SPANISH CHESTNUT. 199 



the ground, and forty 'where the trunk divides. He speaks, 

 too, concerning the beauty of our foliage both in spring and 

 autumn ; in the first, grandly umbrageous, and presenting a 

 fine clear green in its spear-shaped leaves ; in the second, and 

 when falling into 



"the sear, the golden leaf," 



gorgeously contributing to the rich and varying tints of 

 woodland scenery. 



Mount ^Etna is celebrated for enormous chestnuts. Our 

 tribe grow nobly there ; their roots are warmed by its 

 immense furnace, and hence such trees as are scattered over 

 the mountain are probably the largest in the known world. 

 The Castagna di Cento Cavalli, which derives a name from 

 being sufficiently large to shelter one hundred horsemen, is 

 hollow within, and contains a dwelling-house, with a con- 

 tiguous oven for drying chestnuts and almonds. 



Though not aspiring to such dimensions, because of 

 northern growth, and chilled, doubtless by the cold of a 



