The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-03-19
oHESTNUTS.

oHEsTNuTs.
WhsFe The Popular Nuts Are Gathered
Every sPseinea Supplied with Worm.
The sad-eyed Italian with his chestnut
stand. who ornaments every street cor
ner. ex0tes in the mind of the average
citizen not 20 much the memory of the
army Of decrepit jokes that have come
limping down the vistas Of ages past as
OF the days when he used to roam the
woods in search of the best chestnut tree,
with a.cartwheel spoke or q hickory
stick IN his hand as weapon of offense
and an old salt-bag shng over his back
in which to carry of the booty. Every
fall after the first October frost the same
procession wends its way through the
New England woods after school Is ont.
Away goes the troop over stone walls
and across closely cropped meadows in
search OF the most desirable tree. for the
characeeristics Of each are known.
The tree is tall and venerable, and its
fruit - big, brown and of the sweetest
flavor, but its branches are so high that
the most aspiring club can not reach
them, and only after strong wind has
shaken the limbs and scattered the nuts
on the ground, will it pay to visit the
tree. Other trees have fruit that is less
sweet and any, but their branches are
lower, and shey can be easily .Sclubbed''
and Compelled to yield up their
abnndanCe. Under one of these the
chAttering group gathers. The girls
and the smaller boys pick up,
while the more sturdy lads WELD the
dub. There is a warning cry Of
e-f1eads, and up goes a club end over
end. 1t circles through the air in the
majestic manner of an eagle whose steer
lng apparatus is out OF order, desccnds
in the tip-top of the tree, and bangs its
way downward from branch to branch.
while perfect rain of chestnuts and
burrs falls alike on the just and unjust.
HE capacious salt-bag gaps wide, but
the spoils collected by many busy hands
soon initiate it to the condition of city
official. and it is borne home in triumph.
to have its contents poured into count
less shallow milk-pans, lift doesn't burst
on the way there.
Whether the yOungster who at this
moment may be twisting his shoulder
out of joint and nearly swapping his
head off in the attempt to throw a par
ticu;arly big club to the top of the high.
est tree in some Connecticut woodland
will ever walk down Broadway and hold
open his pockets to receive a certain
minute and high-priced portion of the
wares OF the sad-eyed Italian of the fu-
ture it is impossible to say. Bat If such
should be the case he will wonder from
what sources-besideS che almsnsns and
funny papers-all the chestnuts come
And unless the condition 81 the trada
changes his loyalty to his New Encl.nd
home will be shocked at the knov1edce
tnat none OF theW comes from the East
eTn States baltimore. Pennsylvania,
y! New Iopk aId Northern New Jersey are
.ne sources OF supply Tor the chestnut
uade OF shis city. Hundreds of bushels
come. E.sre to be consumed or shipped to
ADIhY and other cities.
sosetnuts Gre rarely cultivated system
Asacailys even in these regions. but they
ars more rigidly guarded from depreda-
Stons. - tAey are not considered COM
Mon property, as in New England.
Sometimes chestnut trees are set out,
but it is for the timber primarily, and
the nuts are An incidental advantage. In
Pennsylvania, especially, chestnutting
party is apt TO meet with discourage
ments in the shape Of Teutonic ex-
pletives, bulldogs and sh0tguns, which
mar the beauty of the rural picture as
seen in the Connecticut grove
ssAll the chestnuts go through Wash
Il &c. AoA H.
shook sieve full of the article under
discussion yesterday. The shaking sent
the dirt through the meshes of the sieve,
and brought the light. wormy nuts
to The top, where they were
picked out and thrown away.
'.In . plentiful season." he con-
tinued. like this they bring from $3.50
to $3.50 . bushel of sixty pounds. Sons
have 10 be picked over carefully, and
others DON'T according to where they
come from and who gathered them.''
81 suppose that worminess is contagi-
ous," aid the reporter, as he picked
ont particularly fat and thriving speci-
men. s'One wormy chestnut would
corrupt q whole barrelful in time,
wouldn't ite''
Every chestnut you are eating has .
worm in Il, replied the dealer with a
reassuring grin. .sYou take tho faircst,
soundest ono YOU ever saw and keepit in
> warm place. like an incubator, and
it'll hatch out . worm. Arrangements
arc perfected for the future appearance
Of that worm by little insect while the
tree is yet in blossom. Then, to help
the thing out, the chcstnuts get up heat
themselves by ; sort of spontaneous
combustion. II / let the barrel stand
there I'll night you conldn't bear TO run
your hand down into it in the morning
It would be 50 hot They must b kept
in . cold place. =
How many bushels Of chestntts pass
through the market il > yearf"
| Il don't know. / can't guess. We
handle hundreds Of bushels ourselves,
and there are . good many others in the
business. IN p. 1sibame
hEAlTH HINTS.
ne Innoafoeo Osnssqueaoes 81 deed and