352 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1880. 



flowers growing on a stem, botanically called a spike, from four 

 to six inches in length, there being from thirty to sixty flowers 

 together. These come from buds in the axils of the first leaves 

 of the season, and are composed entirely of staminate (male) 

 flowers. They are very odorous when in full bloom, and often so 

 abundant as to give the trees a white appearance when seen at a 

 distance. As soon as these flowers fade, which is in a few days, 

 a disarticulation takes place close to the branch, and the spike 

 falls to the ground. About ten days later, a second flowering 

 takes place, these spikes coming from the later axillary buds of 

 the season, and instead of being all staminate as in the first in- 

 stance, at the base of the spike will be found one, sometimes two, 

 rarely more, pistillate (female) flowers. These are fertilized by 

 the staminate flowers that are in blossom at the same time ; the 

 staminate part 0f the spike falls away after flowering, but the pis- 

 tillate part remains attached to the branch, and developes into a 

 bur, containing from two to five or six nuts. What may be the 

 use of the first set of blossoms, has not yet dawned upon the 

 mind of man ; it would seem a great waste of energy to provide 

 for such an abundance without a purpose, but the prodigality of 

 nature is visible in numerous other instances as well. 



The variety of forms of the nut was greater in the locality re- 

 ferred to than he had ever seen before. One tree was particularly 

 attractive, the shape of the bur being exactly pyriform instead of 

 globular ; its chestnuts, of course, corresponding somewhat in 

 shape, being long and slim. 



Near the southern line of the tract was found one tree, and 

 afterwards in another part a second tree, which will require special 

 notice. The former was about twenty feet high and six inches in 

 diameter, while the other was at least seventy-five feet in height, 

 and more than two feet in diameter at the base, a very wide 

 spreading and thrifty looking tree. In these, the later blossoms 

 referred to, instead of Ijeing part staminate and part pistillate, 

 have been all pistillate, consequently were succeeded by burs all 

 along the spike, numbering in those counted from flft}- to sixty 

 together, and hanging from the branches like bunches of grapes. 

 Every branch of the tree that bore any at all, had them of this 

 character, so that there were doubtless hundreds if not thousands 

 of them. An important point is here manifested. These flowers 

 being all pistillate, and the staminate ones (the first blossoms re- 

 ferred, to) having fallen, there was nothing to fertilize them, con- 

 sequently they could not attain much size nor develop chestnuts 

 within the bur, except that rarely the first or second nearest the 

 base contained three or four ver^^ small nuts. These nuts, how- 

 ever, were without germs. 



He had been unable to find any record of such an occurrence in 

 this country before, but Dr. Masters records it as having been 

 noted in France. The superintendent of the grove to whom be- 

 longs the credit of first detecting these trees, could not say 



