USEFUL. NATIVE PLANTS OF NEW MEXICO STANDLEY. 459 



While New Mexico furnishes a number of fruits capable of being 

 utilized in different ways, in the matter of nuts the State is not so 

 fortunate, there being only one that is of economic importance. Two 

 species of walnuts (Juglans rupestris and J. major) grow in the moun- 

 tains and low foothills. The first bears very small nuts, scarcely 

 large enough to be eaten, and the second has them but little larger 

 and of poor flavor. Indians formerly collected the acorns of the 

 many oaks for food, but it is improbable that they use any at present. 



The one kind of nut which New Mexico does produce in quantity 

 is the pinyon (Pinus edulis, pi. 12, A). This is the seed of a small 

 pine tree, seldom more than 20 feet high and often much lower, which 

 grows almost everywhere in the State at elevations of from 5,000 to 

 7,000 or 8,000 feet. Where the nut pine is found it is the most con- 

 spicuous component of the vegetation and often the only tree or 

 shrub present, although commonly associated with one or two kinds 

 of cedar. The nuts are inclosed in small cones, only a few in each. 

 They are gathered in one of two ways. More frequently, after frost 

 has come and the cones are opening, the nuts are shaken down upon 

 blankets spread beneath the trees. Obviously only a fractional part 

 of them can be secured in this manner, at least at a single shaking. 

 Another method is to pick the cones before they are open and heat 

 them until the nuts fall out or can be removed by the fingers. In 

 either case they are roasted before eating, to the improvement of their 

 flavor. The delicious taste of the roasted nuts is not excelled by that 

 of any of our well-known kinds, and indeed is equaled by few of 

 them. The nuts are small, scarcely more than half an inch long, 

 and oblong in outline (pi. 12, B). Their thin shells are easily broken 

 by the teeth and separated from the meat by the aid of the tongue. 

 In the Southwest, at least among the native population, pinyons 

 are much more popular than peanuts, to which they are most com- 

 parable, and wherever a crowd assembles on some festive occasion or 

 on market days, the ground and sidewalks are soon covered by the 

 shells. They can not be eaten rapidly, consequently one can eat 

 them almost all day long. Enormous quantities of pinyon nuts are 

 gathered in good seasons, which are said to occur once in every five 

 years. In some localities they are brought into market by the 

 wagonload and have been gathered in large enough amounts to be 

 used in feeding horses. Most of the crop is consumed in the South- 

 west where the pinyon is known and appreciated, but a part is 

 shipped East and retailed in the fruit stores of the larger cities. 

 Candy manufacturers have used the nuts in sweetmeats and they 

 would become a staple article if the supply were more constant. 



The nuts of another New Mexican pine (Pinus jiexilis) are edible, 

 but they have such thick shells that they can not be easily cracked 

 with the teeth and are seldom gathered. The gum of the pinyon 



