184 THE CHESTNUT. 



or with leaves of celery, sage, or any other herbs that may 

 be preferred, to give them a flavour ; and roasting them 

 either in hot ashes, or in a coffee roaster. They are also 

 occasionally roasted before the fire, or on a shovel, as in 

 England ; but when thus prepared, they are thought not 

 so good. In whatever way they are roasted, the French 

 cooks always slit the skin of all except one ; and when 

 that cracks and flies off, they know that the rest are done. 

 Sugar is said to have been obtained in France from chest- 

 nuts, by the same process as that used for the extraction 

 of sugar from beetroot, and at the rate of 14 per cent. ; 

 which is more than the average produce of the beetroot. 

 Chestnuts are sometimes used for whitening linen, and for 

 making starch ; and when roasted they are a good substi- 

 tute for malt in making beer. 



" In many countries," says Miller, " where Chestnut- 

 trees are cultivated, the people graft the largest and fairest 

 fruits upon stocks raised from the nut. And these grafted 

 trees are called by the French marroniers, but they are 

 unfit for timber." In France great attention is still paid 

 to the cultivation of the Chestnut, and the varieties are 

 divided into two sections, les chataiynes and les marrons, 

 the latter being held in high esteem as producing nuts of 

 the largest size, finest flavour and farinaceous qualities. 



The Chestnut-tree retains its leaves until late in the 

 autumn, when they become of a rich golden hue. Owing 

 to the tufted, and consequently weighty, character of the 

 foliage, and the brittleness of the timber, the tree is liable 

 to be injured by autumnal storms ; but the leaves are 

 rarely attacked by insects, strongly contrasting in this 

 respect with its rival the Oak. Its leaves are in France 

 used as a litter for cattle, and, like those of the Beech, are 

 sometimes employed for stuffing mattresses. 



It is not easy to form a correct estimate of the value of 

 the Chestnut as a timber-tree, there being a great uncer- 

 tainty whether the beams discovered in ancient buildings, 

 and said to be of Chestnut, do in every instance (they 



