IS THE WALNUT POISONOUS? 125 



quality ; in fact the cattle would not eat it if they 

 could get any other. The trees seemed to poison 

 the grass. 



Mr. Douglas: Where there is a large black wal- 

 nut tree there generally are no other large trees 

 close around; it seems to clear a space for itself, 

 and kill out all its rivals. 



Mr. Bryant: I planted an orchard, in one corner 

 of which there stood a large black walnut tree, and 

 after 20 years there was not a single apple tree 

 standing within five rods of that walnut tree all 

 had died out. I think the roots are in some way 

 poisonous to other trees. 



Dr. Shroeder: The leaves of the walnut contain 

 a great proportion of bitter stuff and they embitter 

 the ground and make it sick. [Laughter] . 



I have tried to observe whether there was any 

 truth in these statements and have been unable to 

 see that the effect of the walnut upon adjoining 

 vegetation is particularly different from that of 

 other trees. The walnut is a rapid grower, forms 

 a dense shade, and produces a large portion of its 

 roots near the surface of the ground. Its effect in 

 starving out and overshadowing other plants is 

 therefore greater than that of some other trees. 

 Similar beliefs to this regarding the walnut are 

 held in regard to other plants. Thus Carpenter, 

 in his celebrated work on "Vegetable Physiology," 



