‘CHESTNUT BLIGHT AND 
spaced not more than 10 x 10 feet, 
eee and must have a good supply 
of moisture the year around. Suc- 
cessful plantings of Chinese chest- 
nut have been made immediately 
after cutting of timber stands on 
sites on which yellow-poplar, north- 
ern red_oak, and white ash grow 
well. On cut-over areas compet- 
ing sprout and seedling growth of 
other tree species should be elim- 
inated, preferably by poisoning, un- 
til the chestnut trees overtop sur- 
rounding growth. Chinese chestnut 
can well be planted on high-quality 
forest sites that have been poorly 
managed and as a result now sup- 
port low-quality stands. 
Good results have been obtained 
by girdling pole-size stands of yel- 
low-poplar, northern red oak, white 
ash, and other species on high- 
quality sites and underplanting 1- 
or 2-year-old Chinese chestnut (fig. 
11).4 With this method of estab- 
lishment, there is less competition 
from sprouts and seedlings of other 
species than if the trees had been 
clear cut. However, since this 
method sacrifices 15 or more years’ 
growth of prime timber species it is 
not justified except where only a 
small planting of Chinese chestnut 
is desired for production of nuts as 
well as of other forest products. 
Although farmland on which 
Chinese chestnut can be grown suc- 
cessfully is too valuable to be used 
extensively for this purpose, most 
farm woodlands can accommodate 
a block planting of 25 to 100 trees 
spaced about 10x10 feet. Such a 
planting (fig. 12) will provide 
decay-resistant posts and poles, nuts 
for wildlife and for human con- 
sumption, and a source from which 
*Ditter, J: D. THE PLANTING AND CARE 
OF BLIGHT-RESISTANT CHESTNUTS FOR FOR- 
EST TREES. U.S. Bur. Plant Indus., Soils, 
and Agr. Engin., Forest Path. Spec. Re- 
lease No. 15, 7 pp., illus. 1950. (Revised.) 
RESISTANT CHESTNUTS 15 
chestnut can be seeded naturally in 
other parts of the woodland. 
While the planted trees are be- 
coming established, they need to be 
protected from various hazards. 
Where rabbits are numerous, a 
cylinder of woven wire should be 
placed around each young tree to 
keep rabbits from cutting off the 
stem. The wire should remain in 
place for at least 2 or 3 years after 
planting. Browsing and trampling 
by livestock or deer will cause the 
trees to become crooked, branchy, 
and dwarfed, and may eventually 
kill them. Fire is very destructive 
to chestnuts—although the Chinese 
chestnut, like the American, pro- 
duces sprouts when the main stem 
is injured or destroyed. 
Wildlife Plantings 
Blight-resistant chestnuts could 
become an important source of food 
for wildlife in the Eastern States, 
because the nuts remain sound 
through the winter under a layer of 
fallen leaves. Before the blight 
epidemic, our native chestnut and 
chinkapins provided abundant food 
for squirrels, wild turkeys, bears, 
and deer. 
Plantings such as those discussed 
under the heading “Forest and 
Woodland Plantings” provide food 
and shelter for wildlife. Other 
wildlife plantings may be made by 
similar methods in rough, hilly 
places where the soil quality and 
drainage are good, in fence corners, 
along fence rows and trails, and on 
the edges of forests and woodlands. 
It is usually necessary to cut out or 
poison competing vegetation each 
year until the chestnut trees are 
established. 
Chestnuts planted in the pasture 
provide food for wildlife and shade 
and food for livestock. The young 
trees should be protected from live- 
