DENDROLOGY. 



173 



Butternut. Juglans cathartica. 



plate xxxix. 



Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with its husk. 



This species of walnut is 

 known in the United States, 

 under different denomina- 

 tions. In Massachusetts, 

 New Hampshire and Ver- 

 mont, it bears the name of 

 Oil JVut ; in Pennsylvania 

 and Maryland and on the 

 banks of the Ohio, it is 

 generally known by that of 

 White Walnut ; in Connec- 

 ticut, New York, New 

 Jersey, Virginia and the 

 mountainous districts of the 

 upper parts of the Carolinas, 

 it is called Butternut. The 

 last of these names we have 

 adopted, because it is most generally used. This tree is found 

 in the Canadas, in all of the New England States, New York, 

 New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee and on the banks of the 

 Missouri, and in the bottoms which border on the Ohio. It 

 flourishes most abundantly in a cold unproductive soil, interspersed 

 with large rocks, and on the steep, elevated banks of rivers. 



In favorable situations this tree grows to the height of 50 or 

 60 feet with a circumference of 10 or 12 feet, five feet from the 

 ground. Its roots extend even with the surface of the earth, in a 

 serpentine direction, and with little variation in size, to the 

 distance of 40 feet. The trunk ramifies at a small height, and 

 the branches, seeking a direction more horizontal than those of 

 other trees, and spreading widely, form a large and tufted head, 

 which gives the tree a remarkable appearance. The bark of the 

 secondary branches is smooth and grayish. The buds, like those 

 of the black walnut, are uncovered. In spring its vegetation is 

 forward, and its leaves unfold a fortnight earlier than those of the 



