470 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



a high idea of this most valuable tree. It is a native of Persia and Hima- 

 laya; was cultivated by the Romans in the time of Tiberius, in the year 

 42 before Christ; has been extensively grown in southern Europe down to 

 the present time. The tree does well in England, but does not begin to 

 bear until about the twenty-fifth year. I have seen a very large tree in 

 Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia, probably seventy to eighty feet high. 

 Was told by the owner that it rarely bore fruit, and never more than a few 

 in any one year, probably from the severity of the weather during the time 

 it produces the staminate flowers. This period in Santa Barbara is from 

 April first to fifteenth. 



The plan of propagation in California is to plant the nut in nursery form 

 in the spring of the year, in well cultivated sandy loam, about six inches 

 deep. The first year they will grow from six inches to one foot high; the 

 second, from one and a half to three feet; the third, from five to six feet. 

 At this period it is considered the best for transplanting to permanent 

 sites. The trees are generally planted forty feet distant each way. An 

 orchard planted in proper soil and well taken care of, will begin to bear 

 the eighth year, and when ten years from transplanting will give a hand- 

 some return. 



During the first years, constant pruning is necessary, to have the tree 

 properly shaped. I have pruned in a summer as many as four or five 

 times. Branches are apt to grow too rapidly, bear down with their own 

 weight, and break off during high winds, destroy the symmetry of the tree, 

 and occasion much loss of time. All lateral branches growing from the 

 leader should be cultivated to assume an upward angle from the main 

 leader of about fifteen or forty-five degrees. This can be done by clipping 

 off all branches growing under, and at times cut off the ends. A trunk 

 should be maintained free from limbs five and a half to six feet from the 

 ground. Earth should be kept away from the trunks, and if the top roots 

 near the trunk are exposed, so much the better; it will assist the tree in 

 breathing. The most careful cultivation is necessary, and nothing, after 

 the fifth year, should be grown between the rows. 



The fruit is easily gathered, as the husk opens and drops the nut. The 

 fruit should be gathered as soon as it falls, and properly dried. In a dry- 

 ing house, well ventilated, it requires about twenty-four hours at 120 

 degrees. In the sun, from ten to twelve days. When well cured, they will 

 keep sweet for more than a year. The meat is unsurpassed as an article of 

 food; it gives to the system all the strength and vigor that can be obtained 

 from animal food, is more healthful, and of greater economy. One acre in 

 matured trees, for food-giving sustenance, would equal very many acres 

 devoted to beef growing. Rancid nuts should not be eaten. 



From the " Bon Jardiniere" a French work, I copy the statement that 

 "the nut furnishes about half the oil that is consumed in France;" that 

 "the tree there at twenty years gives a passable product, at sixty years the 

 maximum quantity;" that "the tree grows from sixty to ninety feet high;" 

 that "twenty good trees grow on a hectare of land" (two and one half 

 acres) . This would be about eight to the acre and seventy-three feet dis- 

 tant from each other. That " 3,000 francs is a possible crop per hectare," 

 equal to $225 per acre, and from eight trees, or $28 per tree; that "the 

 annual production of twenty good trees is often worth more than the value 

 of the land;" that "whole orchards have been destroyed on account of the 

 great value of timber for manufacturing furniture." Notwithstanding this 

 apparent unwise policy, it has been, and is still going on, and the denuded 

 orchards not replanted. 



At my home at Ellwood, in Santa Barbara County, taking the very best 

 yield I have yet had from fifty-five acres, the crop of this year, sold at a 



