250 THE XTT CULTURIST. 



Husking Walnuts. The husks of nearly all the 

 varieties of the Persian and Oriental walnuts part from 

 their shells freely when fully ripened and dried, but in a 

 few varieties the husks are rather persistent, requiring 

 force and friction for their removal. This may be ac- 

 complished by placing them in bags and shaking, or in 

 barrels and rolling, until the nuts are scraped clean. 

 But the better way, where there is any considerable 

 quantity of nuts to be operated upon, is to take a strong 

 barrel or cask, and so arrange it on standards that it- 

 can be rapidly revolved with a crank attacked to one 

 end. Of course, the cask must have its two heads left 

 in place, and an opening made in the side to admit the 

 nuts and remove them when cleaned. Almost any man 

 handy with tools can make such a cleaner and polisher 

 in a few hours, and if stored in a dry place it will last 

 for several years. With butternuts and black walnuts 

 the husks are much tougher, and they should be thrown 

 into heaps in the open air, and turned over occasionally 

 until the husks become softened sufficiently to permit 

 of their removal, in case they are to be sent to market. 

 Ordinary threshing machines may be used for cleaning 

 the husks from black walnuts, by removing about one- 

 half the teeth, or enough to allow the nuts to pass 

 through without breaking their shells. 



Most of the hickories drop from the husk, leaving 

 the nut clean ; bufc in some varieties of. the pecan the 

 inner part of the husk adheres rather tenaciously, and 

 they sell better if cleaned ; besides, some have rather 

 rough and thick shells, and a little scraping and polish- 

 ing adds much to their appearance. The revolving cask, 

 either worked by hand or other power, is an excellent 

 implement for preparing these nuts for market, and if 

 the husk is very persistent, a little dry sand thrown in 

 will aid in cleaning and polishing. Sometimes these 

 nuts are subjected to what is called the soapstone polish, 



