958 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



fore the oaks have put forth their leaves, the chestnut 

 buds open and the tiny leaves unroll. Though inconspicu- 

 ous, there is grace and beauty in the artistic symmetry 

 and delicate coloring of the baby leaves rose, yellow 

 and exquisite shades of green. On short branches that 

 bear the fruit, the leaves form a leafy star, giving variety 

 to the appearance of the foliage. 



In form the leaves are slightly like those of the beech. 

 They are six to eight inches long and about two inches 



BARK OF THE CHESTNUT TREE 



The grayish-brown bark somewhat resembles that of the red 

 oak because of the broad, flat, irregular ridges, but is 

 readily known by the darker gray color, deeper fissures 

 and the smaller and more flaky scales of bark on the 

 ridges. Very young trees have smooth bark. 



wide, wedge-shaped at the base and tapering to a sharp 

 point. The margins are coarsely toothed and the veins 

 prominent and regular. The "ant cows" (plant lice) 

 love to feed along the veins on the lower surfaces of the 

 chestnut leaves. In the Fall the leaves assume soft shades 

 of yellow and red, but soon lose their brilliancy. 



Early in July the chestnut tree becomes one of the most 

 striking features of the landscape. Long after other 

 trees have bloomed, it suddenly blazes into a wealth of 

 odorous, cream-colored blossoms. These are the clus- 

 tered catkins of the pollen-producing flowers. The flow- 

 ers that produce the nuts are separate from the others 

 and much less noticeable, because they consist of small 

 spikes with a few green, scaly blossoms. These two 

 kinds of blooms do not usually appear at the same time 



on one tree. The wind carries the pollen from tree to 

 tree and thus effects cross-pollenation. 



Two or three, or sometimes only one, of the nut- 

 producing flowers are fertilized and grow into prickly 

 burs. At first the young burs are very small, but by the 

 middle of August they are full-sized. The sharp spines 

 which make the bur a sort of vegetable porcupine are 

 Nature's protection against injury to the sweet nuts until 

 they are fully ripe. The Indians called the chestnut tree 

 "O-heh-yah-tah" "the prickly bur." The first heavy 

 frost of Autumn causes the bur to separate into four 

 parts, disclosing two to four shining nuts resting in a 

 bed of soft brown velvet. 



Chestnut trees do not grow well if the soil around their 

 roots is disturbed, as is shown, in regions where blight 

 is not prevalent, by the dead tops of many trees in 

 closely grazed pastures and on the road sides. They are 

 easily injured by fire and have many insect enemies. 

 Various species of borers injure the bark, the wood is 

 very apt to be perforated by small worm holes, the 

 foliage is frequently injured or destroyed by leaf rollers 

 and leaf-eating insects, and the nuts are often infested 

 with the chestnut weevil. 



The most serious enemy of the chestnut tree and one 

 that apparently means its 

 ultimate extinction in this 

 country is the chestnut 

 bark disease or "chest- 

 nut blight." All species 

 of chestnut and the chin- 

 quapin are susceptible 

 in varying degrees to the 

 bark disease. The chest- 

 nut bark disease was 

 brought to this country 

 from China or Japan, and 

 the Chinese and Japa- 

 nese chestnuts are highly 

 resistant. The chinqua- 

 pin is slightly resistant, 

 but the American and 

 European species of 

 chestnut have thus far 

 shown no power to with- 

 stand the disease. 



Although compara- 

 tively little has been 

 heard about the chest- 

 nut blight in the past 

 two or three years, there 

 it no evidence that it is 

 progressing more slowly 

 or that it is less virulent 

 than formerly. The bark 

 disease is generally prev- 

 alent from Maryland to 

 Connecticut, as far west 

 as the mountains, and 

 scattered infections oc- 

 cur as far west as east- 



Th. 



CHESTNUT TREE LEAF 



leaves are six to eight inches long 

 and about two inches wide, wedge- 

 shaped at the base and tapering to a 

 point. The margins are coarsely 

 toothed and the veins are prominent 

 and regular. 



