286 VILLA GAEDENING part hi 



become mouldy. In packing, place the Nuts in layers, with dry 

 sand in between. If too much sand is used the kernels may 

 shrivel ; and in case they do, steep them in mUk, to which a little 

 water has been added, for seven or eight hours, which will 

 restore them to good condition again. This, of coiu-se, shoidd be 

 done just before they are required for use. Everybody, I suppose, 

 is familiar with the old couplet — 



" A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree, 

 The more tliey are beat, the better they'll be ; " 



and many people have an idea that, as regards the Walnut tree, 

 there is some truth in the lines. Hence it is said that if we want 

 plenty of nuts, we must bash the trees. 



The Saveet or Spanish Chestnut. — Few trees are superior 

 to this for nobility of a.spect ; and yet, strange to say, it is seldom 

 planted in the grounds of the villa garden. This is, I think, a great 

 loss. It has grand foliage, a stately habit of growth, and, when in 

 flower or fruit, possesses a distinct character, unlike all other trees. 

 There is a nobility in its appearance even, when leafless in 

 ■winter, which is not surpassed by any other deciduous tree. I do 

 not say much about its fruit, for, except in favourable situations, the 

 crop cannot be relied on to ripen. Yet I can remember good crops 

 of Chestnuts being gathered in the Midland counties not so many 

 years ago, and probably this will be again when the long warm sum- 

 mcre come back to us. A grove or an avenue of Chestinits will be 

 fitting tree furniture for any situation where there is scope. There 

 is no difficulty in their propagation ; they are reared from seeds. 

 The best time to sow the Nuts is shortly after Christmas, when the 

 weather is suitable and the soil in good working condition. Sow 

 in drills 18 inches apart, and cover them about 2 inches deep. At 

 the end of the second year transplant into nursery rows 2 feet apart 

 and 6 inches from plant to plant. In this position they may remain 

 two years, receiving the necessary training and pruning to secure 

 straight stems and evenly-balanced growth ; when strong enough, 

 jilant out finally. To obtain a long straight shoot, 6 or 7 feet high, 

 in one season, cut down the plants to two eyes. The strongest 

 will break away, take the lead, ami make a long straight main 

 trunk, which will add value to the tree in after years. 



Cob Nuts and Filberts. — The Kentish system of managing 

 and pruning Nut bushes is the most profitable one. There they 

 are kept as low wide-spreading bushes, hollowed out in the centre 

 like a large edition of a well-managed Gooseberry bush ; and the 

 same treatment that converts the Gooseberry (which is not natu- 

 rally a spreading open-centred bush) into the evenly-balanced 



