No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 637 



THE PERSIAN WALNUT. 



By John G. Rush, West Willow, Pa. 



It is not my purpose at this time to give you a lengthy and de- 

 scriptive history of the Persian Walnut from its early introduction 

 into this country, but to be as brief and practical as possible. It 

 it a well-known fact that it is grown in almost every state in the 

 Union. It is also well for us to know in which of the states it 

 finds a natural adaption to its best development. 



The Black Walnut is a good leader where it succeeds and the Per- 

 sian Walnut is a close follower, as it belongs to the same genus. I 

 do not know anywhere on the Atlantic coast, or in the interior, 

 that the Persian Walnut is grown for commercial purposes, but 

 on the Pacific coast they are grown very extensively and find a 

 ready market in the Atlantic coast cities. » 



It is not altogether just that California and some foreign coun- 

 tries should have the exclusive privilege to this market, when it is 

 possible that the Persian Walnut can be as successfully grown here 

 as elsewhere. Now right hear who is to blame? Adam, speak out, 

 as you did once before. Well, the blame is right here, and let him 

 whom it hits take it. 



Up to this time all Persian Walnut trees have been sold by nur- 

 serymen as seedlings, and as a result we have a conglomeration of 

 all types and shades of Persians. The Persian Walnut may be 

 successfully grown in sections where no other trees grow of the 

 same genus, otherwise you are bound to have a mixture which is 

 very annoying to the nut grower. 



I do not wish to be understood that grafting alone will remedy 

 the trouble. That I see at home, in my own village, where the 

 Persian has been very successfully grafted on the Black Walnut. 

 If proper selection of the variety or kinds had been made, one might 

 be proud of the result, but the grafted tree is no better than the 

 seedling. 



There are some very good seedling Persians, but they are few 

 and far between. I have in my yard on the farm a Persian, and 

 I saw nothing more productive last summer when on a visit 

 to Santa Barbara, Cal. At ten years of anre I had two bushels and 

 increased to three bushels last fall. I have another tree the same 

 age only 40 feet away, that had about three quarts. Such examples 

 as these makes one think of the subject of Nature Study. 



As I had access to these trees I watched closely to see why the 

 difference in productiveness. The three-quart tree had a profusion 

 of staminate bloom, but dropped too soon to fertilize the pistillates, 

 hence the failure. The three-bushel tree is a little later in bloom. 

 but both staminate and pistillate together until well fer- 

 tilized, showing there is a mechanical difiFerence in trees and plants 

 as well as in the animal kingdom. 



Now the question arose in my mind. Have I the only "pebble on 

 the beach?" So I made it my. special object to go in search of pro- 

 lific Persians. I drove eastward about twenty miles in a very popu- 

 lous section of Lancaster county, and found nothing worthy of men- 

 tion, but a few mongrels. A few days afterwards I took a western 

 drive in the neighborhood of the former Conestoga nurseries, feel- 

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