It does not take long to fill their bags, and the one who first succeeds in the feat receives the title of “Little Brown Squirrel.” Then all the others, for the rest of the day, obey her wishes. Nor is this difficult, for their Little Brown Squirrel is blithe and gay, generous and kind, and does all in her power to render her subjects happy.
As they turn their faces homeward the girls plan for another nutting-party to come off soon, for they wish to make the most of the glorious Indian summer, which belongs, we claim, exclusively to our country, and which may last a week or only a few days.
The chestnuts are brought home, where in the evening some are eaten raw, others have the shells slit and are then roasted or boiled, making a sort of chestnut festival, as in the North of Italy, only of course on a very much smaller scale, for there the peasants gather chestnuts all day long and have a merry-making when the sun goes down. This harvest lasts over three weeks and is a very important one to the dark-eyed Italians, who dry the nuts and grind them to flour, which is used for bread and cakes during the barren season. The harvest in the Apennines is quite an event, as the trees are plentiful, the fruit is good, and the people gladly celebrate the season.
Our thin, white-shelled shag-bark hickory-nut is peculiarly American, and many a nutting-party have found its delicate and agreeable flavor very welcome when, gathered around a large rock, they crack a few to sample their fruit before returning home. These nuts are only cooked by covering the kernels with hot candy, and thus prepared, they make a delicious sweetmeat.
Blossom and Fruit of the Chestnut-Tree.
When cracking hickory-nuts, hold each nut firmly by the flat sides, bringing uppermost one of the narrow sides; strike this and the nut will open so that the halves fall out, or may be easily extracted, and occasionally the kernels will come out whole. We have seen quaint little figures, with the heads made of hickory-nuts, the pointed end forming the nose, and the eyes and mouth marked with ink, giving a comical expression to the peaked face.
The neat little three-cornered beech-nut is easy and pleasant to gather, making a desirable change for the “nutters” after going for other kinds, and the trees with their beautiful foliage render the scene very attractive. But not more so than do the lofty and stately walnut-trees with their rich, brown fruit encased in such rough shells, whose outside covering is so juicy that, unless we are very cautious, it will stain our hands its own dark color. The black-walnut tree (J. nigra) is indigenous to the United States, and we are informed that a celebrated specimen is still standing at Roslyn, L. I., where the seed was planted in 1713. The tree measures twenty-five feet in circumference at three feet from the ground.
Butter-nuts, so significant during our civil war, also belong to America; the meat, though quite oily, is sweet and agreeable.