THE IMPROVED CHESTNUTS. 
GROWING, GRAFTING AND SELLING. 
Some Experience in Delaware. 
Nine years ago, when I planted my first bushel of 
chestnuts (American), some of which bore the past 
season, some people as good as called me crazy, in¬ 
timating that they would never do me any good. I 
said, “ Even though I do not get any nuts from the 
trees, no doubt I shall enjoy seeing them grow, and 
some one else will enjoy the fruit”. It is not a dif¬ 
ficult matter to put off and to talk about such matters 
long enough for the trees to come into bearing, just 
because one is afraid they will never do him any good. 
Don’t hesitate, but plant at once, and no doubt you 
will be rewarded almost before you think it possible ; 
for the years pass so 
rapidly. But since that 
time, I have continued 
to plant not only young 
trees and select nuts of 
different species to 
grow, but have, also, 
planted for stocks, and 
used those of my first 
planting on which to 
graft scions of the 
most improved varieties 
known. 
At present, I have as 
many as 15 different 
varieties, eight of which 
have already borne. 
Besides, I am looking 
with much interest to 
see what will come from 
other seedlings, as I 
have several acres of 
such. To me, there is a 
peculiar fascination in 
the propagation of the 
nut-bearing trees, not 
only chestnuts but all 
other species that are at 
all likely to succeed in 
this latitude. 
Of a number of varie¬ 
ties of the European 
chestnut (Castanea 
vesca) that 1 now have 
in bearing, the Paragon 
has given greater satis¬ 
faction than any other 
of that species, being a 
healthy, robust grower, 
very prolific, usually 
producing from three to 
Beven nuts to the burr. 
The Ridgely is all right 
when planted in close 
proximity to other 
varieties so as to become pollenized. The burrs are 
frequently without mature nuts when not thus 
planted. Among other trees of the same type in my 
collection, are a number of the best French varieties 
from Mr. Gillet of California. They have not yet 
come into bearing. There is a seedling of the Spanish 
variety which has now been bearing for several years, 
nuts of good size. The tree is very prolific. The nuts 
are of very poor quality, not much better than white 
oak acorns for eating purposes. 
The Japan chestnut (Castanea Japonica) is now 
creating considerable interest in the chestnut line, as 
the trees begin bearing quite frequently when but 
three or four years old. There is a great variation as 
to time of ripening, also in size and quality of nuts, 
and occasionally there are trees that do not seem in¬ 
clined to bear until they attain considerable age. In 
my collection, I have one we call Extra Early, very 
prolific, bearing from three to five nuts of good size 
and quality to the burr, the burrs opening by Septem¬ 
ber 5 without frost. This tree, the past season, 
bore three peach basketfuls (%-bushel each) of nuts 
in their burrs. Another seedling was named Fel¬ 
ton by Mr. W. A. Taylor, Assistant Pomologist, who 
says of it: “A large and very sweet nut, possessing 
those edible qualities which are lacking in most other 
chestnuts of the Japan type.” The tree makes a 
strong, healthy growth. Another seedling of this 
type, though somewhat later in ripening than either 
of the preceding varieties, bears enormous nuts of 
good quality, specimens frequently measuring 6)£ 
inches in circumference. This nut, Prof. Heiges, 
Chief of Pomology, has named Killen, see Fig. 107. 
He says of it: “A remarkably large and handsome 
chestnut; in size as large as the largest Japan Mam¬ 
moth, and in quality superior to most of this type.” 
This, according to my judgment, is a better chestnut 
than Felton, though Mr. Taylor does not agree with 
me. This is a much lighter colored nut than the pre¬ 
ceding varieties. 
The American chestnut (C. vesca Americana), com¬ 
monly called the American Sweet, also affords an in¬ 
teresting field for investigation. The nuts as a rule, 
are much smaller, but sweeter than the two preced¬ 
ing species. The trees get much older before coming 
into profitable bearing; usually they do not bear 
from the nut before they are eight or ten years old, 
and frequently much older. By selecting the largest 
and best of this type, and top-grafting, rapid strides 
may be made in the improvement of this species, for 
when scions are taken from bearing trees, they will 
sometimes bear the following year. It is not unusual 
to find growing wild, trees of this type bearing very 
fine nuts, both in reference to size and quality. By 
using scions from such to top-graft on native seedlings, 
we can soon have them bearing j ust where we desire 
them, near our homes. 
Nuts, when used for planting either for stocks on 
which to graft selected varieties, or when selected 
specimens are planted to try to get an improvement 
over the stock, should never be allowed to become 
dried out before being planted where desired to grow, 
or stratified in sand to be planted the following 
spring ; though nuts comparatively dry can be germi¬ 
nated if brought to their 
normal condition at a 
very low temperature. 
I have had better suc¬ 
cess by planting the 
nuts directly in the 
nursery rows, or where 
desired to grow, soon 
after they were gath¬ 
ered from the trees, 
than by stratifying 
them in sand ; for, as a 
rule, the nuts seem to 
sprout much sooner 
than expected in the 
spring, and in handling, 
a great many are lost 
by breaking off the 
sprouts. Besides, my 
experience has been 
that mice have been 
more likely to find those 
stratified than those 
planted direct, for it 
seems almost impossi¬ 
ble to stop mice out. 
In grafting the chest¬ 
nut, no particular sys¬ 
tem has been used, 
more depending on the 
comparative sizes of 
stock and scion than 
anything else. Cleft, 
crown, and whip have 
been mostly used when 
working small seed¬ 
lings. The splice tongue 
graft has given good 
satisfaction when stock 
and scion were of the 
same size. The cleft 
graft when the stock 
was much larger than 
the scion, or in fact, 
any method used in 
grafting the apple or pear, will do. One of the 
principal points to keep in view is to see that the 
scions to be used are kept dormant, if you expect to 
be successful. When scions are inserted into strong 
stocks, it is often necessary either to top the graft 
after it begins to grow, to check its growth, or to 
brace it by means of small poles to prevent them from 
blowing off at the union before they become thor¬ 
oughly united. 
I have budded the chestnut in a similar manner to 
that used in budding the peach, but without much 
success, though it was not an entire failure. I have 
had about the same proportion of the Japan type grow 
when worked on the American stock, as when worked 
on the Japan seedlings. 
A farm with a good variety of nut-bearing trees, 
ONE BURR OF PARAGON CHESTNUT GROWN IN DELAWARE. Natural Size. Fig. 106. 
