THE WALNUT. 217 



well to learn something in advance about the climate in 

 which the nuts are raised ; for it would be folly to send 

 for either trees or nuts to a warm or semi-tropical region, 

 like that of southern France or Spain, for a stock to 

 cultivate in a climate as cold as that of New York, New 

 Jersey, and States on the same line westward. We 

 might, perchance, from such importation, secure one 

 hardy plant in a hundred or thousand, but there would 

 be no certainty of even this small number. 



This idea of acclimation and adaptation of trees 

 to conditions and climate should not be overlooked 

 by the nut culturist, no matter from what source 

 he procures his stock, whether from abroad, or some 

 distant region of his own country. If it can be 

 obtained from a region where it has been growing 

 under conditions similar to those to which it is to 

 be transferred for cultivation, then the chances of 

 success will certainly be largely augmented. Accli- 

 mation is a slow process ; in fact, too slow for us to 

 expect to secure any appreciable advantages from it 

 in a lifetime, but in nature we seek final results, leaving 

 time out of the question. 



In raising seedling trees we cannot expect much 

 more than a reproduction of the species, and not that of 

 the parent tree. Plants that have been subjected to un- 

 natural conditions and surroundings, as usual under cul- 

 tivation, are far more likely to show a wider range of va- 

 riation in the seedlings than those growing wild in their 

 native habitats ; but even the latter cannot be depended 

 upon to reproduce exact types from seed. In other 

 words, there is nothing certain about seedling nut trees ; 

 the large nuts may produce trees bearing very small ones, 

 the early-ripening give late ones, the tall dwarf trees 

 and the precocious fruiting some of the most tardy vari- 

 eties ; and yet, with all this uncertainty, we still think 

 it best to select for planting the best nuts obtainable, 



