They are three
or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
would like to hear.
* * * * *
The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
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