CHESTNUT 289 



timber trees whose seed is so susceptible of injury as the 

 Chestnut. Any drying, heating, moulding, or even wilting, 

 will affect their vitality, and the sooner they are put into 

 the ground after they are ripe the more certainty there is 

 of success ; hence fall planting should, if possible, be car- 

 ried out. Fall planting has only one drawback the lia- 

 bility of squirrels and mice digging up the nuts. If fall 

 planting is not adopted, then the nuts should be stratified 

 with sand, which must be moist but not very wet, and kept 

 out of doors where they will be cool. Freezing will do no 

 harm, but will be beneficial if the sand does not become 

 dry. Planting where the trees are to grow is urged because 

 they have a prominent tap-root which seriously resents be- 

 ing interfered with, although there are laterals thrown out 

 in early life which attain a large size in old age. But for 

 all that, it is a deep-rooted tree, and it is seldom that one 

 is blown down by the wind. It does not throw out lateral 

 roots, however, until too large to be always successfully 

 transplanted. By removing into the transplant nursery 

 when one year old and carefully handling them, a portion 

 can be made to grow, but it takes a long time for them to 

 recover from the shock and become vigorous, an event 

 which seldom occurs. 



It is light-demanding, and close planting is certain to cause 

 it to grow tall and straight, and drop its lower limbs, and 

 that system should by all means be adopted. But little plant- 

 ing of Chestnut for timber-growing has been done in this 

 country, and no exact rule can be laid down for the dis- 

 tance apart that the young trees should be planted, but 

 it will be safe to place them from five to six feet, and as 

 soon as they become large enough for posts and poles, thin 

 out as conditions may indicate. 



Its abundance, coupled with its ability to reproduce 

 itself, has enabled it to meet fairly well the demand made 

 upon it, but the great variety of uses to which it is now 

 being put will soon cause a very rapid shrinkage in supply, 

 and the promise for the future is not bright. Until re- 



