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excess rainfall and lack of sunshine^ was very unfavorable to the de- 

 velopment of the walnut crop. Light crops were recorded in most 

 districts and malformation and distortion of shell were very prevalent 

 in the samples received. After exposure for a week or two to normal 

 indoor conditions, the kernels of the majority of the nuts became 

 shrivelled and withered, and the cause of this shrinkage was found to 

 be a shortage of the normal proportion of oil in the nuts. This de- 

 ficiency was accompanied in most cases by excessive sugariness and 

 lack of the true walnut flavour. In spite of the generally disappoint- 

 ing results of this year's enquiry, mainly attributable to the weather 

 conditions, the fact emerged that some, though but a very small num- 

 ber, of home grown trees are capable even in so unfavorable a year 

 of producing nuts with the desired characteristics in greater or lesser 

 degree, viz : good colour, size, contour, percentage of kernel and of 

 oil, flavour, sealing, crop yield and absence of astringency and ex- 

 cessive moisture — and approximating to the high standard of Cali- 

 fornian and continental types. 



In 1925, a season of more normal climatic conditions, the home 

 walnut crop was much better both in quantity and quality than in 1924. 

 Practically the whole of the samples received this year were free from 

 tlie malformation noted in the previous year, and in many cases trees 

 which produced small crops of poor nuts in the previous years were 

 found in 1925 to have borne large crops of better nuts. The examina- 

 tion of the 1925 samples confirmed the fact that the percentage of wal- 

 nut oil in the nut is the prime factor in determining quality; it also 

 brought out another factor second only in importance, viz : the original 

 ])roportion of water present in the fresh kernel, which in the case of a 

 number of the samples was excessive so that the shrinkage on ]iarti.-il 

 drying was serious. 



The enquiry has so far revealed a dozen types which pnss the 

 standard in these two essential factors and which are a great improve- 

 ment on the large majority of home grown walnuts. Amongst these 

 are 2 or 3 varieties excellent for home consumption but too small for 

 the market; one only is deemed worthy of wider general distribution. 

 Scions of these have been kindly supplied for propagation trials 

 mainly at East Mailing Research Station, where experimental work is 

 now proceeding on the subject of stocks and their standardization, 

 tlie best methods of propagation for home conditions, and also to de- 



