CHESTNUT OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 109 



culinary dishes and drinks ; care is therefore necessary not to 

 use them in excess, as fatal consequences are known to have 

 occurred. The leaves contain a volatile oil, which forms the 

 bases of Laurel Water ; it is highly poisonous, and is sold by 

 druggists for killing flies ; several instances are on record of its 

 having been criminally used for poisoning. 



Chervil, Garden {Anthriscus Cerefolium), an annual herb of 

 the Carrot family (Umbelliferse), native of Europe, but now 

 become wild in some parts of England, and has been cultivated 

 as an aromatic pot-herb for more than two centuries. Myrrhis 

 odorata, called Great Chervil or Cicely, is also cultivated. 



Chestnut, Cape {Calodendwn capense), a beautiful tree of the 

 Eue family (Eutaceae), native of the Cape of Good Hope. It 

 has broad, elliptical leaves and snowy white flowers. The fruit 

 is a five-celled, five-angled, prickly capsule, having some resem- 

 blance to the fruit of the Sweet Chestnut, hence its name Cape 

 Chestnut. The seeds are shining black. The tree was intro- 

 duced to this country in 1789 ; a specimen in the Palm-house 

 at Kew was in 1857 25 feet high, with a diameter of 5 inches 

 near the base. 



Chestnut, Horse (^sctdus Hijpiwcastanum), a large, well- 

 known tree of the Soapberry family (Sapindacese), native of the 

 l^orth-West Himalayas or Caucasus ; it has migrated westward, 

 but there is no evidence of its having been a tree of Mount 

 Lebanon, Palestine, or any part of Western Syria, in the time of 

 Solomon, but most probably it found its way to Europe by way 

 of the Caucasus and Armenia. It is recorded to have been 

 cultivated in this country in the first quarter of the seventeenth 

 century. Its principal use is as an ornamental tree for parks, 

 pleasure-grounds, roadsides, and avenues. The celebrated 

 avenue in Bushey Park, planted by William III., affords a 

 fine example of the adaptability of the Horse Chestnut for 

 ornamental planting. It is not particular as to soil, and 

 generally produces yearly an abundant crop of nuts, which are 

 not, however, utilised for any special purpose in this country, 

 but in France they are largely employed in the manufacture of 



