The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-10-06
CHESTNUT SEASON NEAR AT HAND
Some Have Been. Brought to
Town and Shipped to Foreign
Markets


Town and Shipped to Foreign
Markets.
One of the most pleasant outdoor
occupations at this season of the year
is the gathering of chestnuts, and lit
tie parties are already IN the woods,
althoughit is as yet too soon. 1t would
be wiser to wait for week or two,
when the nuts will be quite ripe.
Gathered now, they show the signs of
immaturitY-the shells, instead of
being brown, have a wbitish appear
ance, and the meat, which should be
sweet and delicate in flavor, has a
mealy and starchy taste. Within a
fortnight, however, if the impatient
children will wait, aided by frost, the
green burr and its brown contents
will be in perfect condition.
The mountain is favorite chest
nuting ground. So rich is the field
that there is little to do but reap, and
at the end of the afternoons quest the
DCChClo OlOCh DCtCh ldltu. L Ills,
however, may not be the case the
present season, as, by all accounts,
the cropis not likely to be so large as
usual. In the early spring the omens
were good, as the blossoms were plen-
tiful, but there must be warm sum-
mer for the chestnuts, and the sum-
mer just departed was cool, and to-
ward the close came the long drought,
which also is unfavorable for the nuts.
The recent heavy storm likewise dam
aged the branches and blew thou
sands of buurrs from the trees before
the nuts were ripe. 1t may be, new
ertheless, that the crop will prove
larger than the dealers have look ed
for. The early scarcity has made
prices high, but they are certain to
decline, however, as the season adj
vances.
The arrival of the chestnut season
is made known to dwellers in the city
who meyer leave its precincts by the
appearance of the small merchants
who, with his little stand and char
coal pot, takes his place on the cor
ners, the aroma of the roasting nuts
rising upon the sharp autumn air.
These vendors are mostly Italians,
and one wonders how they obtain a
livelihood at such modest occupation
as dealing out chestnuts at five cents
a measure. Yet the children, especial
ly in the neighbOrhood of the schools
are many, and and there are not a
few older customers, for the liking for
chestnuts does not appear wholly
with youth. With some it never dis
appears. Nor is the liking for chest
nuts confined to the roasted-boiled,
to many palates are more luscious,
and in many houses, especially in the
country, the boiling of chestnuts is
great fun.
Chestuuts make an enjoyable part
of the school lunch in the fall. Pleas
ant it is, too, to eat chestnuts in the
countryhousesintheautumn evenings
and if cool enough for bit of fire
something is added to the flavor of
the refreshment. There are also mys-
FERROUS rites with chestnuts relating
to loye and wedlock, which have come
down from times past, and are describ-
ed in books devoted to this sort of
lore.
The little brother of the chestnuts
is the chinquapin-much smaller and
of different taste, yet not without
sweetness. These tiny black nuts are
seen just now in the markets and are
worth So bushel. They do not,
however, enjoy anything like the
popularity of the chestnut.