CHAP. cv. COKY'LA'CE^E. CASTA^NKA. 1997 



already observed that the chestnut, in Britain, is chiefly planted on the margins 

 of orchards, for the purpose of sheltering them. It is also occasionally planted 

 in hedgerows; but, from the density of the head, the early appearance of the 

 foliage, and its long continuance before it drops, the tree is injurious both to 

 the hedge and to the grass below. 



As an ornamental Tree, Sang observes that many chestnuts should not be 

 planted near a residence; because "the flowers emit a very powerful and dis- 

 agreeable odour, which is offensive to most people." Gilpin considers the 

 chestnut, in maturity and perfection, as a noble tree, which "grows not unlike 

 the oak. Its ramification is more straggling; but it is easy, and its foliage loose. 

 This is the tree which graces the landscape of 8alvator Rosa. In the moun- 

 tains of Calabria, where Salvator painted, the chestnut flourished. There he 

 studied it in all its forms, breaking and disposing it in a thousand beautiful 

 shapes, as the exigences of his composition required. I have heard, indeed," 

 continues Gilpin, " that it is naturally brittle, and liable to be shattered by 

 winds, which might be one reason of Salvator's attachment to it ; but, although 

 I have many times seen the chestnut, in England, old enough to be in a fruit- 

 bearing state, yet I have seldom seen it in a state of full picturesque maturity." 

 (For. Seen.) *Bosc says : " As an ornamental tree, the chestnut ought to be 

 placed before the oak. Its beautiful leaves, which are never attacked by in- 

 sects, and which hang on the trees till very late in autumn, mass better than 

 those of the oak, and give more shade. An old chestnut, standing alone, pro- 

 duces a superb effect. A group of young chestnuts forms an excellent back- 

 ground to other trees ; but a chestnut coppice is insupportably monotonous." 

 (N'ouv. Cours, &c., art. Chataignier.) In British parks, the chestnut is dis- 

 played to most advantage when standing singly, or in scattered groups along 

 with the oak; and the gradation in the foliage and manner of tufting formed by 

 Q. sessiliflora, between the chestnut and Q,- pedunculata, forms a pleasing har- 

 mony, interesting both in a botanical and a picturesque point of view. In hilly 

 grounds, the allusion which the chestnut creates to the Apennines affords a 

 pleasing argument for planting it in such situations. 



Soil and Situation. The chestnut, like the beech, prefers a deep sandy loam. 

 It will not thrive in stiff tenacious soil ; and, in a rich loam, its timber, and 

 even its poles and hoops, are brittle, and good for nothing. In loamy soils at 

 the bottom of mountains, as at Aloa, in Stirlingshire; in loam incumbent on 

 clay, as at Brechin Castle, in Forfarshire; and in similar soils and situations; 

 it attains a large size, and in so short a time, that, according to Sang, wherever 

 the chestnut is planted in its proper soil and situation, it will outgrow any other 

 tree in the same length of time, except, perhaps, the larch, the willow, and 

 some of the poplars. According to Bosc, it will not thrive in calcareous soil ; 

 but clayey and sandy soils, and those lying over granite, gneiss, and schistus, and 

 which are composed of the debris of these rocks, appear particularly suitable for 

 it. It thrives well among rocks where there is apparently very little soil ; in- 

 sinuating itself among their fissures and chinks, and attaining a large size. 

 " Wherever I have seen chestnut trees," observes the same author, " and I 

 have seen them in a great many different localities, they were never in soils 

 or on surfaces fit for the production of corn. On mountains in France, Swit- 

 zerland, and Italy, the chestnut begins where the corn leaves off; and, in 

 climates suitable for corn, the tree is only found on rocky and flinty soils." In 

 Britain, the tree will not attain any height, unless in sheltered situations, and 

 where the soil is free and of some depth ; but in poor gravelly soil, where its 

 roots will only run along the surface, it will attain a very considerable dia- 

 meter of trunk, and be of great longevity, though its head may never be larger 

 than that of a pollard. Of this, the chestnut trees in Greenwich Park and 

 Kensington Gardens may be cited as proofs. 



Propagation and Culture. The species is propagated by the nut, which may 

 be treated exactly in the same manner as the acorn ; and the varieties are 

 perpetuated by grafting. The nuts, when they are to be sent to a distance, 

 should, according to Parmentier, be gathered in bright sunshine, and exposed 



