198 HOME FRUIT GROWER 



blossoms are so easily injured by frost. Even in the States where it 

 is grown commercially fire pots are kept as insurance against frost 

 damage. People elsewhere who like to gamble with nature have 

 succeeded with it in an amateur way by planting it on northern 

 slopes, in moist, but well-drained, fertile soils. But unless both the 

 site and the locality are free from frosts during blooming time, Jack 

 Frost is sure to win nine games out of ten. The trees are handled in 

 practically the same way as Peaches. Leading varieties grown in the 

 West are Ne Plus Ultra, Nonpariel, IXL, Languedoc and Drakes. 

 A hard-shelled Illinois variety, Ridenhower, is propagated by North- 

 eastern nurserymen for planting in home orchards. The nuts are, 

 however, inferior to the ones mentioned above. 



RUTTERNUT See Walnut 



CASHEW 



Cashew trees, natives of the tropics, have been grown in Florida 

 and California. Perhaps they may also be grown in warm parts of 

 the Gulf States and those of the Mexican border. They often reach 

 a height and a spread of 40 feet. The nuts appear singly at the tips 

 of Pear-shaped fruits called Cashew Apples and borne in clusters. In 

 form these nuts resemble overgrown Lima Reans, but are gray or 

 purplish. Reneath the outer skin is a caustic juice which acts on the 

 human skin somewhat like poison ivy. This poisonous property is 

 destroyed by roasting the way the nuts are always prepared for 

 market and immediate consumption. The kernels underneath an 

 inner skin are among the most palatable of all commercial nuts. 



CHESTNUT 



At present it is risky to plant the Chestnut in States where the 

 Chestnut blight has recently been prevalent. Like other epidemics, 

 the disease may disappear or a way may be found to prevent its 

 damage. Rut until the scientists announce that happy time it will be 

 better to devote money, time and energy to other orchard fruits. 



Five species 6f Chestnut are of importance; one of these is 

 European, one Japanese and three American, two being "Chinquapins" 

 little fellows. These last, though smaller, are earlier than the other or 

 true American Chestnut and all the American species are better flavored 

 but much smaller than their Old World cousins, which are coarse in 

 comparison. The Chinquapin has produced few, if any, named 

 varieties; of the other American species, scarcely a score, the 

 following are the best known: Watson, Otto, Dulaney, Rochester, 

 Griffin, Murrell, Hathaway, and Kitcham. Among the many Japanese 



