The Horse-Chestnut I would compare with the locust on account of their
difference, not their resemblance. Like the locust, it is remarkable for
the beauty of its flowers, though even in this respect the trees are of
an opposite character; the one bears them in upright pyramids, the other
in pendent racemes. Those of the locust are half closed and modest in
their colors of white and brown; those of the Horse-Chestnut are wide
open and somewhat flaring, though of a delicate rose-color and white.
While in blossom the tree is unsurpassed in its beautiful display of
flowers, that “give it the appearance of an immense chandelier covered
with innumerable girandoles.”
After all, we can bestow very little praise upon the Horse-Chestnut,
except for its flowers. The foliage of the tree displays neither
lightness, nor elegance, nor brilliancy of verdure, nor autumnal
tinting, nor any flowing beauty of outline. On the contrary, it is
homely and heavy, though it affords a very deep shade. Indeed, when we
view a Horse-Chestnut from a moderate distance, the arrangement of its
leaves give it a very pleasing tufted appearance, unlike what we see in
any other species. George Barnard says of it; “This cannot be called a
picturesque tree, its shape being very formal; but the broad masses of
foliage, although too defined and unbroken to be agreeable to the
painter, are grand and majestic when seen in an avenue or in groups.”
[Illustration: HORSE-CHESTNUT.]
As a shade-tree, or a tree for avenues and pleasure-grounds, none would
deny the merits of the Horse-Chestnut; but when denuded it is a
miserable-looking object, with its terminal branches resembling
drumsticks, its primness without grace, and its amplitude without
grandeur. The birds seldom build their nests among its branches, which
are too wide apart to afford them protection or accommodation; for this
tree is absolutely without any spray. Its fruit, which is borne in great
abundance, sustains neither bird nor quadruped, nor is it profitable for
man. Hence it has always been regarded by poets and moralists as a
symbol of extravagance and waste.