XI.] 



JUGLANDACE^. 



179 



at first, but it gradually wastes away, when 

 the seed is ripe, instead of opening. The leaves 

 have seven or more pairs of leaflets, which are 

 generally nearly opposite, and sometimes they 

 are without the terminal single leaflet, as shown 

 at h. The shell of the nut is very hard, and 

 the dissepiments, which are also very hard, are 

 generally perfect, and divide the kernel into 

 four parts. The nuts should be sown as soon 

 as possible after they are ripe, as they will not 

 keep good above six months. The tree grows 

 above seventy feet high, and the wood is very 

 hard and black. 



The Butter-nut {J. cathartica) resembles the 

 Common Walnut in its male catkins, except 

 that they are produced upon the old wood instead 

 of being on the wood of the present year. The 

 female flowers grow four or 

 five together in a short catkin, 

 and they are distinguished by 

 their stigmas, which are rose- 

 coloured. The fruit {a in Jig. 

 79) is pear-shaped, endingin a 

 rather long point; and the 

 kernel of the nut {h) resembles 

 that of the Common Walnut, 

 exceptinbeingmoreoily. The 

 leaves (c) are like those of the Black Walnut, 

 except that the leaflets are rather downy, and 



N 2 



Fig. 79 — Butter-nut 

 (Juglant cathartica). 



