208 THE NUT CULTURIST. 



"Even the oak will not thrive near the walnut tree; 

 which, if it be true, may be owing to the interference of 

 their roots in the subsoil ; but it is certain that neither 

 grass nor field nor garden crops thrive well under the 

 walnut." Evelyn was far too good a gardener and close 

 observer to fall into the error of attributing noxious 

 properties to the walnut tree, although Pliny's assertion, 

 which has no foundation beyond his imagination, has 

 been many times repeated in these days of supposed gen- 

 eral intelligence. Small plants may fail, under the 

 shade of large trees, or when deprived of moisture by 

 the roots of such trees, but the walnut is no exception 

 to the rule ; in fact, such deep-rooted kinds are less 

 injurious than those with roots nearer the surface. 

 Evelyn, in continuing his account of the walnut in Ger- 

 many, says : "Whenever they fell a tree, which is only 

 the old, decayed, they always plant a young one near 

 him, and, in several places betwixt Hanau and Frank- 

 fort, 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." What a pity that 

 some such custom could not have prevailed during the 

 past century in the United States. The author from 

 whom I have just quoted adds that the Bergstrasse, 

 which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all 

 planted with walnuts. 



Cold winters, however, have occasionally played 

 havoc with the walnut trees in Europe, and one of these 

 occurred in 1709, when the greater part of the trees 

 were seriously injured, especially in Switzerland, Ger- 

 many and France. Many trees were cut down for their 

 timber, which is always in great demand for gun-stocks 

 and furniture. Certain Dutch capitalists, foreseeing 

 the scarcity of walnut timber, bought up all they could 



