66o Journal of Agriculture. [lo Oct., 1910. 



to be made of otherwise valueless land. Its value for preventing erosion 

 would be equal to the disappearing eucalj'pts, which we have so largely 

 to thank for the absence of bare rock referred to above. 



So far as climate is concerned, the greater part of Victoria is admirably 

 suited for it, perhaps excepting the warmer parts such as the Murray 

 valley, the Mallee and Wimmera. As regards soil, the freedom from 

 excess of lime of almost the whole of the eastern half of the State should 

 render this tree of special interest. 



Variety of Its Products. 



Though known chiefly in this State on account of its fruit, this is by 

 no means its only utility. In the past, no doubt, it has been mainly grown 

 for this purpose, which is the one which has earned it the name of bread 

 tree in many parts of France. Though, as a staple article of human food, 

 it has no longer the importance it once had, good quality chestnuts will 

 always be in demand. The bulk of the trees to be found in France are 

 ungrafted seedlings, most of which produce fruit of poor quality. High 

 grade fruit is yielded by trees grafted with better sorts such as Marron, 

 Sardonne, Combale, Merle, Marcols, &c., the produce of which meets 

 with a ready sale. In fact, the demand for high grade chestnuts is on 

 the increase in France for cooking and roasting, as well as for confec- 

 tionery — the manufacture of Marrons Glacis, the well-known French 

 sweet, constituting an important and increasing industry. For these pur- 

 poses, in 1881 Paris alone consumed 6,000 tons of chestnuts. M. J. 

 Farcy {Revue de Viticulture, 3rd September, 1908) estimates that over a ton 

 of chestnuts can be obtained from an acre of trees (in this case receiving 

 some slight cultivation), worth about ;^5 after deducting about 35s. for 

 cost of gathering. Under these conditions, the tree would be worth 

 treating as an orchard tree and not only as a forest or shelter tree. This 

 is a higher yield than the ordinary run of plantations of poorer sorts, the 

 average yield of which would amount to about one-third of the above 

 estimate. 



The higher grade chestnuts, such as are in demand at present, are always 

 consumed ui the fresh state, for which they keep for a period of several 

 months. In districts where they constituted the food of the people they 

 were dried, in which condition they could be kept almost indefinitely. 

 Sometimes the dried nuts were ground into flour, which is still a 

 marketable commodity in many chestnut-growing countries. 



As feed for pigs the chestnut has a high value. In the department 

 of Ardeche poor grade fruit is often utilized for this purpose, the better 

 quality being used for human food, whilst the best grade is sold in the 

 neighbouring towns at good prices. For fattening pigs, picking is of 

 course unnecessary ; the animals can feed on the fruit as it drops from 

 the tree in the same way as on acorns in the Portuguese oak woods. As 

 food for almost any domestic animals, the chestnut has a high value. 

 Horses are fed on it in Spain, in which country even the burrs are fed to 

 cattle. As food for poultry it is highly esteemed, both in France and 

 Spain. In the chestnut regions of France the foliage is u.sed both for 

 fodtier and bedding. 



As a timber tree, it is of great value ; for this purpose alone, it is 

 worthy of consideration. Its wood lasts particularly well under water. 

 It is, after oak, the best European timber for coopering purposes and is 

 largely used in countries where readily obtainable, more especially for 

 the construction of large casks. In the armazens of Portugal, in 



