Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXCV · Topic 28: Tree study
195. The horse-chestnut
Goal: Your child can describe the horse-chestnut's sticky buds, horseshoe leaf scars, flowers and nuts, and knows the nuts are poisonous.
You'll need
- Horse-chestnut twigs with buds (late winter) or flowers (May)
- A few horse-chestnuts in their burs (fall)
- A jar of water
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought and ten observations on the tree in bloom, the flower cluster and single flower, the nuts ("the coin of the small boy"), and the twigs, buds, leaf scars and leaves in spring.
The lesson, step by step
Safety first
Horse-chestnuts are poisonous to eat. Play with them, draw them, but never taste them. The book asks "Is it good to eat?" The answer is no.
When and where
Horse-chestnuts are common shade trees in towns. In late winter, bring in twigs and stand them in water by a window to watch the sticky buds open. In May, study the flowers on the tree; in fall, collect the nuts.
The leading thought
The horse-chestnut has been introduced into America as a shade tree from Asia Minor and southern Europe. Its foliage and its flowers are both beautiful.
Buds and horseshoes
What is the color of the buds? How are the scales arranged on them? Are they shiny or dull?
Describe the scars below the buds. What caused them? What marks are on them? What made the "nails" in the horseshoe?
The flowers
Do the flowers open all at once from top to bottom of the cluster? Are all the flowers in the cluster the same color? Are they fragrant? What insects visit them?
Watch bees from a step back.
The nuts
Describe the shape of the nuts, their color and markings.
Which make the best "conquerers," those which grow single in the bur or as twins?
The leaf
Do all the leaves have the same number of leaflets?
Count the leaflets on ten leaves and make a tally.
Nature notebook
Draw a twig with a big bud and a horseshoe scar with its "nails" (look with the lens). Draw a leaf like an open hand. Write: "Horse-chestnuts are not for eating."
Answers to the book's problems
The horseshoe scar is where last year's leaf stalk was attached; the "nails" are the ends of the little pipes (veins) that carried sap into the leaf. Most leaves have seven leaflets, some five. The flowers do not all open at once; their spots change from yellow to red as they age.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.