98 SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



earliest to ripen. Because of its beauty and earliness it brings a high price in the 

 market, and should be grown in quantities sufficient to supply the early demand. 



Tl)e Japanese CI)estnots. 



The Japanese chestnuts are of more recent introduction than the European ; but 

 from the limited experience with them it seems certain that they are a valuable 

 acquisition. The limits of the range to which they are adapted is uncertain ; it 

 seems probable that their distribution may comprise the area covered by the 

 American chestnut. Judge Andrew J. Coe carried on experiments some years ago, 

 near Meriden, Conn., which seem to show that Japanese varieties are hardy in this 

 part of New England. In low land where frosts were very severe he grafted 

 several newly imported varieties upon native stocks, and found that they not only 

 made a close union and rapid growth, but were uninjured and bore well after frosts 

 of unusual severity. 



Compared with the American and European varieties the Japanese chestnut is a 

 smaller tree, — a semi-dwarf, with a compact crown, slender branches and small buds, 

 apparently, though not actually opposite. The leaves are long, narrow, usually 

 pointed, with sharp teeth and a white tomentum underneath. At a short distance 

 the tree is quite peach-like in appearance. The burs are small, thin, with large nuts, 

 free from pubescence ; but the meat is covered with a bitter skin, which should be 

 removed before eating. Are very early to ripen. The nuts are of poor flavor when 

 raw, but excellent when cooked. The foliage is comparatively free from the com- 

 mon leaf fungi, making the tree very desirable for ornamental planting. Will proba- 

 bly succeed better south than north. 



The wood is rather slow growing, but Japanese scions have a close afifinity for 

 American stocks, and hence take well when grafted. It has been asserted that 

 because of this affinity they are more desirable for grafting on American stocks than 

 the trees of European derivation. This has beeh found to be an unjust criticism 

 when comparing the two, because the best European varieties, of which the Paragon 

 and Numbo are fair samples, take readily on American wood. 



In New York the grafting of Japanese chestnuts on native stocks has been 

 reported as successful in Washington and Yates Counties. In Rockland County 

 both whip grafting and budding have given fair results. 



The first introductions were the outcome of efforts made by several nurserymen 

 to find and naturalize valuable Japanese seedlings. The climatic conditions of parts 

 of Japan are not widely different from those of the Eastern United States, and as 



