THE CHESTNUT.
Many admirers of trees place the Chestnut before the oak because it is a taller tree with a proportional spread and denser foliage. A remarkable peculiarity in the style of its foliage is its radiated tufts, giving it a similar appearance to that which is so apparent in the horse-chestnut. But we observe an important difference between the two,—while the radiated tufts of the horse-chestnut are distinctly separated by spaces, those of the Chestnut seem to be involved in a general and more indistinct mass of foliage. A notion prevails in some parts of Europe, that this tree should not be planted near dwelling-houses, “because the flowers emit a powerful and disagreeable odor, which is offensive to most people.” I have not observed any such odor from the American Chestnut.
In general form and proportions there seems to be no specific difference between the English and the American chestnuts. On this continent it is a majestic tree, remarkable for the breadth and depth of its shade; but it is seldom cultivated by roadsides. It displays many of the superficial characters of the red oak, so that in winter we cannot readily distinguish them. The foliage bears some resemblance to that of the beech, but displays more variety. The leaves are long, lengthened to a tapering point, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are clustered in stars, containing from five to seven leaves, on the fruitful branches, that grow out from the perfected wood. When the tree is viewed from a moderate distance, the whole mass seems to consist of tufts, each containing several long pointed leaves, drooping divergently from a common centre. From this centre the aments of the male flowers come out in a similar way; and their bright silvery green, glistening upon a mass of darker foliage, always attracts attention at the time of flowering.
The Chestnut is ranked among the largest of our forest trees, sometimes in favorable situations attaining a height of nearly eighty feet. When growing isolated on a plain, its diameter is sometimes equal to its height. The Chestnut has a rather loose ramification, being in this respect inferior to the red oak, which it resembles. Its larger branches are numerous, but the spray is coarse, the terminal branches being fewer and more straggling than those of the oak. This tree is therefore not comparable in beauty with the oak when divested of its leaves. The Chestnut is a classical tree, being mentioned very frequently in the works of the Greek and Roman poets, who were familiar with it.