CASTANEA CASTANOPSIS 309 



propagated by grafting on seedlings of the common sort. In propagating the 

 type itself, it is worth while to select the nuts from trees that bear them of 

 good size. 



With us, however, the tree is grown chiefly as a park ornament, and for 

 coppice. Certainly no tree gives greater distinction to a park or garden than 

 an old finely developed chestnut. For dry, hot soils no tree of its class is 

 better adapted. At Kew, in shallow, sandy soil there are several fine specimens, 

 one over 21 ft. in circumference. There are many splendid chestnuts scattered 

 over the country : the finest I have seen are at Studley Royal, in Yorkshire, and 

 at Shrublands Park, Ipswich. At the latter place, one giant girths about 

 15 yds. near the base. At Studley Royal is a tree over 100 ft. high, and more 

 than 20 ft. in girth. The timber much resembles oak, but is far from being 

 as valuable, and very liable to "shake" or split at the annual rings. Coffins 

 made of it are frequently supplied as of genuine oak. The sweet chestnut has 

 sported into a number of varieties, of which the following may be mentioned : 



Var. ALBO-MARGINATA. Leaves margined with creamy white. There is a 

 very fine specimen of this in Mr Anthony Waterer's nursery at Knap Hill. 



Var. AUREO-MARGINATA. Leaves similar to the preceding, but with the 

 variegation yellow ; very handsome. 



Var. ASPLENIFOLIA (laciniata). This has the teeth ending in thread-like 

 points. 



Var. HETEROPHYLLA. This name may serve for a group of varieties in 

 which the leaf-blade is much, but irregularly, narrowed, sometimes to ^ in. or 

 less in width, but extraordinarily variable in form and length. I have a leaf 

 of this kind 18 ins. long, and in parts less than J in. wide, found on a tree on 

 Esher Common. These curious leaves are usually borne at the end of the 

 summer shoot. The forms with such names as dissecta, dissecta nova, 

 filipendula, and linearifolia, may be included here. 



Var. PURPUREA. Growing at Rostrevor, the seat of Sir John Ross of 

 Bladensburg, this has leaves of large size (as much as 5 ins. wide,, purple when 

 young, especially on the upper half, coppery in autumn. 



Var. PYRAMIDALIS (Holtii). A pyramidal form growing in the grounds 

 of Mount Mascal, Bexley, Kent. 



I know of no pendulous variety ; the plant figured by Lavallee in his 

 Arboretum Segrezianum, t. 33, as var. pendulifolia is, apparently, C. dentata, 

 the American Chestnut, whose leaves have a more drooping pose than those 

 of C. sativa. 



CASTANOPSIS CHRYSOPHYLLA, De Candolle. GOLDEN 

 CHESTNUT. CUPULIFERJE. 



(Castanea chrysophylla, Hooker ; Bot. Mag., t. 4953.) 



An evergreen tree, described as occasionally over TOO ft. high in 

 California ; but hitherto a small tree about 30 ft. high, or a low, cL-nse 

 bush, in Britain ; the young shoots and under-surface of the leaves covered 

 with a beautiful, persistent, golden scurf. Leaves ovate, lanceo'ate, 

 narrowly ovate or obovate, ij to 3 ins. long, J to i in. wide, tapered at 

 both ends, often long-pointed, not toothed, dark glossy green above ; stalk 

 | in. long. Flowers unisexual ; the males produced in erect, cylindrical 

 catkins i to ij ins. long, J in. wide; the stamens numerous, yellow, 

 slender. Female flowers produced at the base of the same catkin as the 

 males, or in a small separate catkin. Fruit like that of a sweet chestnut, 

 consisting of a bur i to ij ins. in diameter, clothed with a mass of 



