No. 12. 



The Horse- Chesnut. 



377 



is said to unfold its leaves always a fortniglit 

 earlier than any others, which is exemplified 

 by the following historical incident. On 

 Napoleon's entry into Paris, on the 20th of 

 March, 1815, after his return from tiie island 

 of Elba, this tree furnished to him and his 

 friends, foliage for their personal decoration, 

 being the only tree in the leaf in the garden 

 of the Tuileries. 



In Germany, the horse-chesnut, after hav- 

 ing been planted at Vienna, soon found its 

 way to Baden, where it was planted about 

 the end of the sixteenth century, and where 

 some of the trees are said to be still in ex- 

 istence. 



The introduction of the common horse- 

 chesnut into the United States probably 

 dates back to about the middle of the seven- 

 teenth century. The tree, supposed to be 

 the first brought to this country, is still 

 standing on the estate of Mr. Lemuel W. 

 Wells, of Yonkers, — formerly Phillipsburgh, 

 — ^New York, and is 10 feet in circumfer- 

 ence at a yard above the ground, 65 feet in 

 height, with an ambitus, or spread of branch- 

 es of 50 feet. It is in a flourishing condi- 

 tion, and bears a profusion of fruit, from 

 which the New York nurseries and seed 

 stores are annually supplied. It is said to 

 have been planted by Frederick Phillipse, 

 the founder of Phillipsburgh, who formerly 

 lived on the place of its present proprietor. 

 In the vicinity of this tree there are numer- 

 ous others of nearly the same magnitude, 

 which were raised from its nuts, and from 

 the accounts of the oldest residents of Yon- 

 kers, they have not increased materially in 

 size within their recollection. 



The horse-chesnut requires a deep, free, 

 loamy soil, and will neither attain an ample 

 size, nor flower freely, except in a situation 

 rather sheltered than exposed. It is always 

 propagated by the nut, sown in autumn or 

 spring, and covered with from two to three 

 inches of soil. The cotyledons do not rise 

 to the surface, as in the oak, the bfeech, and 

 some other trees. "Some nurserymen," 

 says Loudon, "cause the nuts to germinate 

 before sowing them, in order to have an op- 

 portunity of pinching off the extremity of 

 the radicle; by wliich means the plants are 

 prevented from forming a taproot; or,> at 

 least, if a taproot is formed, it is of a much 

 weaker description than it would otherwise 

 be, and the number of lateral fibres is in- 

 creased; all of which is favourable for trans- 

 planting. When the tree is intended to at- 

 tain the largest size, in the shortest time, 

 the nut ought to be sown where the tree is 

 finally to remain; because the use of the 

 taproot is mainly to descend deep into the 

 soil, to secure a supply of water, which, in 



dry soils and seasons, can never be obtained 

 in sufficient quantities by the lateral roots, 

 which extend themselves near the surface 

 in search of nourishment and air." This is 

 admitted, by Selby, to be the case for a cer 

 tain number of years, but he doubts whether 

 a transplanted tree will not ultimately attain 

 as large a size as one reared in the manner 

 recommended above. He cites an instance 

 of a tree at Twizell, eighteen years planted, 

 which measured, at two feet from the ground, 

 tour feet two inches in circumference, with 

 a height of 38 feet. 



Insecls. — The foliage of the iEsculus hip- 

 pocastanum is rarely eaten by the larvae of 

 insects, except by those of several species 

 of the Geometrifc, some of which indiscrim- 

 inately attack every tree within their reach, 

 and persist in their devastations, unless the 

 qualities of the leaves are disagreeable to 

 them in the extreme. Among the trees, in 

 which the leaves are unpleasant to them, 

 are the Ailantus glandulosa, Catalpa syringi- 

 folia, and Broussonetia papyrifera (Paper 

 mulberry.) 



Properties and Uses. — The wood of the 

 horse-chesnut is white and very soft, and ac- 

 cording to Loudon, when dry, weighs from 

 35 to 37 pounds to a cubic foot. It is unfit 

 for use where much strength and durability 

 in the open air are required ; nevertheless, 

 there are many purposes for which it is ap- 

 plicable, when sawn into boards; such as for 

 flooring, lining to carts, packing-cases, &c. 

 In France, sabots, or wooden shoes are made 

 from it; and it is said to be used by carvers, 

 turners, &c. Boutcher says, that it is suit- 

 able for water-pipes that are to be kept con- 

 stantly under ground; and it is also recom- 

 mended for this purpose by Du Hamel. The 

 charcoal made of this species may be used 

 in the manufacture of gunpowder; and the 

 ashes of every part of the plant, more espe- 

 cially of the fruit, afford potash in consider- 

 able quantity. The bark, which is very bit- 

 ter, is employed for tanning, and also for 

 dyeing yellow; and it has been used medi- 

 cinally as a substitute for Jesuit's bark. In 

 Turkey the nuts are ground, and mixed 

 with horse food, especially when the animals 

 are broken winded; and in their crude state, 

 they are eaten by goats, sheep, deer, and 

 hogs. They are used in Ireland to whiten 

 linen, and for this purpose are rasped into 

 water, in which tliey are allowed to mace- 

 rate for some time. The saponaceous juice, 

 which they contain, is very useful, not onlj' 

 in bleaching, but in washing linens and other 

 stuffs. The nuts must be peeled and ground, 

 and the flour of twenty of them is sufficient 

 for ten quarts of water; and either linens or 

 woollens may be washed with the infusion, 



