On Fri, 03 Jan 2003 12:47:50 -0600, Archimedes Plutonium
wrote:

[snip]
Question: does hickory grow in England? I am remembering that the
trebuchet
was built with oak timbers. If hickory grows in England, why did they
not
use hickory timbers for their trebuchets.


No native Hickory in England. Half a dozen species have been planted
in parks and collections, introduced at various times since the 17th
century. They are all uncommon; probably the commonest is Bitternut
(Carya cordiformis). On the other hand, one species of Walnut (Juglans
regia) is quite commonly planted at least in the South.

BTW Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) was traditionally often used here for
tool handles. Machine parts were often made of Hornbeam (Carpinus
betulus) where it was available, for reasons made obvious by its name.

--
Martin (off-duty)
Chandlers Ford, Hampshire