352 — OUR WOODLAND TREES. 
shaped, but for its beautifully indented margin, 
the points of the broad serratures being fur- 
nished with spines. The mid-vein, continuing 
the short leaf-stalk, passes, with a very gentle 
curve, to the leafy apex, and gives origin on each 
side to veinlets, which, running diagonally and 
almost parallel with each other, proceed to the 
points of the serratures. The flowers, which open 
about July, are borne on long catkins or spiked 
clusters, nearly of the same length as the leaves, 
and it is on the lower part of these green spikes 
that the incipient nuts appear. Every one who 
has walked into a Chestnut grove in the fall of 
the year, is familiar with the rounded prickly 
balls, like tiny green hedgehogs, enclosing the 
brown shiny nuts. It is for its fruit that the 
Chestnut is principally cultivated and esteemed ; 
for the sale of the pleasant and edible nuts gives 
rise to an active industry. 
There is rugged beauty in the stem of ancient 
Chestnuts. There is a charm in the glossy leaves 
of this noble Tree, and with the rich hue of its 
glossy fruit is associated the deep golden glow of 
its autumnal foliage. 
