THE HORSECHESTNUT 



when ripe and liberates the seeds which vary from 

 one to three and are glossy, shining brown with a 

 broad pale gray base. The Horsechestnut is easily 

 raised from seeds, grows rapidly, and is readily 

 transplanted. In dry summers and in towns its 

 leaves turn brown early and for this reason, and also 

 on account of its fruit, it is not a good tree for street 

 planting. It is for specimens and for avenues and 

 parks, however, exemplary. 



The wood of the Horsechestnut is soft, lacks 

 strength and durability, and is of little or no value. 

 It burns badly and is not much good as fuel. The 

 bark contains gallic acid and a bitter principle, which 

 gives it value as a tonic equalling that of the Willow. 

 The seeds have many uses besides that employed by 

 schoolboys, and the ancient one of the Turks. Their 

 taste is at once mild and bitter and they are rich in 

 starch. Reduced to powder they serve as soap; 

 roasted they are used as coflfee; fermented they yield 

 a spirituous liquor which yields alcohol by distilla- 

 tion. The young aromatic buds have been substi- 

 tuted for Hops in the manufacture of beer. During 

 the Great War the nuts were tried in England for the 

 preparation of acetone by the fermentation process, 

 and it was considered that the difficulties attendant 

 on their use for this purpose were in a fair way of 

 being surmounted when the armistice was signed. 

 127 



