Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-12
THE RuRRs Adjusting NOW.
tnd the Children Arc Making Merry.
concerning the Chestnut. and
v-alnuts-Evcn tho Humble "Goob-
or Comes Ia for Mention.

ALTON. VA. October ll.-(special)-
There is 10 doubt that October is a
fevori;o daughter Of the Year.
This queen of autumn is Respondent.
5ler morning breath IS like a t!rausht OF
pure new wine Her face IS ruddy and
brown, and there is Il CLINT OF gold in
her hair
Do not proud flowers blossom for her,
adjoining the goldenrod. the purple orchid.
the dahlia and the crimson cardinal of
tho swamp lands?
Ana what richest gifts she brings OF
eli things 10 make the heart glad. What
feasts Sne sDreads of sweetest fruits ant.
browning nuts: And nowhere do we
gather from october's outstretched hand
moro prodisai wealth OF these than in
the Blue Ridge mountains
THE CHESTNUT WOODS
The chestnut woods of Virginia, are no.
ticcably fine and are Very extensive. 10
tovcilcr spot can he imagined in which
20 spend sunny afternoon than, in one
II these wiac-Spreading groves whose
rcsffui stiffness IS good for mind and
body But @, from its quiet stiffness how
the boys and girls wake the echoes and
cnjoy a nuttinE excursion. What fun il
IS 10 shake the loaded trees and hear
the nuts come rafting down from the
open hurrs: master squirrel is there, too.
and pops his saucy head out OF a hid
den nook. as though 10 say:
Please leave some for me- and the
next instant flashes his tushy tail out
of sight.
Nor is October niggardly in the variety
Of her offering: chestnuts, hicltory-nuts
Fhcllhsrks. beechnuts. hazelnuts: all arc
here for the seeking. or these the chest
nut is The choice for commerce and home
consumption. The chestnut tree so pro-
1if1c in Virginia forests. came originally
from Asia Minor Il is a handsome tree
closely allied TO the beech. growing to
Z large size and is very long lived In
Europe it often forms extensive forests
and the nuts form the principal food Of
the people, either roasted, boiled or
ground and made into bread.
A FAMOUS CHESTNUT
! read not long since of a famous
chestnut tree OF Totworts England,
which is said to have been known as
boundary-mark in the reign of King
John; and at Mount Etna there is a
chestnut tree measuring two hundred and
four feet in circumference.
Next and best beloved Of nuts is Of the
Eenus-carya, which is nothing but the
oid-tirne hickory-nut. The hickory is in
digenous; it is one of the native trees of
Northern America, and is Tirginian only
by adoption.
There are several varieties. The com
mon or market NIT is the silagbarll. SO
called from the outcr bark peeling off.
The Pecan nut is OF the hickory family,
IND grows in the West and as far South
as Florida. II is a leisurely thing to
get to the heart Of n hickory nut This
IS for the long winter evenings TO gather ,
around the blazing fire Of great hickory
logs and eat our hickory-nuts with tht
wind and the snow whirling without and
we have time in plenty.
or practical use-and without senti- |
mcnt-hickcry chips are the purest and
best for smoking meat. No other condi- !
ment is so well Favored fer curing bacon, |
as any old country housewife will tell |
you.
SOMETHING ABOUT wALNUTs.
WaInuts are nearly all natives of North |
America, though q few came originally |,
from Asia. and the common kind has
been cultivated in Europe from the time !
Of Tiberius.
The walnut is Il beautiful tree; the sap |
IS sweet and trees are often tapped for it |
The same as the maple. The leaves. |
when bruised. give out a fine fragrance. |
They are placed by country women in |
their chests and bureau drawers as moth |
representatives.. and an infusion Of walnut |
leaves is q sure homo remedy for scro- !
fuIa. A lasting dye is made from walnut |
bark, and the unripe nuts are used for |
making a delicious oid-time pickle or |
ketcnup. In France they are considered |
q dainty deicacy. 10 be eaten with vine
gar, pepper and salt.
a grove of walnut trees back here in
the mountains averaged thirty dollars to
the tree for making furniture
One mammoth of the forest, black
walnut, belonging near the Big Survey"
has been priced at 4 thousand dollars
but is Inaccessible for remora! without
proper machinery.
And there is the butter-nut-weli named
for though the shell is hard Snd rough.
the meat is as rich as the best creamery
butter; the hazel-nut and the common
varieties of the hazel. The cobnut is
found in plenty on bushy trees following
the water courses The filbert is only
The elongated hazei-nut, named Hilbert,
FOR contra ction Of full beard" the
shell being hairy-like. They arc valued
chiefly for their oil, which is used not
only by painters, but by perfumers as
tasis for the more expensive fragrant
oils Of extracts.
Hazel-tree wood is very tough and flexi- /