Amused wrote:
In 19th Century America, oak was considered a scrub wood. Chestnut along
with mahogany) were the woods of choice for craftsmen. (Don't fuss at me.
I know other woods were used.)

A fungus blight killed 99.9 percent of the chestnut trees in America.

Now, there is real progress in programs to introduce Chestnuts back into the
American forests. It'll take twenty years to get just the right mixture,
and another forty years to see results, but it still makes me feel warm and
fuzzy knowing that someday, one of the most beautiful woods in the world
will be available to craftsmen and woodworkers.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n..._chestnut.html

It would be nice, but don't count your chestnuts before they're
roasted.

"It takes several generations to get the proper mix. The first breeding
produces a tree that is half Chinese and half American. That tree and
its descendents are then back-bred with American parents until the
fourth breeding produces a tree that is only one-sixteenth Chinese
chestnut.

"This tree is then bred with a similar tree to produce an American
chestnut with resistance equal to that of the original Chinese parent.
Those descendents will then be bred with each other to produce what is
hoped will be the new line of blight-resistant American trees."

In other words, we'll know in about 40 years if it's gonna work.