330 CASTANEA. 



in milk till it becomes quite thick ; when made with water, 

 it is eaten with milk in the same manner as oatmeal 

 porridge in the north of England and Scotland. Ckatigna, 

 that is chesnuts boiled and then mashed up as we do 

 potatoes, is also another preparation common in France 

 and Italy, besides which there are others which may be 

 found in Parmentier's " Traite de la Chataigne, 11 or un- 

 der the article Chatignier, Diet. Class. 



The soil upon which the Chesnut seems to attain its 

 greatest dimensions, and to produce the best timber, is 

 upon a loam of tolerable quality, for in very rich soils 

 it as it were outgrows itself, and the wood is brittle and 

 good for nothing. It also thrives well upon clayey loam, 

 provided it be not too retentive of moisture ; rocky situa- 

 tions are also favourable to its growth even where there 

 appears to be but little soil. Bosc remarks, that he 

 never saw chesnuts on soils or on surfaces adapted for 

 the production of corn. On the mountains in France, 

 Switzerland, and Italy, he adds, the Chesnut begins where 

 the corn leaves off, and in climates suitable for corn the 

 tree is only found in rocky and flinty soils. In our 

 colder climate it requires a warmer and more sheltered 

 situation, and a tolerable depth of soil to rear it to large 

 dimensions ; for though, as Loudon observes, it may attain 

 great longevity and a considerable diameter of trunk 

 in thin and gravelly soils, it never reaches any height 

 but always retains the appearance of a pollard. 



We have already stated the high estimation in which 

 we hold the Chesnut as an ornamental tree, and in this 

 are supported by the author of " Forest Scenery," who 

 describes the Chesnut, at maturity and perfection, as a 

 noble tree. This is the tree, he adds, " which graces the 

 landscapes of Salvator Rosa. In the mountains of Calabria, 



