114 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



it works in the dark — in the tree's vital part, 

 the cambium, that lies hidden by the outer bark. 



Much money has been spent in the effort to 

 conquer this disease and to check its onward prog- 

 ress. The problem is understood, but its solution 

 has not yet been reached, and the outlook for the 

 future of chestnut forests is most discouraging. 



Chestnut trees introduced from Japan promise 

 us a home-grown nut equal to the best European 

 varieties. These oriental chestnuts are large and 

 fine in flavor when cooked. The trees are hand- 

 some, and they bear at a very early age. These 

 traits in a hardy species assure its popularity over 

 a large territory. 



Chinquapins are small chestnuts, the fruit of a 

 dwarf species, . that grows on barren, broken 

 ground from the Middle States south and west. 

 The husk contains a single nut, which is sweet and 

 rich, but rarely seen in markets, because the 

 gathering is slow and difficult work. But pigs 

 enjoy themselves in the woods when the chin- 

 quapins are opening their spiny little burs. 



BEECHES 



The small, triangular nut that is borne in pairs 

 in the prickly, four-parted husk of the beech tree 



