The chestnut blight is a serious enemy of the chestnut and has caused 

 havoc in the Eastern States. It makes the planting of the tree in the West 

 a considerable risk, because of the chances of its attack by this disease. It 

 made its appearance in this country in 1904, being brought in from either 

 China or Japan, and has resulted in the death of a large number of chestnut 

 trees in the East. So far as known, it has not attacked the few chestnut trees 

 planted in California to any extent, but it must be taken into consideration in 

 selecting chestnut for planting. 



SPANISH CHESTNUT 



The home of the Spanish chestnut (Castanea saliva) is the south and south- 

 west of Europe, and on the slopes of the lower hills of Spain and Italy it is 

 remarkable for its size and beauty. Pliny says that Julius Caesar introduced 

 it into Italy from Sardis in Asia Minor, and that the Romans greatly appre- 

 ciated the "Sardian acorn," as the nut was called. The chestnut probably 

 grew wild in Greece where, as early as the fourth century B. C., Theophrastus, 

 the Father of Botany, speaks of it as covering the slopes of Olympus. 



Old chestnut trees often are made up of a fusion of many stems into one, 

 which explains the enormous size of some of these trees. The "Chestnut of a 

 hundred horses" on the east side of Mount Etna is 160 feet in circumference. 

 It is entirely hollow, and has a kiln built inside it for drying chestnuts, which 

 are a staple article of food in south Europe. 



The chestnut was brought to England during the Roman occupation 

 and is often referred to in accounts of early English deeds. Henry II, in 

 granting land to the Abbey of Flaxley in the Forest of Dean, mentions the 

 chestnut trees growing there. Shakespeare makes allusion to it in "Macbeth" 

 and the "Taming of the Shrew," particularly to the use of the nuts for food. 



The Spanish chestnut has been planted with success in various sections 

 of California. The best known tree is the Hilgard Chestnut, which stands 

 on the campus of the University of California in front of Agriculture Hall. 

 It was named after Dr. E. W. Hilgard, the first dean of the College of Agri- 

 culture, foremost soil expert of his generation and one of the pioneers of agri- 

 cultural education in the United States. 



This tree was planted in 1885 and now is thirty-five feet high with branches 

 spread over a circle about fifty feet in diameter. It has always grown in the 



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