214 THE NUT CULTURIST. 



and are now being te^ed in different parts of the State, 

 and it is quite likely that the greater part will succeed, 

 although some 'of the early-blooming sorts may fail in 

 localities subject to late spring frosts. Previous to the 

 introduction of grafted trees of the named varieties, the 

 only trees of this kind planted in California were seed- 

 lings raised from the common imported nuts ; but f 

 have no statistics at hand to determine the date of the 

 first plantings of this kind. 



Of late years there has been received, at some of 

 our seaports, and especially at New York, some quite 

 large consignments of walnuts from South America, 

 under the name of "Chile walnuts," but they are only 

 varieties of the Persian raised in Chile. They are gen- 

 erally of good size, moderately thin shelled, with plump 

 kernels of excellent flavor. They are in great demand 

 for confectionery, and are really better for such purposes 

 than the larger and fancy bleached walnuts imported 

 under the somewhat general name of Grenobles, or 

 French walnuts. Owing to the difference of climate, 

 these Chile walnuts arrive here late in winter, or about 

 the time those coming from European countries the pre- 

 vious autumn begin to become somewhat stale. 



Of our native .species of this genus (Juglans), the 

 almost everywhere common butternut ranks first in 

 flavor and general estimation, but owing to its hard, 

 rough shell, and the difficulty in extracting the kernel, 

 it has never become of any considerable importance, 

 although usually found in our markets in limited quan- 

 tities. Of course, it is a general favorite in the country, 

 and wherever found in sufficient quantities the boys and 

 girls lay up a goodly supply for winter use ; and crack- 

 ing butternuts during the long winter evenings is a 

 pastime and pleasure not to be ignored nor forgotten. 

 The flavor of the butternut is far more delicate, and 

 better, than any of the Persian species, but the diffi- 



