HORSE-CHESTNUT 



Horse-chestnut, ^ictilns In'p- 

 pocastanum. Fruit lJ4' 

 to 2' long. 



This nut shares with the potato, in the minds of many 

 people, the occult power of being able to cure rheumatism 

 by being carried on the person of the sufferer. 



The tree is subject to a serious disease, now common and 

 widely spread throughout the northern 

 United States, which is due to a fun- 

 gus. This appears upon the leaf in 

 early summer in the form of a yellow 

 discoloration with a reddish margin. 

 Later, the patches become quite brown, 

 giving the leaves the appearance of 

 having been scorched by fire, some- 

 times e.xtending from the midrib to the 

 margin of the leaflets. In time they 

 shrivel and fall, leaving the tree almost leafless in midsum- 

 mer. The liability to this disease is a serious objection to 

 the tree. 



The name Horse-chestnut, which is only a literal transla- 

 tion of the specific Latin name hippocastanum, has been ac- 

 counted for in many ways. The obvious fact that the scar 

 of the leaf-stem really looks like the imprint of a horse's 

 hoof seems the most reasonable explanation of the name ; 

 many plants have been named for less. 



The finest plantation of Horse-chestnuts in the world is 

 that of Bushey Park near Hampton Court, the ancient pal- 

 ace of Cardinal Wolsey. Five rows of trees stand on each 

 side of the avenue, and when these trees are in bloom the 

 daily papers announce the fact and all London goes out to 

 see the sight. 



The Red Horse-chestnut, Aisculus rubicunda, common in 

 our gardens, is a tree of unknown origin. Professor Sargent 

 inclines to the belief that it is a hybrid between the common 

 Horse-chestnut, ^£s. hippocastamim and Ais. pavia of the 

 southern states. It resembles the former in its leaves and 

 the latter in its flowers. 



