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Groves of chestnut trees are a useful asset, especially in wine country. They supply wood 

 for hoops for vats and barrels, vine props, and lattices for fences. 



The fruit of the chestnut tree is a source of food for the inhabitants in several parts 

 of France during much of the year. Chestnuts are eaten boiled, roasted, or ground into 

 flour to make very nutritious pancakes. The large sweet chestnut, the matron, differs 

 from the wild one only in size, roundness, and in quality, depending largely on the soil 

 where the tree grows. Those from Luc en Provence and from Dauphine that are sold in 

 Paris under the name marrons de Lyon are highly regarded. 



CULTIVATION. Duhamel believes that flute grafting is the best way to propagate 

 good varieties of matron chestnuts. Chestnut trees are propagated by planting seeds in the 

 autumn. They're either left to stay in the ground where they had been planted, or they're 

 transplanted after four or five years into holes a meter wide by a meter deep that had been 

 dug ahead of time. The saplings must be carefully pruned and the grove tilled every year 

 just as for young grapevines. 



KEY TO PLATE. 

 1. Cultivated chestnut tree. 2. Male flower and stamens. 



