CHAP. cii. .7uglanda'ce.e ,/u'glans. 1437 



north as lat. 40" 50". It is abundant in the forests about Philadelphia ; and, 

 with the exception of the lower parts of the southern states, where the soil 

 is too sandy, or in the swamps, where it is too wet, it is met with from Go- 

 shen to the banks of the Mississippi, throughout an extent of 2000 miles. It 

 grows in the forests with Gymnocladus canadensis, Gleditschw triacan- 

 thos, Robinia Pseud-^cacia, ilforus rubra, C'arya alba, A'cer saccharinum, 

 f/'Imus rubra, and Celtis crassifolia. It is always found in good deep soil. 



History. The black walnut seems to have been one of the first trees that 

 were introduced from America into Europe; having been cultivated by Trades- 

 cant, jun., about the middle of the seventeenth century. As it ripens its nuts 

 in this country and in France, it has been very generally introduced in artificial 

 plantations ; and it thrives as far north as Sweden, though it will not bear 

 fruit there. In America, Jacquin informs us, it is much planted near houses 

 for its shade, and also for its fruit ; being there, as here, considered hardier 

 than the common walnut. 



Properties and Uses. The heart-wood remains sound for a long period, 

 when exposed to heat and moisture ; but the sap-wood speedily decays. 

 When properly seasoned, the wood is strong, tough, and not liable to warp 

 or split. It is never attacked by worms, and has a grain sufficiently fine and 

 compact to admit of a beautiful polish. It is made into cabinet-work, used 

 in building houses, and also split into shingles 18 in. long, and from 4 in. to 

 6 in. wide, which are employed instead of tiles or slates for covering houses. 

 Its most appropriate use, however, is for furniture, which, when made from 

 pieces selected from the upper part of the trunk, close below the first ramifi- 

 cation, is marked by highly beautiful curlings of the grain ; though for cabinet 

 purposes it is inferior to the wood of the wild cherry. It is employed for the 

 stocks of mihtary muskets in America, as the wood of the common walnut is 

 for those of Europe ; but for fowling-pieces, the wood of the red maple is 

 preferred, as being lighter. Posts made of the black walnut have been 

 known to last in the ground undecayed for from 20 to 25 years. It makes 

 excellent naves for wheels ; and, in Philadelphia, coffins are universally made 

 of it. It is well adapted for naval architecture, being more durable, though 

 more brittle, than the wood of the white oak ; and not liable, like that 

 wood, to be attacked by sea worms in warm latitudes. On the river Wa- 

 bash, canoes are made of it, some of them 40 ft. long, and 2 ft. or 3 ft. wide, 

 hollowed out of a single trunk, which are greatly esteemed for their strength and 

 durability. The wood is frequently exported to Europe, in planks of 2 in. in 

 thickness, where it is used for cabinet purposes. As compared with the wood 

 of the European walnut, which it more nearly resembles than it does any 

 other of the American species, it is heavier, much stronger, susceptible of a 

 finer polish, and not so liable to be injured by worms. The husk of the fruit 

 is used, in America, for dyeing woollen stuffs yellow. In Europe, Michaux 

 thinks that this tree might be advantageously employed along high roads, to 

 succeed the elm ; for experience has proved, he observes, that, to insure 

 success in the continued cultivation of either ligneous or herbaceous plants 

 in the same soil, species of different natural orders must be made to succeed 

 one another. 



Propagation and Culture. In Europe and in America, the tree is uni- 

 versally raised from the nut, which, after being imported, ought to be sown 

 immediately, as it seldom retains its vital power more than six months after 

 it has ripened. Nuts of ./uglans regia and .7. nigra have been planted at the 

 same time, and in the same soil ; and the latter have been observed to grow 

 more vigorously, and to attain a given height in a shorter time, than the former 

 Michaux suggests that, by grafting the European upon the American walnut, 

 at the height of 8 ft. or 10 ft., their respective advantages in quality of wood 

 and fruit might be united : but we have not heard of this having been done. 

 In Europe, as we have already observed, the black walnut is almost univer- 

 sally raised from the nut ; and, if the nut is planted where the tree is finally 

 to remain, it will grow up with greater vigour, and not be retarded by that 



