disposed 2— 3 o r more together, within a bell-shaped, and externally bristly
involucre. Fruit 2—3 nuts, included in a 4-valved involucre. (G . Dou.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous; serrated o r entire, feather-
nerved, plaited in th e bud. Flowers yellowish, conspicuous from the
abundance and length o f th e male catkins. Fruit with a hairy calyx like that
o f th e beech.—Trees deciduous, large, sp read in g ; natives o f Eu ro p e and
North America, requiring a good soil to attain a large size.
Th e re is only one E u ro p e an species, which is chiefly valuable as a fruit
tree, and as coppice-wood ; th e timber o f full-grown trees being b rittle, and
o f sh o rt duration. The foliage is large and o rn am en ta l; and, in this and its
fruit, it bears a close analogy to th e beech.
¥ ] . C . v e ' s c a Gærtn. Th e eatable, w c e i , or Chestnut.
J d e nU fic a tio n . G æ r tn . S em ., 1. p . 181. ; W i l ld . S p . P l . , 4, p . 4_„.
S y n o n y m e s . i tk g u s C a s tà n e a U n . H o r t . C liff: 4 47. ; C a s tà n e a s a t iv a M i l l . D ic t. N o . 1. ; C . v ulgàris
L a m . E n c y c . 1. p . 7 0 8 ., E n g . B o t. t . 8 8 6 ., E n g . F l. 4 . p. 151.
D e r i v a ti o n . T h e t e rm S w e e t C h e s tn u t is a p p l ie d w i th r e f e r e n c e to t h e f r u i t , in c o n t r a d is ti n c t i o n to
t h e f r u i t o f t h e h o r s e c h e s t n u t , w h ic h is b i t t e r . I t is c a l le d th e S p a n is h c h e s tn u t , b e c a u s e th e best
c h e s tn u t s f o r t h e t a b ic , s o ld in th e L o n d o n m a r k e t s , a r e im p o r te d f ro m S p a in .
E n g r a v in g s . E n g . B o t . , t 886. ; N . D u I l a m . 3. t . 19. ; t h e p l a t e s o f t h i s t r e e in A r b . B r i t . , 1st
e d i t . , v o l. v iii. ; a n d o u t f i g . 1706.
Spec. Char., Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated;
glabrous on each side. (W illd .) A stately deciduous tre e, rivalling th e oak
in size and longevity ; but, in regard to its timber, comparatively worthless.
Asia Minor. Height 50 ft. to 70 ft. Cultivated in th e temperate parts of
Eu ro p e from time immemorial. Flower.s yellowish ; May. F ru it greenish,
enclosing a brown n u t j ripe in October.
Varieties. These may be arranged in two classes ; those wtiich are considered
liotanical varieties, and those which are cultivated on account o f theii* fruit.
A. Botanical Varieties.
¥ C. V. 2 asplenifòlia l,oà(\. Cat. 1836. C. h e te ro p h jffla //o rL ; C. laciniàta
H o rt.; C. salicifòlia Hort.— The leaves cu t into shreds, regularly
or irregularly, and sometimes so as to appear like linear-lanceolate
leaves; and hence th e ep ith et o f salicifòlia.
C. V . 3 cochleàta Lodd. Cat. 1836. — The leaves cucullate, o r hooded,
with a diseased stu n ted appearance.
C. V . 4 glàbra Lodd. Cat. 1836. C. v. fòiiis lùcidis Hort. — The
leaves ra th e r thin, and more shining th an those o f th e species.
C. V. 5 glauca. C. glauca Hort. — T h e leaves somewhat glaucous.
C .v . 6 variegàta. C .v . fôliis aúreis Lodd. Cat. 1836. — Th e leaves
variegated with yellow, with some streaks o f white ; and th e tree,
when o f a larger size, makes a splendid appearance in spring, and is
admirably adapted for planting among evergreen shrubs, along with
th e balsam poplar ; th e colour o f which, when th e leaves first expand,
has all th e rich yellow o f this variety.
C. V. 7 americana. C. v^sca Michx. N . Amer. Syl. iii. p. 0.— This variety
has broader leaves than th e E urope an chestnut.
B. Fruit-bearing Varieties.
The re are uj)wards o f 20 so rts cultivated in th e London Horticultural
Society’s Garden, o f which Mr. Thompson considers th e four following as
deserving th e preference for ornamental cultivation : — Châtaignier prime,
C. Rallue, th e Downton Chestnut, and Prolific C hestnut.
Besides these th e re are th e following English so rts ;— Devonshire, Lewis's,
Lisbon, Masters’s Canterbury, K n ig h t’s Prolific, and th e New Prolific.
The varieties cultivated in F ran ce for th e table are divided into two kinds,
V I Z . les châtaignes and les marrons ; th c former being to th c la tte r what thc
crab is to th e apple. T h e b est marrons sold in P a ris are th e marrons de
Lyons ; and th e best kinds o f th e common che stnut are :— L a Châtaigne dc
9 1 3
B o is ; la Châtaigne o rd in a ire ; la Châtaigne p o u rta lo n n e ; la Châtaigne
printanière ; la Châtaigne v e rte du Limousin, which produces very large
excellent fruit ; and la Châtaigne exalade, th e fruit of whi(‘h is th e best of
all the common che stnuts for th e table, (L e Bo n Jard., 1837.)
The sweet ch e stn u t differs essentially from th e oak, in its timber n o t increasing
in value as it increases in age. The tru n k , in deep free soils, and in
situations sheltered ra th e r th an exposed, rises erect, and forms a massive
column o f wo o d ; but, in imsuitable soils, and in elevated exposed situations,
and in cold climates, it ramifies at th e height o f 10 or 12 feet, and th e tre e assumes
th e cha ra cte r o f a la rg e polhud. T h e ro o t descends perpendicularly,
like th a t o f th e oak, b u t not, as it is alleged, to quite so great a depth. Th e
rate of growth o f young trees, in th e neighbourhood o f London, averages from
2 ft. to 3 ft. a yea r for th e first 10 o r 12 years. T h e tre e will attain th e height
of from 60 ft. to 80 ft. in from 50 to 60 years ; before which period its timber
is generally in th e highest degree o f pei fection ; but th e tre e will live for several
centuries afterwards, and produce-abundance o f fru it; its timber, in th e
mean while, beginning to decay a t th e h ea rt, o r become brittle , and fit only
for fuel. The wood o f th e che stnut has th e remarkable property o f being more
<lnrable when it is young than when it is o ld ; th e sap o r o u te r wood very
soon changing into h e a rt wood ; and hence th e great value o f this tre e for
1706. C. vésca.
posts, fencing-poles, stakes, trelliswork, hoops, &c. T h e wood, when green,
weighs 68 lb. 9 o z . p e r cubic f o o t ; and when dry, 41 lb. 2 oz. T h e wood is
easily distinguished from th a t o f th e oak, hy th e transverse fibres being more
conftised, and much less evident to th e naked eye, more especially in a section
newly c u t ; so th a t, to ascertain whethe r a plank o f timber is oak o r che stnut
it is only necessary to saw off a thin slice a t one o f its extremities. T h e bark,
especially o f young tre es, is used for ta n n in g ; bnt it only sells for h alf th e
price o f th a t o f oak. As a tre e for useful plantations, th e ch e stn u t is chiefly
3 N