1426 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART I}. 
Greeks afterwards called the walnut tree Caryon, on account of the heaviness 
of the head produced by its strong smell. When the walnut was introduced 
into Europe is altogether uncertain; but it was cultivated by the Romans 
before the death of the Emperor Tiberius, and is supposed to have been 
brought from Greece by Vitellius. Strabo informs us that in Rome, at one 
time, tables of the wood sold at a higher price than those of citron. Ovid 
wrote a little poem, entitled De Nuce, by which it appears that then, as now, 
walnuts were knocked down from the trees by boys; and that, at marriages, 
walnuts were thrown by the bride and bridegroom among the children 
who surrounded them; a ceremony which was instituted to show that 
the bridegroom had left off his boyish amusements ; or, perhaps, to signify 
that the bride was no longer a votary of Diana. (See p. 1430.) Hence, pro- 
bably, is derived the French word for nuptials, des noces. In France, at the 
festival of the Rosiére at Salency, in the department of the Oise (see p. 792.), 
in the sixth century, it is directed that an offering be presented to the 
young maid who is crowned, composed of walnuts and other fruits of the 
country. The walnut tree is now to be met with in every part of Europe, 
as far north as Warsaw; but it is nowhere so far naturalised as to produce 
itself spontaneously from seeds. In Britain, it has been in cultivation from 
the earliest period of botanical history, and, in all probability, since the 
time of the Romans. It ripens its fruit in fine seasons, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Edinburgh, as a standard; and it lives against a wall as far 
north as Dunrobin Castle, in Sutherlandshire. It is much cultivated, in some 
parts of Italy, France, Germany, and Switzerland, as a road-side tree. 
Michaux says that it is more abundant in those parts of France which lie 
between 45° and 48°, than in any other part of Europe; and that the fruit, 
the oil, and the wood may be considered as forming, in that region, some of 
the principal branches of commerce. This corresponds with what is stated 
by Evelyn. “ Burgundy,” says that author, “abounds with walnut trees, 
where they stand in the midst of goodly wheat lands, at sixty and a hundred 
feet distance; and so far are they from hurting the crop, that they are looked 
upon as great preservers, by keeping the ground warm; nor do the roots 
hinder the plough. Whenever they fell a tree, which is only the old and 
decayed, they always plant a young one near him; and, in several places, 
betwixt Hanau and Frankfort, in Germany, no young farmer whatsoever is 
permitted to marry a wife, till he bring proof that he is a father of such a 
stated number of walnut trees; and the law is inviolably observed to this 
day, for the extraordinary benefit which this tree affords the inhabitants.” 
(Hunter’s Evelyn, p. 168.) “ The Bergstrass,” he adds, “which extends 
from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all planted with walnuts.” (Jdid., vol. i. 
p. 168. and p. 170.) 
At different periods, there has been a great dearth of the wood of this tree in 
France, where, as in England, in time of war, it was much in demand for 
gun-stocks. It is a remarkable fact in the history of this tree, that, in the 
winter of 1709, the greater part of the walnut trees of Europe, and more 
especially of Switzerland, France, and Germany, were killed; or so far in- 
jured, as to render it advisable to fell the trees. The Dutch, at that time, 
foreseeing the scarcity of walnut timber that was likely to ensue, bought up ~ 
all the trees that they could procure, in every direction, and sold them again, 
according to the demand, for many years afterwards, at a greatly advanced 
price. In the year 1720, an act was passed, in France, to prevent the ex- 
portation of walnut timber, on pain of confiscation, and payment of a fine of 
3,000 livres. A great many walnut trees were, at that time, planted in the 
royal demesnes. In 1806, the manufacture of muskets required about 12,000 
trees yearly. In consequence of this, a great many plantations were made by 
individuals; and a prize was given for the cultivation of the tree by the 
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, in Paris. We have been informed 
by M. Michaux, in a letter dated December, 1834, that in 1818 he formed a 
nursery of between five and six acres, for government, in the Bois de 
ul te 
