II. 3. THE CHESTNUT. 165 



at a distance, like pale yellow rays, on the ends of the branches. 

 They spring from the axil of the leaves, or are alternate, like 

 the leaves, on the ends of the branches. The flowers are clus- 

 tered in scattered groups, along the stalk of the catkin, and, 

 when shedding their pollen, emit a strong and rather unpleasant 

 odor. The fertile flowers are in burs, in the axil of the upper 

 leaves, or, more frequently, near the base of the uppermost 

 stalks of the sterile flowers ; they are single, or two, three or 

 more, near each other. The burs are, at the time of flowering, 

 about half an inch long, on short, stout stalks, and are invested 

 with crowded leaves and prickles, then very tender. 



The fruit is covered with a bur, completely invested with 

 crowded, sharp, and stiff" bristles, which are not easily handled 

 with impunity. It opens, when mature, by four valves, more 

 than half way down, and contains the nuts, from one to three 

 in number, in a downy cup. The nuts are roundish-ovate, 

 tapering to a point, smooth below, and of a chestnut brown, and 

 covered with a tawny down towards the tip. When more than 

 one are in the bur, their contiguous sides are flattened. 



In October, the fruit of the chestnut forms a tuft of lively, 

 yellowish green, on the end of the branches, a striking object 

 among the darker foliage. 



The chestnut tree is found on the banks of the Mousum river, 

 in the county of York, in Maine, a little beyond the 43d par- 

 allel of latitude, and thence southward, as far as Florida, and 

 in the Western States. It is found in every part of Massachu- 

 setts, but does not readily and abundantly ripen its fruit in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the sea. In all other parts, it yields 

 an abundance of sweet and delicious nuts. Botanists consider 

 it of the same species as the sweet, or Spanish chestnut of 

 Europe. That tree was, originally, a native of Asia, and 

 was introduced by the Greeks and Romans into the south of 

 Europe, from which it has long since extended into the north 

 and west. It was called Castanea, by the Greeks, from a 

 town of that name in Pontus, whence they obtained it; and 

 it gave its name to a town of Thessaly, to which it was 

 early transplanted. It is probable that only the choicest vari- 

 eties were propagated ; and yet the fruit of most of the varieties 



