Dendrology 

 THE BLACK OAKS Continued 



71 



The chestnut 



There are two species of chestnut in eastern America, 

 but only one is of importance as a timber tree, and this 

 is the common American chestnut. Everyone within 

 the natural range of the chestnut knows the tree and its 

 fruit. The tree is very generally distributed throughout 

 the hardwood forest of the United States, and almost 

 every farm woodlot will have chestnut amongst the other 

 species. Chestnut is particularly valuable about the 

 farm as a post timber and for all kinds of fencing and for 

 any purpose for which wood durable in the soil is needed. 

 It is not particularly strong and supplies a different kind 

 of farm wood from most other common species. It is 

 also a desirable tree for its fruit, which is a rather large 

 and very spiny burr containing from one to three rich 

 brown nuts, very delicious to the taste. These ripen 

 in the fall about the time frost appears. Chestnut grows 

 very readily from the seed but makes better and more 

 rapid growth from stump sprouts. A tree grown from the 



