FRUIT-GARDENING. 77 



construct fences ; and the nuts are very delicious. The 

 Castanea pumila, or Chinquapin nut, is a small tree, or rather 

 shrub, growing to the height of thirty feet in the Southern 

 States, but seldom exceeding ten in cold latitudes. The fruit 

 is very sweet and agreeable to eat. 



There is a variety with striped leaves, which is very orna- 

 mental. The most esteemed of the French kinds are called 

 Marron. Some excellent fruit-bearing varieties are cultivated 

 in England, France, Italy, and Spain, as also in other parts 

 of Europe. 



MANNER OF PROPAGATING. 



Chestnuts are increased by grafting or budding in the usual 

 methods ; but the plants for coppice wood, or timber, are best 

 raised from nuts. Some varieties ripen their fruit a few days 

 earlier than others ; but none of these have been fixed on or 

 perpetuated by nursery-men so as to render them available to 

 purchasers. The fruit is a desirable nut for autumn or winter, 

 and is eaten roasted with salt, and sometimes raw ; and in 

 some countries it is not only boiled and roasted, but ground into 

 meal ; and puddings, cakes, and bread are made from it. 



Chestnut-trees will not succeed on wet, nor on heavy soils. 

 The largest and finest trees are found on high ridges of clayey 

 loam, gravelly loam, or sandy loam. By pruning the trees 

 and keeping the .soil cultivated around them, as far, or farther 

 than the lateral branches extend, the fruit may be greatly 

 increased both in quantity and quality. 



In order to raise trees from the nuts, select the largest and 

 fairest specimens as soon as they fall from the tree, and keep 

 them where they will not become very dry until late autumn, 

 when the nuts must be planted in well prepared soil in drills, 

 and covered two inches deep with mould or fine street dirt. 

 If the nuts are allowed to dry, their vitality will be destroyed. 

 It is essential to their vegetation that the nuts freeze and thaw 

 during winter. The fruit is better to remain on the trees till 

 the frost has opened the burrs. 



