An Aberrant WaIvNut. 



83 



tend entirely through to the endocarp. This outer half of the 

 nut is also smaller than the basal half, giving the latter somewhat 

 the appearance of a deep acorn cup into which the outer half is 

 sunken slightly. Thus there is a transverse groove at the meeting 

 of these two halves and extending back for a millimeter or more 

 under the basal exocarp. So closelv did this basal and apical 

 half resemble a walnut and a hickory nut respectively that the 

 parties who found it were certain that the nut was the result of a 

 cross between these two genera, though they had no further evi- 

 dence than the appearance of the nut for this supposition. 



Within a few weeks of the time this nut was reported a 

 similar one was sent to Professor Barnes from southern Tennessee. 



Fig. 2. Tree and nut of aberrant walnut from Indiana. 



The specimens above described were turned over to me for 

 investigation. I endeavored to get more material from these 

 trees but the parties owning them or knowing of them had 

 only a layman's interest in the same, and could not be in- 

 duced to collect any material, except for one collection of 

 nuts from Tennesee in the fall of 1905. Being located either 

 in New York Cit}' or Salt Lake City, I was unable to visit 

 either tree. Last summer, through the assistance of the Car- 

 negie Institution of Washington, I was enabled to visit each 

 tree and obtain photographs of them. 



