CHESTNUT CULTURE 
serymen are coming to use seedlings of 
the Huropean varieties in preference. 
The European scions sometimes out- 
grow the American stubs, making an en- 
larged, or a poorly united union, the 
scion frequently blowing out during the 
first season of growth. 
The Chestnut Orchard 
The chestnut orchard should be locat- 
ed on a well drained, porous soil, with a 
deep, porous subsoil, through which the 
roots can descend and supply the tree 
with moisture in drying weather It is 
more important to have thoroughly drain- 
ed soil than soil of a particular character, 
and the trees will then flourish on light 
sands or heavy clays. Limestone lands 
are generally uncongenial to the chest- 
nut, due probably to the close proximity 
of the underlying rocks to the surface, 
for in limestone soils with well-drained, 
deep, porous subsoils, the chestnut thrives 
heartily. 
The European chestnut should be set 
not less than forty feet, and the Jap- 
anese not less than thirty feet apart 
each way. The trees can be planted 
much closer at first and cut out to those 
permanent distances ten or fifteen years 
later after several profitable crops have 
been removed. The care of the young 
orchard should be the same as that given 
a young apple plantation. 
Subsequent Care of the Trees 
Grafted chestnut trees are precocious. 
The grafts of the Japanese sorts on 
sprout land frequently set fruit the same 
year of insertion, and their early bear- 
ing tendencies often prevent a satisfac- 
tory development of the tree. Two-year- 
old grafts are commonly loaded with burs 
in both Japanese and European kinds, 
though the Japanese varieties as a class 
bear earlier, both when grafted and from 
seed It would probably be a profitable 
undertaking to keep the burs picked from 
the young trees for three or four years, 
in order that they might become strong 
and thoroughly established before the 
strain of reproduction is upon them. The 
young trees should also be pruned to an 
open spreading form, with three to five 
805 
main branches on which the top will 
eventually form, after which the trees 
themselves will need little care other than 
good culture. If the trees are allowed to 
over-bear, the nuts run down in size. 
Do Varieties Need Cross Fertilizing 
The question cannot be answered satis- 
factorily with our present knowledge. 
Nearly all of the European varieties 
abort a large proportion of their burs 
when the latter are partly grown, the 
Paragon and Comfort being freer from it 
than any of the other kinds. I have 
seen instances of European trees that are 
non-productive at ten years old when 
standing alone, but whether they would 
be more productive in proximity to other 
varieties is an open question. The Jap- 
anese varieties do not abort their burs, 
and seem to be completely self-fertile. In 
the absence of definite information, we 
would advise mixed planting as a safe- 
guard. 
Prices of Nuts 
During the years 1896 to 1898 prices 
of various varieties of chestnuts sold all 
the way from $4.00 to $14.00 per bushel. 
The earliest and the biggest chestnut 
commands the highest price. Earliness 
is the more important factor. Quality, 
at present, is not considered by the pur- 
chaser, the crop selling largely from the 
street stands to boys and girls. The 
nuts should be carefully graded into two 
or three sizes before shipping and the 
wormy ones destroyed, as the price of a 
mixed lot is regulated by the smallest 
nuts. The chestnuts are shipped in bags, 
or in crates holding a number of small 
baskets. The burs and nuts are gathered 
every few days, and the burs that do not 
cast their nuts are torn open by an oper- 
ator wearing leather mittens. 
European or Japanese Varieties 
One of the first considerations to con- 
front the prospective commercial chest- 
nut grower is, “Shall the European or 
the Japanese varieties be planted, or 
both?’ The question is a difficult one 
to discuss without awakening enmity, 
for both species have equally earnest ad- 
vocates. The writer, however, will at- 
