CHAP. CV.

couyla'ce.e. casta'nf.a.

1997

already observed that the chestnut, in Britain , is chiefly planted on the marginsof orchards, for the purpose of sheltering them. It is also occasionally plantedin hedgerows; but, from the density of the head, the early appearance of thefoliage, and its long continuance before it drops, the tree is injurious both tothe hedge and to the grass below.

As an ornamental Tree , Sang observes that many chestnuts should not beplanted near a residence; because “ the flowers emit a very powerful and dis-agreeable odour, which is offensive to most people.” Gilpin considers thechestnut, in maturity and perfection, as a noble tree, which “ grows not unlikethe oak. Its ramification is more straggling; but it is easy, and its foliage loose.This is the tree which graces the landscape of Salvator Rosa . In the moun-tains of Calabria, where Salvator painted, the chestnut flourished. There hestudied it in all its forms, breaking and disposing it in a thousand beautifulshapes, as the exigences of his composition required. I have heard, indeed,”continues Gilpin, “ that it is naturally brittle, and liable to be shattered bywinds, which might be one reason of Salvator ’s attachment to it; but, althoughI have many times seen the chestnut, in England, old enough to be in a fruit-bearing state, yet I have seldom seen it in a state of full picturesque maturity.”(For. Seen.) Bose says : “As an ornamental tree, the chestnut ought to beplaced before the oak. Its beautiful leaves, which are never attacked by in-sects, and which hang on the trees till very late in autumn, mass better thanthose of the oak, and give more shade. An old chestnut, standing alone, pro-duces a superb effect. A group of young chestnuts forms an excellent back-ground to other trees ; but a chestnut coppice is insupportably monotonous.”(Noun. Cours, &c., art. Chataignier.) In British parks, the chestnut is dis-played to most advantage when standing singly, or in scattered groups alongwith the oak; and the gradation in the foliage and manner of tufting formed byQ. sessiliflora, between the chestnut and Q. pedunculata, forms a pleasing har-mony, interesting both in a botanical and a picturesque point of view. In hillygrounds, the allusion which the chestnut creates to the Apennines affords apleasing argument for planting it in such situations.

Soil and Situation. The chestnut, like the beech, prefers a deep sandy loam.It will not thrive in stiff tenacious soil; and, in a rich loam, its timber, andeven its poles and hoops, are brittle, and good for nothing. In loamy soils atthe bottom of mountains, as at Aloa, in Stirlingshire; in loam incumbent onclay, as at Brechin Castle, in Forfarshire; and in similar soils and situations ;it attains a large size, and in so short a time, that, according to Sang, whereverthe chestnut is planted in its proper soil and situation, it will outgrow any othertree in the same length of time, except, perhaps, the larch, the willow, andsome of the poplars. According to Bose, it will not thrive in calcareous soil;but clayey and sandy soils, and those lying over granite, gneiss, and schistus, andwhich are composed of the debris of these rocks, appear particularly suitable forit. It thrives well among rocks where there is apparently very little soil; in-sinuating itself among their fissures and chinks, and attaining a large size.“ Wherever I have seen chestnut trees,” observes the same author, “ and Ihave seen them in a great many different localities, they were never in soilsor on surfaces fit for the production of corn. On mountains in France, Swit-zerland, and Italy , the chestnut begins where the corn leaves off; and, inclimates suitable for corn, the tree is only found on rocky and flinty soils.” InBritain , the tree will not attain any height, unless in sheltered situations, andwhere the soil is free and of some depth; but in poor gravelly soil, where itsroots will only run along the surface, it will attain a very considerable dia-meter of trunk, and be of great longevity, though its head may never be largerthan that of a pollard. Of this, the chestnut trees in Greenwich Park andKensington Gardens may be cited as proofs.

Propagation and Culture. The species is propagated by the nut, which maybe treated exactly in the same manner as the acorn; and the varieties areperpetuated by grafting. The nuts, when they are to be sent to a distance,should, according to Parmentier, be gathered in bright sunshine, and exposed