THE IIORSE CHESTNUT. 
711 
ture is now placed by them upon a pedestal worthy of the 
position originally assigned to it by the will of Providence 
and the laws of Nature. 
The impetus having been thus given, and the momentum, 
I hope, attained, it remains but for those who possess the 
power and the will to send it forward, and raise agriculture 
to a science in reality, by the establishment of those educa- 
tional institutions, by which the next generation of farmers 
may be initiated into the mysteries of Nature relating to the 
earth and its productions. 
THE HORSE CHESTNUT ( Osculus hippocastanum). 
Now that the fruit of this tree is ripening, or ripe, falling, 
and encumbering the ground where it falls, it may be asked, 
can it not be turned to some useful account. 
What is the composition of the nut? From the partial 
examination I have made of it, it appears to consist princi- 
pally of three ingredients, viz. of starch, an albuminous sub- 
stance, and a bitter principle ; the former two in large 
proportion, the last in a greatly smaller ; and on the whole to 
resemble greatly, both in these its ingredients and its quali- 
ties, the common acorn. This being the case, a priori , it 
might be assumed, that it would prove nutritious, and that it 
might with advantage be given to such animals as would not 
refuse to eat it. 
Such experience as has come to my knowledge, is in 
accordance with this conclusion. I have somewhere read 
that in the state of powder it is given in Turkey to horses, as 
a corrective of “ broken wind •” and that the name of horse- 
chestnut is hence derived. 
In Switzerland it is stated that it is given to sheep, and is 
held to be very wholesome and nutritious for them. 
The trials I have made of it are too limited to allow me to 
speak of it with any confidence from my own observation 
of its effects. The only animal I have given it to has been 
the pig. Even in the shell it was devoured with avidity, and 
when thrown amongst the straw of the pig’s bed, was hunted 
out and eaten with evident relish. 
These few remarks are made with the hope of calling 
attention to the subject, and of bringing into use, — if I am 
correct in the opinion I have formed, — a nut in many places 
so abundant ; and which as the tree is a favorite ornamental 
one, might by extension of planting, without sacrifice of 
beauty of effect, be obtained in an almost unlimited quantity. 
— J. D., Lesketh How , October 24, 1855. 
