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common than any other two countries. This is particularly true when 

 it comes to plant diseases and insect pests. With reference to the chest- 

 nut, we like you, have the chestnut blight in a severe form. Many of 

 our grand old native chestnut trees are infected with the blight and 

 are rapidly dying. It is only a matter of time when all our chestnuts 

 will have disappeared unless we can find a resistant strain or can 

 introduce inunune varieties. 



^ EXOTIC SPECIES OF CHESTNUT 



The Chinese Chestnut (Castnnea molUssima) 



Inasmuch as very few foreign chestnuts have been planted in 

 Canada comparatively little can be said regarding their suitability 

 for our conditions. These Chinese chestnuts have been grown at the 

 Arnold Arboretum near Boston, Mass., and have been found to be 

 hardy and more or less resistant to blight. This species is a small 

 spreading tree rarely growing to thirty-five feet in height, generally 

 much shorter, bears large, sweet nuts and is said to bear heavily and 

 early. The flavor of the nuts is said to be superior to the Japanese or 

 European species, and is almost as good as the native sort. The 

 hardiness, productiveness, blight-resistance, good quality of nut, and 

 precocious bearing habits would indicate that it should be extensively 

 tried in Canada where the native chestnut is likely to disappear as a 

 result of blight. It is also a beautiful tree and makes a desirable ad- 

 dition to our list of ornamental trees. The Chinese chestnut is now 

 being cultivated in British Columbia and Ontario to a limited extent. 



The Japanese Chestnut (Castamea crenata) 



This species has been planted in a few places in Ontario and 

 British Columbia, and appears to be quite hardy. The tree is a small 

 spreading grower, rarely attaining a height of forty feet. It bears 

 early and heavily and produces very large nuts which are found in 

 burrs, in numbers varying from three to seven. The flavor of the 

 nut is inferior to any other known species of chestnut when eaten 

 raw, but when cooked is very good. The Japanese chestnut is reported 

 to be moderately resistant to blight and should, therefore, be suitable 

 for planting in southern Ontario, especially outside of the region 

 where the native chestnut occurs. 



