210 THE XUT CULTURIST. 



mated stock in Great Britain or the cooler region of 

 Europe, success usually attended such experiments. 

 Our pioneers and horticulturists fully expected that the 

 trees would thrive and bear nuts in abundance, and time 

 has shown that they were not mistaken, although we 

 frequently see it stated at this late day, that the Persian 

 walnut is not hardy north of the latitude of Washington, 

 Philadelphia, or other cities south of New York. 



"One hundred and thirty-eight years have rolled by 

 since walnut trees were planted at Washington Heights, 

 and at least one of the originals has escaped destruction 

 and holds its head aloft, defying the tempests which 

 frequently sweep over that elevated and exposed spot on 

 Manhattan Island. This veritable patriarch of its race 

 in America is a monster in size, its stem between four 

 and five feet in diameter at the base and more than 

 seventy-five feet high, with wide-spreading branches. 



"In the summer of 1776 the Battle of Long Island 

 was fought, and the American forces were compelled to 

 retreat in confusion to New York, thence northward up 

 the island ; but when they reached Fort Washington, not 

 far from the eleventh milestone on the old Albany post 

 road, they made a stand and proceeded to entrench 

 themselves at that place. This was in September, 1776, 

 and General Washington took possession of the Morris 

 mansion near by, making it his headquarters, and, as 

 this was at the season when the walnuts had reached an 

 edible stage, we may safely presume, from his well-known 

 predilection for such delicacies, that he tested the qual- 

 ity of the Morris w r alnuts. One hundred and twenty 

 years later I am writing this, with some fresh specimens 

 of nuts before me from that same old tree. 



"This old patriarch has cast its shade over many a 

 noted person in its time, for in 1810 the Morris estate 

 passed into the hands of Madame Jumel, a lady long 

 famous for her hospitality and the good cheer she ex- 



