THE CHESTNUT 



Castanea sativa, L. 



Maltese kastna. \\.2\\'acs\castagno. French = 



All attempts to grow the chestnut in the Maltese 

 Islands have invariably failed. Imported young trees, 

 planted in likely situations, promised to establish them- 

 selves during the first season, but died after two or three 

 years of indifferent health. In Italy the chestnut is stated 

 to thrive well on calcareous soils, and its failure with us 

 is probably due to the fact that at our latitude this tree 

 requires a higher altitude than that available anywhere 

 in these Islands; and therefore we find that even young 

 plants raised here from seed, 'with all the care bestowed 

 upon them, rarely survive the 3rd year. The same 

 remarks apply to the Japanese chestnut (tamba-kuri), 

 Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc., which was introduced in 

 1906, with negative results, the young plants imported in 

 excellent condition, rapidly deteriorating and dying 

 within two years. 



