getting the fungi parasite to reproduce in a strong enough form in the wild.  

   You are right though, the reintroduction of the American Chestnut is a great thing to look forward to in the future.  Not just a wood tree, but as game food etc.  I work at a small university in central Maryland, and most of the old wood work in the building is chestnut.  it is the most beautiful dark honey colored stuff you have ever seen.

    Dan Carroll

1. 
   Joe Sullivan | Mar 09, 2007 02:41am | #6

   Don:The only cloud inside the silver lining is that these breeding programs seem to have been disappointing over time. When I was in 4-H in Indiana 40 or so years ago, one of my big projects was Forestry. I did well enough to be sent to Forestry camp two or three years in a row. We were trained by USDA foresters, visited breeding programs, nursaries, logging camps, lumber and veneer mills, and furniture factories. Wonderful fun; very interesting.TO get to the point, back then we were shown beds of American Chestnut seedlings that had been bred to be blight resistant and promised to restore the forests. Today, we still have beds of young trees that are "promising." I hope, but dare not hope too much.

1. 
   ctsjr | Mar 09, 2007 04:15am | #7

   I think it was on TOH that I first heard about a breeding program for American Chestnut that was resistant to the fungal disease that all but wiped it out. Seems it was similar to the program that is bringing back the American Elm--a few resistant trees were found in the wild that had survived the disease and were being cloned. Sounds promising unless the fungus evolves and can attack the resistant trees. Here's hoping...Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"