410 Chestnut and Filbert. 
nia, the Italian predominates, and the Japanese is more common 
than the American, which is slow of growth and late in fruiting, 
as compared with the other kinds. Judging by the success of 
the Italian, it may be said that a large area of California is well 
suited for the growth of the chestnut, as there are bearing trees 
in nearly all parts of the State. The chestnut succeeds on 
heavy, clayey soil, even if it be quite rocky. 
Chestnut trees are readily grown from the seed, and thus 
grown come into bearing in from six to eight years, though the 
Japanese sometimes bears sooner. The growth of chestnuts 
from the seed is described in Chapter VIII. In growing from 
seed of the improved varieties, there is a tendency toward rever- 
sion, and budding and grafting may be resorted to; budding is 
done by the ring method, as described in Chapter XXVIII. 
The chestnut can also be grafted with the ordinary cleft graft. 
Buds or scions should be taken from trees which are fruiting 
satisfactorily, and in this way seedlings which have a tendency 
to bear empty burs can be turned to good account. Chestnuts 
can be grown in the nursery until several years old, providing 
they are lifted at the end of the first year, the taproot cut off, 
and the trees reset, giving them rather more room than during 
their first year’s growth. In permanent plantings the trees 
should have plenty of room, as they ultimately attain great size. 
Mr. R. G. Sneath reports seeing trees at Grass Valley, Nevada 
County, about twenty years old, which are fifteen inches in diam- 
eter of trunk, and forty feet high, and reported to be bearing a 
barrel of nuts to the tree regularly. Felix Gillet, of Nevada 
City, has for many vears made a specialty of propagating a large 
collection of the improved French varieties of the chestnut, 
known as Afarrons, which are now quite largely distributed. 
The chestnut has not however, attained any considerable product 
as yet. The chestnut, aside from its desirability as an orchard 
tree, can be commended as a tree for hillsides or a shade tree for 
waysides or pastures, and should be more widely planted in Cal- 
ifornia. 
THE FILBERT. 
The best English cob-nuts have heen quite widely tried in 
California without successful results. Improved Spanish and 
French varieties of the filbert were early introduced by Felix 
Gillet, of Nevada City, and have been favorably reported by him 
as to growth and bearing. A few other growers in foot-hill situ- 
ations have reported success, but as a rule disappointment has 
attended ventures with the filbert. The most favorable regions 
for farther experiment are apparently the north slopes of the 
Coast Kange, and other cooler and moister situations, as well 
as at an elevation on the Sierra foot-hills, where Mr. Gillet pro- 
nounces them satisfactory. 
