SWEET, OR SPANISH CHESNUT. 333 



From the tufted and weighty nature of the foliage, 

 the brittle quality of the shoots, and the angle formed 

 by the junction of the branches, the Chesnut is liable 

 to be torn and injured by autumnal winds and storms. It 

 is seldom, however, that the foliage is disfigured, as the 

 leaves are eaten by few insects, and the only caterpillar 

 we have seen feeding in any numbers upon the leaves, 

 were those of Pygmra hucephala (BufF-tip Moth), and 

 in those instances the attack was confined to plants of 

 twelve or fourteen years' growth. In some seasons, par- 

 ticularly upon the Continent, the embryo fruit is attacked 

 by a kind of weevil, the Pyrale Pflugione, Fab., which 

 commits considerable injury, as all the nuts pierced by 

 the insect in depositing its eggs never attain their full 

 size, but drop off before they are half ripe. 



Many varieties of the Chesnut, remarkable for the qua- 

 lity of their fruit, either as regards size, flavour, or early 

 ripening, are extensively cultivated, and the kinds con- 

 tinued by grafting. 



In France great attention is paid to the cultivation 

 of the Chesnut, and they divide the varieties into two 

 sections, les chataignes and les matrons, the latter being 

 held in the highest esteem as producing nuts of the largest 

 size, finest flavour, and farinaceous qualities. 



In England, also, several varieties have been raised and 

 propagated, such as the Downton, the prolific, Knight's 

 prolific, the Devonshire, Masters's, Canterbury Chesnuts, 

 Sec, and Loudon mentions that twenty sorts are culti- 

 vated in the London " Hort. Soc." garden. There are 

 also several botanical varieties, such as the Cut-leaved 

 Chesnut, G. v. asplenifolia, the Hooded G. v. cucullata, 

 the Glossy-leaved G. v. glabra, and the Variegated C. v. 



