1 78 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



The want of shelter from fierce north-west winds during the inclement 

 seasons of the year for the crops, the orchard and garden, the stock and the 

 farm buildings is everywhere felt and admitted to be necessary throughout the 

 well-settled districts of Ontario, and no other kind of tree is more suitable for 

 this purpose than the wain ut ; for when grown along the fences, where they are 

 exposed to the storm from all points of the compass they branch near the 

 ground and become, that most desirable of all wind-breaks, one that affords the 

 necessary protection, and at the same time permits free circulation of the 

 atmosphere on the sheltered side. 



The soil of the greater portion of the land referred to, consists of calcareous 

 clay, enriched by the accumulations for ages of decayed vegetable matter, over- 

 lying and mixing with alluvial deposits ; such soil contains all the necessary 

 elements for the growth and developement of black-walnut lumber of the best 

 description. The great need of shelter and the suitability of the soil being 

 admitted, every farm owner should see that walnut trees are planted along all 

 permanent fences, and also along the road sides, without further delay, and in 

 twenty years from this time, provided other conditions remain as at present, it 

 will be found that such farms may all sell for twice the sum which can be 

 obtained for them now. 



The beauty and the utility of its growth on the farm during the develop- 

 ment. — The cut at the beginning of this paper (page 94) representing a pleasant 

 rural scene of European life, conveys but a faint idea of the truly majestic 

 appearance of the walnut tree grown on the lawn or other places where it has 

 sufficient room for its full development on all sides. 



It then becomes one of the grandest trees known. Upright in trunk, grow- 

 ing to a great height ; a wide-spreading head — rugged in outline — with its lower 

 branches often recurving to and sweeping the ground ; the lovely green of its 

 long divided leaves always retaining the purity of its color throughout the season 

 or until scorched by early autumn frosts. 



The time has not arrived when matured cultivated specimens of the 

 walnut tree may be found in this country although specimens of good size may 

 occasionally be seen. The best tree it has been my privilege to see stands on 

 the lake shore, in the Township of Hillier, Prince Edward County. The owner 

 of this tree assured us (the late P. C. Dempsey and myself) that his grandfather 

 had planted the nut from which this tree grew, about 70 years before. It is a 

 magnificent specimen : the trunk is perfectly erect and carries a beautifully 

 symmetrical wide-spreading head, forming a noticeable feature in the landscape 

 when approaching it from the south-east, at a distance of several miles. 



The late Mr. James Dougall, of Windsor, Ont., when writing of the walnut 

 tree said, " Owing to its gigantic size, its beautiful and graceful appearance when 

 at maturity, its quick growth and the great value of its wood in a commercial 

 point of view, besides its value as a nut-bearing tree, it is first of its class. It is in 

 every way adapted for road, lawn or grove planting, where the soil is suitable." 

 Mr. Dougall planted some one year old trees in 1853, but soon after cut down 



