9a 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 3, 1863. 





THE HOESE CHESTNUT. 



In the reign of George III., there happened to be at the I from the Levant, though a few years 

 same time two members of the House of Commons, one of | observes, " our Christian world first had 

 whom was Monta- 

 gue Matthews, and 

 the other Matthew 

 Montague. They 

 similarly differed 

 in polities, for one 

 voted for the king's 

 interests in pre- 

 ference to those of 

 the people, whilst 

 the other always 

 voted the other 

 way. On one oc- 

 casion the Royal- 

 ist's opinions were 

 attributed to the 

 democrat, which 

 started the latter 

 from his seat to 

 assure the House 

 that though they 

 hore the same 

 names, yet they 

 as much differed 

 as did a chestnut 

 horse from a Horse 

 Chestnut. 



Quite as mis- 

 taken was our con- 

 temporary, " Notes 

 and Queries," when 

 it gravely informed 

 one of its inquirers 

 that the Horse 

 Chestnut is so call- 

 ed because the fruit 

 ib given to horBes ! 

 Its name so im- 

 plies; but if horBes 

 could speak, they 

 would assure our 

 contemporary they 

 never eat anything 

 with a flavour bo 

 disgusting. Gerarde 

 may have been 

 right, who wrote 

 about the period 

 when it was first 

 introduced here, 

 when he said it 

 is called "Horse- 

 Chesnut, for that 

 the people of the 

 East countries do 

 with the fruit 

 thereof cure their 

 horses of the cough, 

 shortnesse of breath 

 and such-like dis- 

 eases;" but we 

 rather think that 

 the prefix "horse," 

 was merely em- 

 ployed to denote 

 harshness and pow- 

 erful flavour, as in 

 the case of Horse- 

 radish. 



Its native dwell- 

 ing place is among 

 the mountains of 

 Thibet, but it came 

 to England direct .Esculus Mppocastanum flove pleno. 



before, as Parkinson 

 the knowledge of it 

 from Constantino- 

 ple." 



Here, we have 

 at present, only to 

 '"make a note of 

 it," as an orna- 

 mental tree. Gil- 

 pin thought it too 

 heavy and too 

 roundheaded, and 

 when planted alone 

 it is not libelled by 

 that description ; 

 but we have seen it 

 very effective when 

 grouped with coni- 

 cal - formed trees,, 

 which broke the- 

 monotony of the 

 outline formed by 



| the Horse CheBt- 



inuts. 

 The double-blos- 

 somed variety has 

 ,. the additionalmerit 

 ofcontinuinglonger- 

 in bloom than the 

 single-bloBsomed. 



" iEscurus hip- 



POCA S T A S¥Jt, 



var. riOBB-PLENO. 

 (Double - flowered 

 Horse Chestnut.) 

 — ■ Nat. ord., Sa- 

 pindaeese. Linn., 

 Heptandria Mono- 

 gynia. It is a rather 

 uncommon, and a 

 very ornamental 

 tree, equalling in 

 vigour the common 

 sort, from which 

 it differs only in 

 its double flowers. 

 These are very 

 showy, having a 

 strong resemblance 

 to those of a good 

 double Hyacinth j 

 they are pale blush, 

 with deeper red at 

 the base of the 

 petals. Our figure 

 was made from a 

 specimen commu- 

 nicated by Mr. 

 Rivers, of Saw- 

 bridgeworth, who 

 informs us that he 

 received it from the 

 Continent' about 

 eighteen years since. 

 The spike of flow- 

 ers we have repre- 

 sented was not so 

 long as is usual, 

 owing to the tip 

 having been killed 

 by frost in May. 

 The trees flower 

 when quite young." 

 — (Gardeners' Ma- 

 gazine of Botany. }■ 



