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num vulgarc. Tourn. Inft. 

 Iliil. I. 



Caftanea cqulnl. Cluf. 



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^liscuLus [Pavia) floribus oftandris. Lin. Sp, 488. 

 Scarlet HorjC Ch.^finut. Pavia. Bocrh. Ind. Ale. 2. p. 260.' 

 'J^hc liorfe Chcftnut was brought from the northern 

 parts of Afia about the year 1550, and was fent to 

 Vienna about the year 15S8. It was called Caftanea 

 from the fhape of its fruit, and the title of Equini was 

 added to it from its being a good food for horfes 

 wli("n ground. 



1 ills tree was in much greater efleem formerly than 

 at pi dent, for fince it is become fo very common, few 

 pencMs regard it. What has occafioned its bfing fo 

 feldom planted, is the decay of the leaves early in 

 fummer-, fo that where they are growing in gardens, 

 their leaves frequently begin to fall in July, and occa- 

 fion a litter from that time, until all the leaves 

 are fallen \ but notwithftanding this inconvenience, 

 the tree has great merit, for it aftbrds a noble fhade 

 in fummer; and during the time of its flowering, there 

 is no tree has greater beauty, for the extremity of the 

 branches are terminated by fine fpikes of flowers, fo 

 that every part of the tree feems covered with them •, 

 which are finely fpotted with a rofc colour, and thefe 

 being intermixed with the green leaves make a noble 

 appearance. 



The former method of planting thefe tre<.'S in avenues 

 and ilrait lines, has alio been in fome meafure the 

 cccafion of their prefent difrepute, becaufe in fuch 

 plantations great part of their beauty is loll-, for when 

 their branches are fo far extended as to nearly meet, 

 moft: of the flowers which are produced are hid from 

 fight, and as the trees grow larger, their branches 

 will interfere with each other, and produce few flow- 

 ers ; the leaves will alfo decay much fooner in clofe 

 plantations, than on fingle trees : therefore the great 

 beauty of them is, to ftand fingly at a diftance from 

 all other trees, upon lawns of grafs in parks, where 

 their fruit will be of great fervice to deer, who are 

 very fond of them. In fuch fituations, when the trees 

 are grown to a good fize, there is not a finer obje6l 

 than they will affbrd during their feafon of flowering, 

 which is in May, and when the weather is moderate, 

 they will continue in beauty near a month. 

 As this tree is quick in its growth, fo in a few years 

 they will arrive to a fize large enough to afford a good 

 Ihade in fummer, as alfo to produce plenty of flowers. 

 I have known trees v/hich were railed from nuts, in 

 twelve or fourteen years, large enough to fliade two 

 ox three chairs under the fprcad of their branches, and 

 have been covered with flowers in the feafon, fo that 

 few trees make greater progrefs than thefe. But as 

 their wood is of little value, the trees fl:iould not be 

 propagated in too great plenty : a few therefore of 

 them placed at proper diftances in parks for ornament 

 is as many as flioyld be preferved, the wood not being 

 fit even for burning, nor any other ufe that I know of. 

 Theie trees are propagated by fowjng the nuts ; the 

 beft time for doing this is early in the fpring ; but the 

 nuts ftiould be preferved in fand during the winter, 

 otherwife they are apt to grow mouldy and rot. They 

 may indeed be planted in autumn, but then they will 

 be in danger of rotting if the winter fliould prove very 

 wet, as alfo of being removed or eaten by vermin. 



Wh 



ftioot 



where they erow pretty clofe together, it will be pro- 

 per to transplant them the following autumn, when 

 they ought to be planted in rows at three feet difl:ance, 

 and one toot afundei- in the rows ; in this nurfery they 

 may remain two years, by which time they wiirbe fit 

 to plant where they are defigned to be continued; for 

 the younger thefe trees are planted out, the larger 

 they \yill grow. But there are many who will objecl: 

 to their being planted out young in parks, becaufe 

 they will require a fence to fecure them againft the 

 cattle-, which will alfo be neceflfary, whatever fize 

 they are wlien planted; and if large, they mufl: be 

 well fl:aked to prevent their being difplaced by ftrong 



winds : which is another expence, and when we con- 



gto 



fider how much fafl:er a young tree will grow, than 

 thofe whicli are removed at a greater age, there can 

 be no excufe for planting large trees. 

 This tree is not very nice in its culture, for it requires 

 litde care in the management, and will thrive in n:iGft 

 foils and fituations, but in a fandy loam they rnalLc 

 the grcateft progrefs ; and if the foil be inclmin^ 

 moiiture, tlie leaves will condnue in verdure much 

 longer, than in very dry ground. 

 When thefe trees arc tranlplanted, their roots fiiould 

 be preferved as entire as poffible, for they d.o not iuc- 

 ceed well, when torn or cut; nor fliould any of the 

 branches be fliortened, for there is fcarce any tree, 

 which will not bear amputation better than this ; fo 

 that when any branches are by accident broken, they 

 ftiould be cut oflT clofe to the ftem, that the wound 

 may heal over. 



There is fomething very Angular in the growth of 

 thefe trees, which is the v/hole fnoot being performed 

 in lefs than three weeks, after the bads are opened ; 

 in which time I have meafured flioots a foot and a half 

 long, with tlieir leaves fully expanded : and no fooner 

 are the flowers fallen, than the buds for the fucceeding 

 year are formed, which continue fwclUng till autumn-, 

 at which time the folding covers are fpread over >vith 

 a thick tenacious juice, which ferves as a pigment to 

 defend the tender buds from the frcft and rain in 

 winter; but upon the firft return of v/armth in the 

 fpring, this melts and runs ofi\> whereby the bud is at 

 full hberty to extend. And what is remarkable in 

 this pigment, it is never fo far hardened as to injure 

 the tender buds, which are always form.ed at tlie ex- 

 tremity of the former year's flioot ; a plain diretflion 

 not to fliorten them, for by fo doing, the future flioots 

 are entirely cut off. 



In Turkey the nuts of this tree are ground, and mixed 

 with the provender for their horfes, efpecially thofc 

 which are troubled with coughs, or are broken vrinded; 

 In both which diforders, they are accounted very 

 good. Deer are very fond or the fruit, and at the 

 time of their ripening will keep much 2,bout the trees, 

 but efpecially in fcrong winds, when the nuts are 



blown down, which they carefully watch, and greedily 

 devour as they fall. 



There are fome old trees now fl:andinp^, v/liich were 



'-^ 



planted fingle, at a great difl;ance from any other ; 

 thefe are grown to a very large fize, and their heads 

 form a natural parabola, and when their fiov/ers are 

 in full beauty, there is not any tree yet knov/n in 

 Europe, v/hich makes fo fine an appearance. I have 

 meafured fome of thefe trees, whole branches have 

 extended more than thirty feet in diameter, and their 

 heads have been fo clofe, as to afford a perfect fiiade 

 in the hotteft feafon s. Thefe were planned in 1679, 

 as appears by fome writings which are in the poffeffion 

 of the perfons, who have now the property of the 

 land where they grow : fo that although they are of 

 quick growth, yet they are not of /hort duration. 

 The Scarlet Hoife Cheftnut grows n;.turally in North 

 America, where it riles to the height of tv/enty feet, 

 but does not Ipread its branches to any great extent, 

 the flowers are whcUy red, which arc much fmaller 

 than thofe of the common fort, they are tubulous, 

 but want brims to expand, fo make but an indifferent 

 appearance, when compared to the odier : however 

 for variety this fliould have a place in gardens. 

 It may be propagated by the nuts, if they are pro- 

 cured from the country where the trees naturally 



grow; for the feafons are fddom favourable enough 

 to ripen them in England. The nuts fliouki be Ibwn 

 in pots early in the fpring, and the pots plunged into 

 a m.oderate hot-bed to forv/ard their grovvtii ; toward 

 the end of May, the pot fliould be plunged into the 

 ground in a fouth-eafl: border, and in dry weather the 

 plants fliould be duly watered, v/hereby they will ac- 

 quire fl:rength by the autumn ; when it v/ill be very 

 proper to fcreen the plants from early frolb vvhxa 

 often pinch the top buds, and occafion their dccav in 

 the winter, for while the plants are young tlicy are 

 impadent of frofts> bu; >>'hen they have obtained 



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