RECREATIYi: XATTRU. HISTORY. 



article* of utility and taste are packed for sale to UM ourioo. 

 The kernel* of walnut* yield an excellent oil, and UM 



It also appears very probable that the French term for nuptials, 

 dea nocea, might hare been originally derived from thin ancient 

 custom. Great importance has been attached to the growth of 



the walnut tri-n in Kngland by pout Governments, on ar< 

 the vast quantity of ralnut wood used in the manufacture of 

 musket, pwtol, and car'niu- *'<>< k --im other wood being con- 

 sidered iivaihiM' rpOM. \Vo aro informed thut for 

 ;,'o walnut troo-trunk of peculiar excellence an nim-h m 

 In the year 1806 a careful calculation 



was entered into in order to ascertain tho amount of timber 

 annually consumed f..rtho 

 of military 



arms in (hi; count ry, :md 



i'it \v;is a -lutrincnt, 



that 12,000 fully-grown 



wore requi 



meet the demand. Wo 

 are not aware of any 

 ourco from which infor- 

 mation can bo gained :n 

 to tho enormous quantity 

 of this wood now con- 

 sumed for gun-making 

 purposes. It must, since 

 -the commencement of tho 

 Volunteer movement, have 

 greatly increased ; but, 

 fortunately, America and 

 the ports of tho Black Sea 

 furnish largo quantities to 

 the British market, to help 

 tho homo supply, which is 

 comparatively small. The 

 French aro fully alive to 

 the importance to be at- 

 tached to the welfare of 

 tho walnut tree, and such 

 was tho panic caused in 

 Franco by a disease which 

 attacked the trees, that, 

 fearing a consequent 

 scarcity of walnut timber, 

 an Act was passed in 1 720 

 prohibiting its exporta- 

 tion, under pain of confis- 

 cation of property and a 

 fine of 3,000 livres. 



Tho walnut tree, like 

 the hazel, enjoys a repu- 

 tation for the possession 

 of numerous attributes. 

 Collinson, when describ- 

 ing the Glastonbury thorn, 

 -thus refers to a very re- 

 markable walnut tree 

 growing near the same 

 locality. Thus he writes : 

 " There grew, also in 

 the abbey churchyard, on 

 the south side of St. Jo- 

 soph's Chapel, a marvel- c 



lous walnut tree, which THK EATINO CHESTNUT. a. LEAVES AND BLOSSOM. b. BLOSSOM EWLARCSD. 

 never budded forth beforo c - COEOLLA AND STAMENS, d. OVAKY. . ANTIIEU. /. SI-IKY INVOLVCKUX or 



the feast of St. Barnabas * UT - 9- * n - '' CTIO y 



(the llth of June), and 



on that very day shot forth its leaves and flourished, like other 

 trees of tho same species." Wo are also told by tho same 

 author that this tree was much nought after by the credulous, 

 and that Queen Anne, King James, and many of the nobility of 

 the realm, gave large sums of money for more cutt 



An examination of our fruit market shows us that there ore 

 several varieties of walnuts grown in England. Amongst them 

 maybe mentioned tho description popularly known as tho High- 

 flyer or Thetford nut ; the thin-shelled, or Titmouse walnut, so 

 named because tho shell is not thick enough to resist the attacks 

 of that tiny bird ; and the huge, apple-shaped nut, nux jn<ilans 

 fructu maxima, commonly known as the Warwickshire walnut. 

 It is in the shells of those giant nuts that kid gloves and other 



furnish a dark and durable stain, as false gipsies know full welt 

 A curious notion prevails that walnut tree* are greatly 

 benefited, and their fruitfulnea* jdded to, by being beaten and 

 roughly knocked about It has been said that 



" A woman, a dog. and a walnut Use, 

 Tho more you beat then, tb better tbajr be." 



No certain date can bo assigned for the first introduction 



of the chestnut to this 

 country ; but it is pro- 

 bable that it was first 

 brought to Enrope by the 

 Greeks from Asia Minor 

 about the year 504 B.C. 

 Tho early name, eattanea, 

 appears to have been de- 

 rived from Kastanea, a 

 city of Pontns in Asia. 

 The Romans appear to 

 have been well acquainted 

 with the chestnut, which 

 was first sent to Borne 

 reign of Tiberias 

 Ctcsar. Pliny describe* 

 eight well-known kind*. 

 Chestnut tree* are not, 

 as a rule, as large or 

 fruitful in this as in more 

 genial climates ; some 

 noteworthy exceptions 

 may, however, be found. 

 The most remarkable 

 specimen of tho chestnut 

 ever grown in England 

 is, without doubt, tho 

 celebrated " Tortworth 

 Tree," which is in Glou- 

 cestershire, on land be- 

 longing to Lord Dncie. 

 This remarkable tree was 

 sketched in tho year 1 77:.', 

 and the following inscrip- 

 tion was appended to the 

 picture : 



" The east view of tho 

 ancient chestnut tree at 

 Tortworth, in the county 

 of Gloucester, which 

 measures nineteen yard* 

 in circumference, and is 

 mentioned by Sir Robert 

 Atkins in his history of 

 that county, as a famous 

 tree in King John's time, 

 and by Mr. Evelyn, in his 

 ' Silva,' to have been so 

 remarkable for its magni- 

 tude in the reign of King 

 Stephen (1135), as then 

 to be called the great 

 chestnut tree of Tort- 

 worth, from which it may 

 be reasonably presumed 

 to have been standing before the Conquest (1066)." 



The fruit of the chestnut tree appears to have from very 

 early ages been held in high esteem, not only as a wholesome 

 and substantial article of food, but as associated with festivity 

 and homo comfort. Virgil, in writing of a condition of abun- 

 dance and plenty, says 



" Ripe apples and soft chestnuts hare wo there, 



And curd abundant to eupply our fare." 



In more modern days, Herrick, in bis quaint style, pays tribute 

 to tho memory of old English merry-making and chestnut- 

 roasting : 



" Bemember me In cups full crowned. 

 And let our city health go round; 



