CHAP. CV. C'OKYLA V CE,E. CASTA^NEA. 1995 



especially to those who are subject to the cholick. The best way to preserve 

 them is to keep them in earthern vessels in a cold place. Some lay them in 

 a smoak-loft, others in dry barley straw, others in sand, &e." {Hunt. Evel., 

 vol. i. p. 163.) 



The principal countries where the chestnut is employed as an important 

 article of food are, the south of France and the north of Italy ; where it serves, 

 in a great measure, as a substitute for both the bread and potatoes of more 

 northern nations. In these countries, it becomes a matter of importance to 

 preserve the chestnuts during winter; and, accordingly, great care is taken in 

 gathering, keeping, and drying them, so as to insure a constant supply. 

 When the chestnuts are ripe, those that are to be preserved are collected every 

 day from the ground on which they have fallen from the tree; and spread out 

 in a dry airy place, till the whole is gathered together. But, as it is often a 

 considerable time before the chestnuts are all ripe enough to fall from the tree, 

 if the season be so far advanced as to be in danger of snow or heavy rains, 

 after the fallen chestnuts have been collected and set on one side for drying, 

 the tree is beaten with long poles, to knock off the remaining fruit. This 

 operation is called ganler les chutalgnes. But the fruit thus collected is only con- 

 sidered fit for immediate use ; and the greater part of it is carried to the local 

 market, or sent to Paris. The husks of the chestnuts beaten off the trees 

 being generally attached to the nuts, they are trodden off by peasants furnished 

 with heavy sabots, when the nuts are wanted for immediate use ; but, when the 

 chestnuts are to be preserved a few months, they are generally kept in their 

 husks in heaps in the open air, or in barrels of sand, which are sometimes 

 actually sprinkled with water in very dry seasons, in order to preserve the full 

 and plump appearance of the nuts. 



One of the modes of drying chestnuts, in order to preserve them for several 

 years, is, to place those which have been collected from the ground on coarse 

 riddles, sieves, or hurdles, in a dry airy place, and afterwards to expose them 

 to the sun ; or to boil them for a quarter of an hour, and then dry them in an 

 oven. In Limousin and Perigord, where the chestnut flour is used for making 

 the kind of cake called la galette, and the thick porridge called la polenta, which 

 are the common food of the peasantry, the chestnuts are dried with smoke. 

 A thin layer of nuts, which have been deprived of their outer husks, is laid on 

 a kind of kiln pierced with holes; and a fire is made below with the husks, and 

 part of the wood of the tree, which is only permitted to smoulder, and is not 

 suffered to burst into a flame. In a short time, the chestnuts begin to sweat ; 

 that is, their superabundant moisture oozes out through their skins. The fire 

 is then immediately extinguished, and the chestnuts are suffered to become 

 quite cold. They are then thrown on one side, and a fresh layer is spread out, 

 and subjected to the same process. When a sufficient quantity of chestnuts 

 is thus prepared, to cover the floor of the kiln at least 1 ft. deep, they are 

 laid upon it, and a gentle fire is made below, which is gradually augmented 

 during 2 or 3 days, and is then continued during 9 or 10 days, the chest- 

 nuts being regularly turned, like malt, till the nuts part readily from their 

 skins : they are then put into sacks, which have been previously wet, and 

 thrashed with sticks, or rubbed upon a large bench or table; after which, they 

 are winnowed, and are then ready for the mill. During the process of drying, 

 the fire is watched night and day ; and the under side of the floor of the kiln 

 (or hurdles, if these have been used as a substitute for a paved floor) must 

 be frequently swept, to clear it from the soot. The dust which escapes from 

 the chestnuts, when they are winnowed, together with the broken nuts, are 

 carefully preserved for feeding cattle, and are called in France biscat. 



The most general modes of cooking chestnuts in France are, boiling them 

 in water, either simply, with a little salt, or with leaves of celery, sage, or any 

 herbs that may be approved of, to give them a flavour; and roasting them, 

 either in hot ashes, or in a coffee-roaster. They are also occasionally roasted 

 before the fire, or on a shovel, as in England ; but, when thus prepared, they 

 are thought not so good. In whatever way the chestnuts are roasted, the 



