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LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
The Chestnut Tree. Castanea. 
Nat. Ord. Corylaceae. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 
The chestnut, for its qualities in Landscape Gardening 
ranks with that king of the forest, the oak. Like that tree, 
it attains an enormous size, and its longevity in some cases 
is almost equally remarkable. Its fine massy foliage, and 
sweet nuts, have rendered it a favorite tree since a very 
remote period. Among the ancients, the latter were a 
common article of food. 
“ Sunt nobis mitia poma, 
Castanea molles, et pressi copia lactis.” 
Virgl Ecl. 1. 
They appear to have been in general use, both in a raw 
and cooked state. In times of scarcity, they probably 
supplied in some measure the place of bread-stuffs, and 
were thence highly valued : 
“ As for the thrice three angled beech nut shell, 
Or Chestnut’s armed huske and hid kernell, 
No squire durst touch, the law would not afford, 
Kept for the court, and for the king’s own board.” 
Bp. Hall, Sat. B. III. 1. 
Even to this day, in those parts of France and Italy 
nearest the great chestnut forests of the Appenines, these 
nuts form a large portion of the food which sustains the 
peasantry, where grain is but little cultivated, and potatoes 
almost unknown. There a sweet and highly nutritious 
flour is prepared from them, which makes a delicious 
bread. Large quantities of the fruit are therefore 
annually collected in those countries, and dried and stored 
