Chestnut tree

“ No species of chestnut tree is entirely immune from this disease, though some species are highly resistant.
Value for planting: The chestnut is one of the most rapidly growing hardwood trees but, on account of its disease, which is now prevalent everywhere, it is not wise to plant chestnut trees for the present.
Commercial value: The wood is light, not very strong and liable to warp. It is durable when brought in contact with the soil and is therefore used for railroad ties, fence-posts, poles, and mine timbers. It is also valuable for interior finish in houses and for fuel. ”

“ The largest known chestnut tree is the famous Castagno di cento cavalli, or the chestnut of a hundred horses, on the slopes of Mount Etna, a tree which, when measured about 1780 by Count Borch, was found to have a circumference of 190 ft. The timber bears a striking resemblance to that of the oak, which has been mistaken for chestnut; but it may be distinguished by the numerous fine medullary rays. Unlike oak, the wood is more valuable while young than old. When not more than fifty years old it forms durable posts for fences and gates ”

“ I do not come before you as an authority on chestnut growing. I feel that to force myself to do my best I should plant enough trees to make me find out how to handle them. In the rush and bustle of peach and pecan growing if I had only a few chestnut trees I might decide that not much was involved, and neglect the chestnuts. I know that with two thousand trees already planted and some of them bearing I am going to make a great effort to make the project profitable. I have decided that chestnut growing has possibilities as a tree crop in my section, and is worth my time and effort. ”

“ Next to the hickory nuts, we must rank the chestnuts. Some may give them first place in the list of American nut trees. In England the chestnut trees one hears about are never praised for their nuts. English boys and girls do not eagerly plan for half-holidays spent in the jolly sport of chestnutting. Their chestnut trees turn out to be very familiar to our eyes. They are the horse chestnuts that we see so often at home. ”

“ The chestnut is a long-lived tree, attaining an age of from 400 to 600 years, but trees over 100 years are usually hollow. It grows quickly, and sprouts from a chestnut stump (Coppice Chestnut) often attain a height of 8 feet in the first year. It has a fairly cylindrical stem, and often grows to a height of 100 feet and over. Coppice chestnut, that is, chestnut grown on an old stump, furnishes better timber for working than chestnut grown from the nut, it is heavier, less spongy, straighter in grain, easier to split, and stands exposure longer. ”

“ In the Gulf States and northward along the Atlantic seaboard the Chinese chestnut tree is vigorous, healthy, and productive, coming into bearing at a fairly early age and thereafter producing regular crops. The trees grow to be rather large in size, developing a somewhat rounded form with a spread of branches about equal to the height. Without pruning when young many sprouts usually develop near the ground so that the mature tree has numerous trunks of about equal size, with the lower lateral branches resting on the ground. ”

“ A chestnut tree standing by itself on a plain is as stately and dignified as a village patriarch. Grouped together in level, rich woodland, chestnuts are prim and almost lady-like. Why these particular trees in the little glen at the east side of Blue Hill summit should skip about in clumsy riot is more than I can tell, but they certainly seem to do it, and I am not the only one who has seen it and been shocked by it. ”

“ The young Horse Chestnuts along the little watercourse are nearly twice the size they were [Pg 140] last summer, when cruel winds had left them only a few ragged discoloured leaves. The flower-spikes of a Chestnut within the garden measure near a foot in length. The great red Horse Chestnut (Pavias rubra) is red all over; it is a mass of blossom almost from the ground upwards to the very top. The tree is a fine sight, and if it were not so common one scarcely should tire of admiring it. The season makes a great difference in the colouring of the blossoms. ”

“ If we consider that chestnut trees are set 40 feet apart each way, which means 27 trees to the acre, and estimated the crop at a fraction of that borne by the Boone tree we shall still have figures sufficient to show the wonderful possibilities of the chestnut in those sections outside of the native chestnut area of the country where it will succeed. ”

“ The long spikes of pretty red flowers are usually produced in great abundance, and as they stand well above the foliage, and are of firm lasting substance, they have a most pleasing and attractive appearance. As there are numerous forms of the red-flowered Horse Chestnut, differing much in the depth of flower colouring, it may be well to warn planters, for some of these have but a faint tinge of pink overlying a dirty yellowish-green groundwork, while the finest and most desirable tree has the flowers of a decided pinky-red. ”

“ Chestnut blight has killed most of the chestnut trees in New York and Pennsylvania. It is now active in Virginia and West Virginia and is working its way down into North and South Carolina.
Diseased trees are a menace to the forest. They rob the healthy trees of space, light and food. That is why it is necessary to remove them as soon as they are discovered. In the smaller and older forests of Europe, tree surgery and doctoring are practised widely. Wounds are treated and cured and the trees are pruned and sprayed at regular intervals. In our extensive woods such practices are too expensive. ”

“ When dried hard they are rather indigestible. The tree grows well in most parts of the United States, pro [Pg 126] vided the soil be light sand or dry gravel. If the soil be not suitable, every man may have a half-dozen chestnut-trees, at a trifling expense. Haul ten or fifteen loads of sand upon a square rod, and plant a tree in it, and it will flourish well. Five or six trees would afford the children in a family a great luxury, annually. The blossoms appear so very late, that they are seldom cut off by the frost. The second growth chestnut-tree is also decidedly ornamental. ”

“ The old trees, having attained their full size, meet overhead and right alongside of them are planted new trees, which under such circumstances make a very poor growth. The young tree may get as high as this room in ten or fifteen years, and the old tree being worth ten or fifteen dollars, is then cut down (in that country if you want money cut down a chestnut tree) . The young tree takes the place very soon, and once established a chestnut orchard lasts indefinitely. Sometimes they plant the young tree beside the old one, ten or fifteen years before the old tree is to be cut down. ”

“ No one with discrimination will for a moment hesitate, after eating a nut of both, to cheerfully choose the American native as best worth his commendation, though he may come to understand the food value, after cooking, of the chestnuts used so freely in parts of Europe.
As a forest tree, however, our American sweet chestnut has a place of its own. Naturally spreading in habit when growing where there is room to expand, it easily accommodates itself to the more cramped conditions of our great woodlands, and shoots upward to light and air, making rapidly a clean and sturdy stem. ”

“ Chestnut oak possesses some advantages over most of the other oaks. Large trees will grow on very poor soil, where most other oaks are little more than shrubs. Trees so grown are little more susceptible to disease than if produced in good soil, though they develop more slowly and are smaller. There are many poor flats and sterile ridges in the chestnut oak’s range, and they will produce timber of fairly good kind, if the chestnut oaks are permitted to have them. Nature gave this tree facilities for taking possession. Its acorns will grow without being buried. ”

“ In all my intensive work on the blight between 1907 and 1913 I cannot now recall a single instance where a chestnut sprout in a disease-ridden area ever reached a diameter of an inch or thereabouts before its existence was cut short by the blight; and yet today—a dozen years later—we are finding quite a number of living sprouts over two inches in diameter, and a few that are three, four, and even up to seven inches in diameter. Last Friday, August 29, I heard of a small chestnut tree in New Jersey that bore a few burs last year and which has a dozen or more this year. ”

“ I took a census of my chestnut trees recently and found 80 trees of bearing age. Some of the largest are 22 to 24 feet in height, with a trunk diameter of 5 inches or more. None have been pruned but have maintained their normal branch formation and grow low. The timber tree must be yet to come. ”

“ Zan remembered.
"Anybody else wish to contribute?" asked Miss Miller.
"Every one wants to but can't afford it this time," laughed Jane eagerly.
"Well then, the chestnut is a deciduous tree that grows to a considerable height and size. Its timber is light weight, cross-grained and very durable; that is why it has been preferred in the past for posts. Its leaves are long and shiny and has sharp pointed edges. The nuts are sweet and of a starchy nature, also highly nutritious. ”

“ Site and Soil.+ The most successful trees from the standpoint of growth and production were those growing on fertile, well drained soil in which moisture was plentiful. The Chinese chestnut tree appears to be shallow rooted and to require good growing conditions. Dry ridges were unfavorable for growth, and in bottom land the trees frequently were subjected to late spring freezing of tender shoots.
2. Blight injury to the trees and weevil damage to the nuts seemed to be the most serious enemies of chestnuts. Seedlings varied considerably in their resistance to blight. ”

“ Many people seem to think that all you need to do when planting a tree is to stick it in the ground—just any ground. This may be true of some kinds, but is certainly not true of the chestnut. For best growth and development the chestnut requires a fairly deep, well-drained soil, rich in mineral elements and humus, with a fair degree of moisture and plenty of sunlight. Two things chestnuts will not endure are shallow soil and drought, the latter often depending on the former. ”

“ The chestnut in England has in modern times been treated with less courtesy than it deserves. It is a better tree in many ways than the elm, which is usually placed only a step or two below the oak. It may not be so graceful, but it is beautiful notwithstanding, and far less treacherous. In such esteem, indeed, was it held by our ancestors that many of their beautiful half-timbered houses, which a careless posterity supposes to have been invariably built of oak, were largely constructed of chestnut, while many an old house is full of admirably carved and polished chestnut furniture. ”

“ I have a list of two hundred owners of cultivated chestnut trees that I got in the last month from various sources. Anyone in Pennsylvania who has a cultivated chestnut tree, can send a postal card, get one of us out to examine the tree and see whether it is blighted, and we will demonstrate what can be done in the way of treating it. ”

“ It was not without a certain wild pleasure I ran before the wind, delivering my trouble of mind to the measureless air-torrent thundering through space. Descending the laurel walk, I faced the wreck of the chestnut-tree; it stood up black and riven: the trunk, split down the centre, gasped ghastly. The cloven halves were not broken from each other, for the firm base and strong roots kept them unsundered below; though community of vitality was destroyed—the sap could flow no more: their great boughs on each side were dead, and next winter’s tempests would be sure to fell one or both to earth: ”

“ Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me: There lie they, and here lie we Under the spreading chestnut tree. ”

“ We are having up in Ontario, beyond Toronto, a blight that has attacked the Lombardy poplar and that looks similar to the chestnut blight. I have been watching it for the last ten years and the tree seems to have at last outlived it. It dies down and then a little sprout comes out from the carcass.
The Chairman: Isn't that the poplar tree borer that always attacks the Lombardy?
Mr. Corsan: Oh no, it's very similar to the chestnut tree blight. We can grow chestnut trees all we like but no one has brains enough to grow them. The farmers grow pigs and things but don't bother with chestnut trees ”

“ The timber of the Chestnut is strong and very durable; but it is often found decayed at the core, and, in working, is very brittle. The wood is preferred for the manufacture of liquor tubs and vessels, as it does not shrink after being once seasoned. This tree is now, however, chiefly grown for hop-poles, which are the straightest, tallest, and most durable. Though cut at an early age for this purpose, the trees are frequently ornaments of our parks and pleasure-grounds. ”

“ Passiflora Cærulea is fine for outdoor culture, and Countess Guiglini makes a capital greenhouse plant.
Pavia Macrostachya.—This is a deciduous hardy shrub or tree which bears elegant racemes of white Chestnut-like flowers in July. Any soil suits it. It is propagated by layers or by grafting it on to the Horse-chestnut. Height, 10 ft.
Peaches.—These are best grown on a strong loam mixed with old mortar; though any soil that is well drained will produce good fruit. When possible, a south wall should be chosen ”