NUTS. 349 



gardens, is a worthless, nearly barren variety, but we have 

 found the better English sorts productive and excellent in this 

 climate, and at least a few plants of them should have a place 

 in all our gardens. They are generally raised from layers, made 

 in the spring, but they may also be grafted readily on the com- 

 inon hazel-nut, or the Spanish nut. When planted out they 

 should not be permitted to sucter, and should be kept in the 

 form of bushes with low heads, branching out about two feet 

 from the ground, and they should be annually pruned some- 

 what like the gooseberry, so as to preserve a rather thin, open 

 head — shortening back the extremities of the young shoots one 

 half, every spring. 



The following are the best filberts known. 



1. CosFORD. (Thomp. P. Mag.) Nut large, oblong; husk 

 hairy ; shell remarkably thin, and kernel of excellent flavour. 

 A goocU bearer. 



2. Frizzled. (Thomp. P. Mag.) Easily known by its hand- 

 some, deeply cut husk. Nut of medium size, oval, compressed ; 

 husk hairy ; shell thick ; kernel sweet and good. 



3. Northamptonshire Prolific. (Thomp.) Ripens early. 

 Nut of medium size, oblong, husk hairy ; shell thick. 



4. Red Filbert. Easily known from other sorts, by the 

 crimson skin of the kernel. Fruit of medium size, ovate. 

 Shell thick. Kernel with a peculiar, excellent flavour. 



5. White Filbert. (Thomp. Lind.) Resembles the last, 

 but with a light yellow or white skin. The tree is also quite 

 bushy. Nuts ovate. Husk long and tubular. 



The English generally call those varieties with long husks, 

 filberts^ (full-beards,) and those with short husks, simply nuts. 



The Chestnut, (Casfanea vesca, W; Chatagrder, of the 

 French ; Castainenbaum, German ; Castagno, Italian ;) is one of 

 our loftiest forest trees, common in most parts of the United 

 States and Europe, and bearing excellent nuts. The foreign 

 variety best known in this country, is the Spanish Chestnut, 

 with fruit nearly as large as that of the Horse-Chestnut, and 

 which is excellent when boiled or roasted. It thrives very well 

 here, but is not quite hardy to the north or east of this. One 

 or two English varieties have been produced, of considerable 

 excellence, among which, the Downton is considered the best. 

 The French cultivate a dozen or more varieties of greater or 

 less excellence, but though some of them have been introduced, 

 we have not yet fairly tested them in this country. 



The Chinquapin, or Dwarf Chestnut, common in some parts 

 of the middle and southern states, is a dwarf species of the 

 chestnut, usually growing not more than six to ten feet high, 

 and bearing fruit of half the size of the common chestnut, with 

 the same flavour. It is worth a place in a small fruit garden, 

 as a curiosity. 



