File:The woods and by-ways of New England (1872) (14776299091).jpg

Identifier: woodsbywaysofnew00flag (find matches)
Title: The woods and by-ways of New England
Year: 1872 (1870s)
Authors: Flagg, Wilson, 1805-1884
Subjects: Trees
Publisher: Boston, J. R. Osgood and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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massof 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 dis-agreeable odor, which is offensive to most people. Ihave not observed any such odor from the AmericanChestnut. In general form and proportions there seems to be nospecific difference between the English and the Americanchestnuts. On this continent it is a majestic tree, re-markable for the breadth and depth of its shade; but it isseldom cultivated by roadsides. It displays many of thesuperficial characters of the red oak, so that in winter wecannot readily distinguish them. The foliage bears someresemblance to that of the beech, but displays morevariety. The leaves are long, lengthened to a taperingpoint, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Thougharranged alternately, like those of the beech, on the recentbranches, they are clustered in stars, containing from five toseven leaves, on the fruitful branches, that grow out from
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THE CHESTNUT. 195 the perfected wood. When the tree is viewed from amoderate distance, the whole mass seems to consist oftufts, each containing several long pointed leaves, droop-ing divergently from a common centre. From this centrethe aments of the male flowers come out in a similarway; and their bright silvery green, glistening upon amass of darker foliage, always attracts attention at thetime of flowering. The Chestnut is ranked among the largest of our foresttrees, sometimes in favorable situations attaining a heightof nearly eighty feet. When growing isolated on a plain,its diameter is sometimes equal to its height. The Chest-nut has a rather loose ramification, being in this respectinferior to the red oak, which it resembles. Its largerbranches are numerous, but the spray is coarse, the ter-minalbranches being fewer and more straggling thanthose of the oak. This tree is therefore not comparablein beauty with the oak when- divested of its leaves.The Chestnut is a classical tree,

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