Nature and Art, December 1, I860.] 
A DISH OP NUTS. 
217 
tions connected with the plump brown chestnut. 
Thus writes Herrick about it : — 
“ Remember us in cups full crown’d, 
And let our city health go round, 
Quite through the young maids and the men, 
To the ninth number, if not ten ; 
Until the fired chestnuts leap 
For joy, to see tho fruits ye reap 
From the plump chalice and tho cup 
That tempts till it be tossed up.” 
And the esteem in which it was held in Evelyn’s 
day will be best shown by that which he writes 
about it : — - 
“ We give that fruit to our swine in England which is 
amongst the delicacies of princes in other countries ; and 
being of the larger nut, is a lusty and masculine food for 
rusticks at all times, and of better nourishment for husband- 
men than cob and rusty bacon. Yea, or beans to boot. 
Instead of which, they boyl them in Italy with their bacon, 
and in Virgil’s time they ate them with milk and cheese. 
Tho bread of the flour is exceedingly nutritive. ’Tis a 
robust food, and makes women well-complexioned, as I have 
road in a good author.” 
And mark well, all ye fashionable young ladies, 
what the worthy old gentleman goes on to say. 
“A decoction of the rind of the tree tinctures hair of a 
golden colour, esteemed a beauty in some countries.” 
In France, considerable attention is paid to the 
preparation of the chestnut as an article of food, 
and no sooner do the cold, bleak winds of autumn 
and winter go sweeping through the broad thorough- 
fares of Paris, than whole flocks of the hirondelles 
d’hiver, or “ winter swallows,” as the roasted 
chestnuts are facetiously called by the Parisians, 
may be seen roasting on the charcoal-pans of their 
vendors, at every convenient corner. 
Great attention is paid by the French to the 
selection of the particular kinds of nuts most 
esteemed for the table. The most notable of these 
is the kind known as les marrons, which are said 
to be to other chestnuts much what apples are to 
ordinary crabs. There are several other varieties 
less esteemed, hut still important ; such as the 
Limousin, which is chiefly noted for the size of its 
fruit, and the length of time the leaves remain on 
the trees. The wood chestnut, or chdtaigne de 
bois, is mainly valuable for its luxuriant production 
of brushwood, nearly all the coppice woods in the 
vicinity of Paris being of this kind. Large 
quantities of the nuts are used in the neighbourhood 
of both Perigord and Limousin, for the manu- 
facture of a peculiar kind of cake, known as la 
galette, of which the peasantry are particularly 
fond. A thick species of porridge is also prepared 
from the chestnut-meal, and is in pretty general 
use. 
Chestnuts, when treated like ordinary beetroot, 
have produced 14 per cent, of sugar, a larger 
quantity than most samples of beet produce ; and 
as the trees thrive and flourish where little else 
could be profitably grown, it is a matter of 
surprise that more attention is not paid to their 
cultivation. 
Bose says the chestnut-tree thrives well among 
rocks, where there is apparently very little soil, 
insinuating itself among the fissures and chinks, and 
attaining a large size. “ Wherever,” he goes on 
to say, “ I have seen chestnut-trees — and I have seen 
them in a great many different localities — they 
were never in soils or on surfaces fit for the pro- 
duction of corn. On mountains in France, Swit- 
zerland, and Italy, the chestnut begins where the 
corn leaves off ; and in climates suitable for corn, 
the tree is only found on rocky and flinty soils.” 
During our visit to the city of the ancient 
Karaite Jews, we were much interested at the 
extraordinary industry displayed by a colony of 
monks of the Greek church, who were engaged 
in excavating cavities amongst the tremendous 
cliffs bordering the valley in which their monastery 
was situated,* for the purpose of planting young 
chestnut -trees in; one man bearing the tree, two 
a large basket of earth, and a third a pot of water 
to refresh the roots of the young plant with ; the 
whole operation being one of the most perfect 
examples of gardening under difficulties it has ever 
been our lot to see. Theophrastus informs us that 
in his day Mount Olympus was nearly covered 
with chestnut-trees. The great chestnut of Mount 
Etna, known as the Castagno di cento Cavalli, 
described by Houel, must have been a sort of 
giant amongst trees. It is, lie says, one of the 
largest and oldest chestnuts in the world, and ob- 
tained its name from Jean of Arragon on her road 
from Spain to Naples. Having visited Mount 
Etna attended by her principal nobility, they 
were caught in a heavy shower of rain, when the 
queen and a hundred cavaliers took shelter under 
the branches of this tree, which completely covered 
and saved them from the storm. Mr. Loudon 
informs us that in 1770 this tree was still standing, 
although much decayed, and measured 204 feet in 
circumference. 
The Neapolitans appear to have held high repute 
for their roasted chesnuts. Martial writes : — 
“ For chestnuts roasted by a gentle heat, 
No city can the learned Naples beat.” 
Virgil appears to have had a thorough appreciation 
of the goodness of the chestnut, and its importance 
as an article of food. Thus he writes : — 
“ Ripe apples and soft chestnuts have we there, 
And curd abundant, to supply our fare.” 
He speaks also of the mode by which the nuts 
were obtained from the trees in his time ; and in 
this particular, at any rate, fashion has changed 
but little. 
“ Myself will search our planted grounds at home 
For downy peaches and the glossy plum, 
And thrash the chestnuts in the neighbouring grove, 
Such as my Amaryllis used to love.” 
Milton, too, was not indifferent to the homely 
comfort of the cosy fireside and its winter accom- 
paniments. 
“ While hisses on my hearth the pulpy pear, 
And black’ning chestnuts start and eracklo there.” 
The annual consumption of chestnuts in the 
# The valley of Jehoshaphat. 
