CHESTNUT, HORSE. 



year, three of the young plants are removed 

 from each hole, and only the most thriving is 

 left. The third or fourth year, when the 

 branches begin to interfere with each other, 

 every second tree is suppressed. To insure 

 its success, the plantation should be begun in 

 March or April, with nuts that have been kept 

 in the cellar during the winter, in sand or ve- 

 getable mould, and that have already began to 

 germinate." 



Mr. Hopkins of Cayuga county, made some 

 experiments in planting chestnuts. In his first 

 attempt, he kept the nuts till the setting in of 

 winter, or December, when he planted them 

 four feet apart every way, and not one of them 

 grew. The next year he procured a quantity 

 of nuts as soon as gathered, planted them im- 

 mediately, and covered them superficially with 

 leaves andlight earth, at the same distance as 

 before. Most of them came up and grew well. 

 There can be no doubt, where the ground is 

 so situated as to be free from the attacks of 

 squirrels, mice, &c., that immediate planting 

 after the nuts are gathered is the best mode, 

 otherwise the plan of Michaux may be pre- 

 ferred. The best soil is a clay loam. (Trcd- 

 gold's Princip. of Carpentry ; M'Culloch's Com. 

 J)irt. : IVillich's Dom. Ency. ; Phillip's Hist, of 

 Fruits, p. 84.) 



CHESTNUT, HORSE ( JSsculus hippocasla- 

 niwn). This ornamental tree, now so common 

 throughout Europe, is a native of Asia. The 

 first plant is said to have been brought into 

 Europe by the celebrated botanist Clusius in a 

 portmanteau. It is too well known to require 

 description. The wood is soft and of little 

 value. The fruit contains much nutritive mat- 

 ter, but it is combined with a nauseous bitter 

 extractive, which renders it unfit for the food 

 of man ; but horses, kine, goats, and sheep 

 are fond of it. The bark of the tree contains 

 an astringent, bitter principle, which operates 

 as a tonic. It has cured agues, and some au- 

 thors affirm that it might be a substitute for 

 the Peruvian bark ; but trials and experience 

 have not justified their opinion. Given in a 

 decoction, made with an ounce of the bark to 

 a pint of water, it may be advantageously 

 taken, to strengthen the habit weakened by 

 previous disease. See BUCKEYE. 

 CHEVIOT SHEEP. See SHEEP. 

 CHEWING-BALL. In farriery, the name 

 of a medicine in the form of balls adapted to 

 restore lost appetite in horses. 



CHEWING THE CUD. The operation of 

 leisurely re-chewing or masticating the food in 

 rum in.iting animals, as the cow, sheep, &c. : 

 by this means the food is more effectually 

 broken down, and mixed with the saliva. If a 

 ruminant animal ceases to chew the cud, im- 

 mediate illness may be expected, as the diges- 

 tive organs cannot act without this natura 

 prccess. See an excellent article " On Rumi 

 nation, or Chewing the Cud," in the Quart 

 Journ. of Agr., p. 344. Rumination, in certain 

 graminiverous animals, has plainly for one 

 object a renewed and repealed introduction ol 

 oxygen, for a more minute mechanical division 

 of the food only shortens the time required fo 

 solution. (Litbig's Animal Chemistry.) 



CHICCORY, or SUCCORY (Cichorium iniy 

 322 



CHICK PEA. 



bits'). An English perennial weed, the wild 

 ndive, common on the borders of corn-fields 

 nd poor gravelly soils ; extensively cultivated 

 n Belgium, Holland, and Germany. The cul- 

 ivated variety was much brought into notice 

 y the late Arthur Young, as a forage plant. 

 Ie brought the seed from France in 1788, and 

 grew it extensively on his own farm ; and re- 

 ports (Annals of Agr. xxxix.), "The quantity 

 f seed required to sow one acre is 13 Ibs, 

 The root runs deep into the ground, and is 

 white, fleshy, and yields a milky juice. On 

 he Continent, the dried root is roasted and 

 used instead of coffee, and it is now allowed 

 >y the excise to be mixed with coffee. The 

 root contains a strong bitter, which may be 

 extracted by infusion ; it is also used in the 

 Brewing of beer to save hops." Mr. Gorrie 

 (Quart. Journ. of Agr. N. S. vol. iv. p. 206) 

 ays, "No plant cultivated in this country will 

 ring the cow-feeder nearly an equal return 

 with the chiccory." It should be added, how- 

 ever, that the leaves give a bad taste to the 

 milk of the cows which eat them. (Brit. Hush. 

 vol. iii. art. " Flem. Husb." p. 42.) And Von 

 Thiier, in his Principles of Agriculture (2d ed. 

 vol. iv. p. 322), asserts that it is extremely dif- 

 ficult to eradicate from the land, and has been 

 found to materially impoverish the soil. 



Wild succory, or chiccory is becoming ex- 

 tensively naturalized in many parts of the 

 United States. The species called Endive, 

 (C. endiva), especially the variety called C'rispa 

 with very narrow and ragged leaves, is much 

 cultivated in the vicinity of Philadelphia as an 

 early salad. There are no native species of 

 chiccory in the United States. (Flor. Cest.) 



When cultivated for soiling or feeding 

 horses and cattle in the farm-yard, for which 

 purpose it is admirably adapted, its rapid and 

 luxuriant growth admits of its being cut three 

 or four times a year. 



When the roots are used as a substitute for 

 coffee, they should be first cleaned, then put 

 into an oven after the bread has been taken 

 out, and allowed to remain until cool. Should 

 once baking be not sufficient, the process is to 

 be repeated, after which, mix with one-half of 

 coffee. 



The fresh root of chiccory, when sliced and 

 pressed, yields a juice which is slightly tonic ; 

 and has been used in chronic affections of the 

 stomach, connected with torpid liver. See 

 ExmvE. (Sinclair's Hort. Gram. Wob. p. 412 ; 

 M'CullocVs Com. Diet.; WiXlicK* Dom.Encyc.; 

 Brit. Husb. vol. ii. p. 303.) 



CHICK, or CHICKEN. See POULTRY. 



CHICK PEA (Ciccr arirtimnn). PI. 7, L 

 A plant too delicate for field culture in Eng- 

 land ; but in the south of France it is grown 

 for the same purpose as vetches in England. 

 The seeds are used in Germany and some 

 other parts of Europe as a substitute for coffee, 

 and the plant is sometimes called the coffee-pea. 

 It is called by the Spaniards, who cultivate it 

 largely, Garbanza. It is likewise a great fa- 

 vourite with the French, who call it Poischiche. 

 It grows well in several of the Middle States, 

 where it might doubtless be made a valuable 

 crop, as it maintains a high price in European 

 markets. 



