186 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



is surmounted by a many-toothed circle or involucre, within 

 which are four slender, lanceolate lobes, encircling the style 

 with its long, deeply bifid, purple or red stigma. Recent shoots 

 slightly downy or powdery, as are the leaf-stalks. 



The leaves are very long, with from fifteen to twenty-one 

 leaflets ; the leaf-stalk downy ; leaflets on a short petiole, nearly 

 smooth, downy on the mid-rib above and beneath, ovate-lanceo- 

 late, with a long acumination, inequilateral at base, lower ones 

 cordate, middle ones rounded, upper ones acute below and serrate. 



Recent branchlets very downy; fruit-stalk somewhat downy. 

 Fruit globose, nearly smooth, or somewhat granulate, and of a 

 greenish yellow when mature, but soon turning to a dark brown. 

 Within the spongy husk is a rough, deeply farrowed nut, round, 

 but slightly flattened, with a woody or bony covering. The 

 kernel, which nearly resembles that of an English walnut in 

 shape, is more oily, but, when carefully dried, of a rich and 

 very agreeable taste. 



The wood of the black walnut is of a dark violet or purple 

 color, becoming deeper and almost black with age. It is valu- 

 able for its fineness of grain, tenacity, hardness, strength and 

 durability. These qualities, together with its beauty and tough- 

 ness, render it preferable to any other material for the stocks 

 of muskets. The wood is beautifully shaded, and admits of a 

 fine polish, and it is now very extensively used in the manufac- 

 ture of tables, chairs, bureaus, bedsteads, and other cabinet 

 work, and sometimes for book-shelves and the cornices and 

 panels of rooms. Where abundant, it serves the same useful 

 ends that hickory does with us. Posts made of it last for more 

 than a quarter of a century. It is brought into the State in 

 considerable quantities for the purposes above mentioned. More 

 nearly than any other American tree, it resembles the Euro- 

 pean walnut, which, before the introduction of mahogany, was 

 considered the most beautiful material known for the best kinds 

 of furniture. 



Its erect stem and the breadth of shade from its abundant, 

 soft and luxurious foliage, recommend it as an ornamental 

 shade tree. It is perfectly adapted to our climate. It is found 

 growing naturally in small numbers, or solitary, in several 



