The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1867-01-31
Chestnuts-a Leading Article of
food in Italy.


nut orchard, Many of the more suit
able hillsides, are devoted to the cult
tivation Of Olive Trees, for the purpose
of raising olive oil, which, in that
country, is used in place of butter
Chestnuts are cultivated in Italy with
more care than apples in this country.
Dreary mountain sides where it is al
most dangerous for men to attempt to
walk, are terraced and rendered into
chestnut orchards.
AS soon as one tree dies, or becomes
unfruitful, it is cut down, ,& saplin plant
ed in it's place Nurseries, where the
young trees are raised,ar very numer-
Gus, and after they are transplanted
about three years, they are grated in
any desired variety. The process Of
grating is as follows: The bark of a
very young limb, of an old tree, is los
ened, and cut so as to contain a bud,
then it is pulled off and put on a limb
of the saplin of the same size, which,
usually grows, and bears the same kind
as the tree from which it was taken
Grating is done in the Spring. The
variety of chestnuts raised are very nu-
merous, and the flavor of the nuts is as
numerous and varied. Strange as it
may be, no matter what kind of chest
nuts you may plant, if permitted to
grow without grating, the nuts will be
of a very inferior quality and size; so
much so that when any such trees oc-
cur, in orchards, they are generally cut
down, or no attention given to their
fruits.
The task of gathering these nuts is
one that requires much industry and
patience. But as they are cultivated,
they are about four times as large as
those grown in this country. Again,
when the nuts are ripe, the burs open
very nicely, and allow the nuts to fall.
They are gathered every day or so, till
they are all secured and taken to the
residence Of the owner, or to dry hous-
es in the woods, built expressly for
storing away leaves, which are careful
ly gathered, and also for drying the
nuts.
In drying these nuts, they are plac-
ed on lathes, arranged so as to allow
the heat to penetrate between them,
and at the same time so close as not
to permit the nuts to fall through
These lathes are arranged about seven
or eight feet from the floor, and then
the room being closed, large fire is
built in the middle of the room, on a
clay hearth, and continued till the
nuts are thoroughly dried and hard.
The Italians are famous for music and
other things, but the inventive genious
of the Yankee is not observed in the
following Chestnut Huller. Itconsists
of a solid block, with smooth surface,
somewhat resembling that used by our
butchers, for the purpose Of cutting
meat on Now comes the threshing.
There are usually three men at the op-
Grafton. Each one is provided with a
long, narrow bag, one end of which is
tied with very strong cord and the 9th
er left open. Each man puts about
half peck Of nuts in the bag and tLen
they strike alternately on the block fol
few times, which breaks the hulls of
of the nuts, leaving the kernel whole
as it becomes very hard by drying
Then they are emptied on a table
where the women clean them with theil
hands, as they have no fans there
This is tedious process. When the
kernels are all separated from the hulls
and dirt, they are taken to the mill an6
ground into flour, which is very swee1
and light. When brought home, it is
packed in large chests, by tramping i
down with the feet. It will keep till th'
next years crop is, again ready for use
This -four is used for as many purposes
as wheat -four is in this country The
common people, however, make musE
of it. The seasoning consists simpl,
!. salt and water. During the winte
ais meal forms one half Of the food Q
the common people
l. Those who can afford it, use sheer
and COW cheese land olive oil, and whel
this is done, a very nice, delicious disl
the result. Bread is also made, which i
is very good.