CHICKWEED. 



CHINCAPIN. 



In every part of America and the West In- j order there are seven other species of mouse- 

 dian islands settled by Spaniards, they have ! ear chickweed, viz., two kinds of broad-leaved 

 always made the culture of the garbanza a I (C. vulgatinn and C. latifolium') ; the narrow- 

 primary object, and it is somewhat singular j leaved (C.viscossuin) ; the little mouse-ear (C. 

 that it has not become better known and ap- ! scmi-dccantium') ; the four-cleft (C. tetrandum) ;. 

 predated in the United States, in most parts of j the alpine (C. aty'itum) ; and the water (C. 

 which it grows well. Trials made with it in j aqitaticiim). These call for no observation. 

 the vicinity of Dover, Delaware, have proved The berry-bearing sort, which grows with 

 very successful. The Spanish pea or garbanza, smooth erect stalks, and the stamens longer 

 is perhaps the most delicious vegetable of its 

 class ever placed upon the table, possessing, 

 when served up in the manner of green peas, 

 ihe flavour of these, mixed with that of green 

 corn, or, as others think, something between 

 the marrow fat pea and Lima bean. They do 



not yield so abundantly as the common pea, 

 but both in a green and dry state are much su- 

 perior in flavour and richness. A meal made 

 of the dried garbanzas is much used in Paris 

 and other parts of Europe for thickening soup, 

 which it renders extremely fine. In Provence 

 and other parts of southern Europe, the chick 

 pea is a great favourite when roasted or 

 parched, like ground or pea nuts, and hawked 

 about the streets. In Paris, the dried garbanzas 

 retail for about twenty-four cents per pound. 

 They grow best in a rich sandy loam, and may 

 be cultivated in rows, much after the manner 

 of the common pea. Not being a trailing vine, 

 they require no sticking, the plants growing 

 only about eighteen or twenty inches high, and 

 branching out so as very much to resemble a 

 small locust tree or bunch of rue. The pods 

 are very short and round, containing only two, 

 three, or four peas each, somewhat larger than 

 common pulse. Being very tender, they will 

 not, perhaps, bear to be planted at the same 

 time with common peas. In Spain, where the 

 chick pea is very abundant and in general use, 

 two kinds are distinguished by the names of 

 garbanzos and garbanzas, the last being the 

 largest, most delicate, and tender. Those raised 

 in Spain are considered superior to such as 

 are the product of the south of France. The 

 pellicle which covers them seems to be almost 

 entirely removed by the process of cooking. 

 After being dried they require soaking in cold 

 water during the night previous to the day 

 they are used. They do not seem to be the 

 prey of any insect, and will keep sound and 

 sweet for years. It is the gram of India. {Pax- 

 ton's Bnt. 'Did. ; Low's dgr. p. 286.) 



CHICKWEED. A low, creeping weed, of 

 which there are several varieties. The com- 

 mon chickweed, or stitch-wort (Stellaria media), 

 has an annual, small, tapering root ; flowering 

 from March to December. Small birds and 

 poultry eat the seeds, and whole herb; whence 

 its name. Swine are extremely fond of it ; and 

 it is eaten by cows and horses ; but is not re- 

 lished by sheep, and is refused by goats. The 

 herb may be boiled for the table like spinach : 

 it is reported to be nutritive. This foreigner 

 is extensively naturalized in the United States. 

 It is a hardy little plant, and when the winters 

 are mild in the Middle States, may be found in 

 flower in every month of the year. (Flar. Ces- 

 trica.) The field chickweed (Cerastium arvense') 

 is a perennial, from four inches to a foot in 

 length, found in fields and on banks and hil- 

 locks, on a gravelly or chalky soil. In this 



than the petals, is the wild lychnis, or white 

 behen, and is a very rambling weed, natural to 

 most parts of England, frequently called spat- 

 tling-poppy. Its roots are perennial, and strike 

 so deep into the earth that they are not easily 

 destroyed by the plough ; for which reason, 

 bunches of this plant are too common amonj 



corn, in land which has not been perfectly well 

 tilled. Summer-fallowing, and carefully har- 

 rowing out the roots, which should then be 

 burnt, is the best and most effectual remedy. 



The common chickweed grows in almost 

 every situation, in damp or even boggy woods, 

 and on the driest gravel-walks in gardens. In 

 its wild state, this plant frequently exceeds 

 half a yard in height; and varies so much from 

 the garden chickweed, that if a person were 

 acquainted only with the latter, he would with 

 difficulty recognise it in the woods. Its small 

 \tthite flowers, and pale green leaves spreading 

 in all directions, sufficiently point it out to our 

 notice. It may be considered as a natural 

 barometer; for if the flowers are closed, it is a 

 certain sign of rain, while, during dry weather, 

 they are regularly open from nine o'clock in 

 the morning till noon. The plant boiled in 

 vinegar and salt is said to cleanse breakings- 

 out or eruptions of the hands and legs. (Smith's 

 Eng. Flor. vol. ii. p. 301 ; Sinclair's Weeds, p. 

 52; Willich's Dom. Enryc.) 



CHILIAN CLOVER. This plant, which is 

 called Spanish clover, and in South America, 

 Alfalfa, is identical with luzerne. Two com- 

 munications upon the subject, by a person who 

 had spent some time in Chili, may be found in 

 the 14th volume of the American. Farmer, 

 pages 108 and 153. 



CHINCAPIN, or CHINQUEPIN (Castanea. 

 pnmil'i'). The limits of this American tree, 

 which bears a very small kind of round and 

 pointed chestnut, is bounded northward by the 

 river Delaware, on which it is found to the 

 distance of nearly 100 miles from Cape May. 

 It is very common in Delaware and Maryland, 

 still more so in the lower part of Virginia and 

 other southern and Southwestern States both 

 east and west of the Mississippi. It abounds 

 most where the common chestnut is wanting. 

 Though in its northern limits, this dwarf 

 chestnut seldom rises higher than from six to 

 ten feet; much further south it often grows to 

 the height of thirty or forty feet, with a diame- 

 ter of twelve or fifteen inches. The leaves, 

 flower, and fruit-bur, resemble those of the 

 common chestnut in miniature, being about 

 half the size. The wood of the chincapin is 

 finer-grained, more compact, heavier, and even 

 more durable than that of the chestnut, and is 

 admirably adapted for fence-posts, lasting in 

 the ground more than forty years. But the 

 tree rarely attains a size adapting it to such a 

 useful purpose in agriculture. 



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