CHESTNUT 



CHESTNUT 



295 



Oommon or Tree Chinquapin (Castanea pumila).— 

 Fig. 434. A shrub 4 or 5 feet tall, rarely a tree, at- 

 taining a height of 50 feet, with slender branchlets 

 marked with numerous minute lenticels, and coated 

 with a pale tomentum, which disappears during the first 

 winter. Leaves oblong, acute and coarsely serrate at 

 apex, bright yellowish green, changing to dull yellow 

 before falling in autumn. Flowers strong-smelling, the 

 catkins of staminate ones appearing with the unfolding 

 leaves in May or June, the spicate, androgynous aments 

 later, with pistillate flowers in spiny involucres, produc- 

 ing solitary, cylindrical nuts 5i to 1 inch in length and 

 H inch in diameter, with sweet seeds. This species oc- 

 curs in dry lands from southern Pennsylvania to Florida 

 and Texas, and its nuts, which ripen earlier than the 

 American Chestnut, are esteemed for food and marketed 

 in considerable quantities. Apparent intermediates be- 

 tween this species and the American Chestnut, probably 

 of hybrid origin, are reported from several localities 

 in Virginia and Tennessee. This species attains truly 

 arborescent proportions in southern Arkansas and east- 

 ern Texas. The shrub form is sparingly introduced to 

 cultivation, and is being somewhat used in its native 

 regions as a stock on which to graft improved Chestnuts. 

 It promises to become useful for this purpose, but has 

 the troublesome habit of throwing up numerous suckers 

 or stolons. One named variety, the Fuller, has been 

 published. Fig. 434 is adapted from the Nut Culture 

 bulletin of the U. S. Dept. of Agric. 



Bush Chinquapin {Castanea aInifolia). — A shrub, 

 rarely more than 3 ft. in height, forming small thickets, 

 by means of stolons, in sandy barrens, South Atlantic 

 states, westward to Lousiana and Arkansas. Distin- 

 guished from C. pumila by larger, oval-lanceolate, 

 mostly obtuse leaves, which are but slightly tomentose 

 beneath, and by its larger nuts, which ripen earlier. 



The cultural range of Castanea in America is not well 

 defined, but extends from Florida and Texas to Massa- 

 chusetts and Wisconsin, and on the Pacific slope. The 

 3 species cultivated in America thrive best on dry, 

 rocky or gravelly ridges or silicious uplands, failing on 

 heavy clays and on limestone soils unless deep, dry 

 and rich. 



Propagation of species is by seeds. Certain types re- 

 produce their striking characteristics in their seedlings, 

 but varieties are perpetuated by grafting; occasionally 

 by budding. Seeds for planting should be free from in- 

 sect larvae, and should not be allowed to dry out before 

 planting. They may be planted in drills in fall on deep 

 and well-drained loam, or, to avoid damage by rodents, 

 may be stratified in damp sand until spring. Nuts held 

 in cold storage at 15° F. from October to April have 

 germinated well at Washington, D. C. Young trees des- 

 tined for removal to orchard should be transplanted in 

 nursery at one year old, to promote symmetrical develop- 

 ment of root system. Grafting may be done on any of 

 the species of Castanea, and on some of the oaks, 

 notably the Chestnut Oak, Quercus P^-intts, though the 

 durablity of grafts on the oak is questionable. Where 

 the Chestnut is indigenous, bearing orchards of im- 

 proved varieties are quickly secured by cutting down 

 and removing the timber and grafting the young sprouts 

 which spring up in abundance about the Chestnut stumps 

 (Fig. 435). Recently the Chinquapin has been similarly 

 used with good success where Chestnut does not occur. 

 Grafting may be by splice method on 1-year-old seedling 

 roots ; by splice or cleft at crown on 2- or 3-year trees in 

 place ; or by veneer, splice or cleft methods on 1- to 

 ■3-year-old sprouts or branches. Top-working of old 

 trees is uncertain and only practiced in special cases. 

 Cions should be dormant, and work may be done at any 

 time after freezing ceases, but in trunk and branch 

 grafting best results are obtained by most grafters if 

 work is done alter leaves begin to unfold. Two- or 

 3-bud cions are preferred. The fitting of cion to cleft 

 or splice and the waxing should be carefully done. 

 If strips of waxed muslin are wrapped about the stubs 

 the danger of loss by summer cracking of wax is 

 lessened. In cleft-grafting young sprouts or seedlings, 

 the stub should be cut 2 or 3 inches above the depar- 

 ture of a branch, to prevent too deep splitting of 

 cleft. Two or three weeks after growth begins the wax- 

 ing should be inspected and repaired if cracked. If 



grafts make rank and brittle growth they should be 

 checked by pinching, and if in exposed situations, tied 

 to stakes to prevent breaking out of cions. Budding 

 is sometimes practiced, usually by use of doi-mant buds 

 inserted in shoots of previous year, when the bark 

 " slips " after growth has begun in spring. 



The Chestnut is admirably adapted to ornamental 

 planting, either singly or in groups on suitable soils. 

 The native species is successfully used as a roadside 

 tree in many sections outside of its natural range. It re- 

 quires a space of at least 40 feet for development when 

 thus used ; the European species 30 feet and the 

 Japanese 20 feet. If in orchard, the last mentioned may 

 be planted as close as 20 feet, and thinned when the 

 trees begin to crowd, thus securing several crops of 

 nuts from land otherwise unoccupied. 



Care of Orchards.— Planted orchards are yet few in 

 America, most of the extensive commercial efforts hav- 

 ing consisted in the grafting of sprouts on rough lands 

 where the American Chestnut is indigenous. On such 

 lands no cultivation is attempted, the brambles and un- 

 desired sprouts being held in check by occasional cut- 

 ting in summer, or by pasturing with sheep. Much care 

 is necessary to protect against damage of the sprouts by 

 fire on such land. Clean cultivation, at least during the 



434. Chinquapin. Nut and bur natural size. 



first few years, is probably best in planted orchards, 

 though heavy mulching may be found a satisfactory 

 substitute. The Japanese and some of the American 

 varieties of the European species require thinning of 

 the burs on young trees to avoid over-bearing, with its 

 consequent Injury to the vitality of the tree. 



Leaf diseases are apparently subject to control by 

 Bordeaux mixture, but for the weevils, which dam- 

 age the nuts previous to maturity, no satisfactory rem- 

 edy has yet been discovered. 



