

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



277 



Cassiope continued. 



pedunculate, lateral or terminal. Leaves small, imbricated. 



All the species are delicate little plants, and require great 



care in their culture. They are best planted in sandy peat, 



and partially shaded. Propagated by layers. 



C. fastiglata (pyramidal), fl. white or pale red ; corolla cam- 

 panulate, solitary, pedunculate, produced at the top of the little 

 branchlets. May. I. imbricated in four rows, with revolute 

 membranous margins, elongated at top ; peduncles woolly. Hima- 

 layas. An elegant little shrub, thriving when planted on 

 rockwork in deep, moist, but well drained soil, where it will be 

 carefully guarded from drought, which is fatal to it. (B. M. 

 4796.) 



C. hypnoides (moss-like).* fl. small, with a red calyx and white 

 campanulate corolla, solitary, drooping, lateral, on somewhat 

 long pedicels. June. 1. imbricated, loose, needle-shaped. Lap- 

 land and North America, 1798. A small moss-like creeping shrub, 

 forming one of the best and most interesting of alpine plants, and 

 of rather difficult culture. It delights in gritty, moist, but well- 

 drained peat, with full exposure to sun and air. To establish it 

 perfectly, it should be pegged down when first planting ; it is also 

 advisable to place a few stones around the neck of the plant on 

 the surface of the soil. Drought is also fatal to its successful 

 cultivation. SYN. Andromeda hypnoides. (B. M. 2936.) 



FIG. 379. CASSIOPE TETRAGONA. 



C. tetragona (four-angled).* fl. white ; corolla campanulate, some- 

 what contracted near the mouth, solitary, and rather freely pro- 

 duced. March. I. imbricated in four rows, obtuse, pointless, 

 minutely ciliated ; margins revolute. h. 6in. to 8m. Lapland, 

 1810. An elegant little evergreen, requiring partial shade, sandy 

 peat or leaf soil, and a moist or semi-bog situation. It has re- 

 cently been proved to thrive well in a rich yellow loam. See 

 Fig. 379. (B. M. 3181.) In gardens, this is usually called And.ro- 

 meda tetragona. 



CASTANEA (from Castanea, a town in Thessaly, or 

 from another town of the same name in Pontus). Chestnut. 

 OBD. Corylacece. Large, spreading, deciduous trees. Male 

 flowers clustered on long naked cylindrical catkins, with 

 a five to six partite perianth. Female flowers, two or three 

 together in a prickly four-lobed involucre, which eventually 

 completely encloses the glossy brown fruits or nuts. 

 Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous, serrated. 

 The nuts are eaten as gathered, or baked and flavoured 

 with salt. In some parts of France, where corn is scarce, 

 Chestnuts are ground up as a substitute for flour. It is, 

 however, very hard when baked. A sandy loam suits the 

 Sweet or Spanish Chestnut best. A warm, rather sheltered 

 site is an important point when the ripening of the fruits 

 is a consideration ; but the trees will grow freely, and form 

 good specimens, in almost any position. The young trees 

 must have all side shoots removed, until they form stems 

 of sufficient height. 



PBOPAGATION is effected by seed, grafting, or budding, 

 but chiefly by seed. 



Seed. The ripest and best-formed may be sown as soon 

 as ripe ; or they may be kept till February or March. By 



Castanea continued . 



adopting the latter course, the risk of destruction by 

 rodents, &o., is greatly lessened. Some stratify the 

 nuts in damp sand, during winter, and plant them out in 

 spring, at the same time removing the points of the radicles 

 or growing roots, with a view to making the trees more 

 dwarf and sooner fertile. The simplest way, however, ia 

 to sow either in November or February, in drills, 1ft. apart, 

 and Sin. deep, placing the nuts Sin. or 4in. apart in the 

 rows. If the plants make rapid growth, they can be re- 

 planted the following November, in drills 3ft. apart, and 

 the plants 2ft. asunder. On good soil, and with proper 

 attention, they will be fit for finally placing out in from 

 three to four years from the time of sowing. 



Grafting is resorted to for increasing any good variety 

 for fruiting. All may be perpetuated in this way ; but 

 a few are so distinct that a large percentage of similarly 

 good sorts may be expected from their seeds. 



Budding may be performed in July, or any time after the 

 buds are sufficiently plump. Good large fruiting varieties 

 are rather scarce, and anyone contemplating growing these, 

 should make sure of getting the best, either from a first- 

 class English nursery, or from the Continent. 



PLANTING. The Chestnut looks well planted singly or 

 in groups. In the latter case, from 20ft. to 30ft. apart will 

 be suitable distances, and from three to fifteen trees in a 

 group will give a noble effect. For coppices or underwood, 

 the trees should be planted about 5ft. apart, the coppice 

 being cut every twelve or fifteen years. 



C. pumila (dwarf), fl. green, yellow. July. Nut solitary, not 

 flattened. I. oblong, acute, serrate with pointed teeth, whitened, 

 downy underneath. h. 12ft. North America, 1699. 



FIG. 380. CATKIN AND FRUIT OF SPANISH CHESTNUT (CASTANEA 



SATIVA). 



C. sativa (cultivated).* Sweet, or Spanish, Chestnut, fl. yellowish. 

 July. fr. greenish, enclosing a brown nut, ripe in October. 

 I. oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated, glabrous 

 on each side. h. 50ft. to 70ft. Asia Minor. SYN. C. vesca. See 

 Figs. 380 and 381. The varieties are numerous ; but two only need 

 be mentioned as worth growing, in addition to the type, and these 

 are C. s. foliis aureo-marginatis, with golden-edged folia 



C. . heterophylla dissecta, in which the leaves are div 

 thread-like segments. 

 C. vesca (edible). Synonymous with C. sativa. 



^; and 

 into 



