870 



WALL1S WALNUT. 



was minister, was educated for the church at Einan- 

 uel college, Cambridge, and, having regularly tuken 

 his degrees, entered into holy orders, and, in 1(141, 

 became chaplain to a Yorkshire baronet. In 1643, 

 he obtained a living in London, and, the following 

 year, was one of the secretaries to the assembly of 

 divines at Westminster. He was one of the first 

 members of the scientific association which gave 

 birth to the royal society, and, in 1649, wus ap- 

 pointed, by the parliamentary visitors, Savilian 

 professor of geometry at Oxford. In 1653, he pub- 

 lished a grammar of the English tongue, written in 

 Latin, for the use of foreigners. He was admitted 

 to the degree of doctor of divinity in 1654, and, on 

 the death of Langbaine, was chosen custos archivo- 

 rum to the university. He was particularly skilful 

 in the art of cryptography, or deciphering; and 

 having by this means been enabled to render con- 

 siderable service to the royal cause, he was, on the 

 restoration of Charles II., very favourably received 

 at court, and made one of the royal chaplains. In 

 1661, he was one of the divines appointed to review 

 the book of Common Prayer ; and, as he complied 

 with the terms of the act of uniformity, he continued 

 a steady conformist to the established church till 

 his death. When the royal society was founded, 

 in 1663, the name of doctor Wallis was included in 

 the list of the earliest members ; and he added much 

 to the reputation of that body by his valuable con- 

 tributions to the Philosophical Transactions. After 

 a long life devoted to science and to the duties of 

 his clerical profession, he died at Oxford, in 1703. 

 Among his mathematical works, the most important 

 are Arithmetica Iiifinitorum ; Mathesis Universalis, 

 sive Opus Arithmetician ; Mechanica, sive de Motu 

 Tractatus yeometricus ; De Sectionibus Conicis 

 Tractates; and his Algebra. He also published 

 some of the writings of Archimedes, Ptolemy, 

 Aristarchus, and Porphyry. His works, including 

 various treatises on theology, were published at 

 Oxford, 169299 (3 vols., folio) ; and a volume 

 of his sermons, printed from the original manu- 

 scripts, appeared in 1791. 



WALLIS; the German name of the Valais. 

 See Valais. 



WALLOONS ; the inhabitants of the district 

 situated between the Scheldt and the Lys, to which 

 belongs a part of the former French Flanders and 

 the present French departments of the North and 

 of the Channel (pas de Calais'). In a more gene- 

 ral sense, Walloons are the inhabitants of the former 

 Henault, Namur, Luxemburg, Limburg, and of part 

 of the former bishopric of Liege, who speak Wal- 

 loon or old French, considered by some as a relic 

 of the ancient Gallic language, mixed, however, with 

 Spanish, German, &c. words. In the old geo- 

 graphical works we find a Walloon Flanders, and a 

 Walloon Brabant. The name either comes from 

 Wall (water or sea), as these tribes in Germany 

 lived on the sea-coast, or from the old German word 

 Wahle, which signifies a foreigner, especially an 

 Italian (hence walnuts) ; and Walschland, in Ger- 

 man, signifies Italy. (In the same way the Polish 

 word for foreigner is used to signify, particularly, a 

 German.) The Walloon guards, which formerly 

 constituted part of the Spanish household troops, 

 were so called, because, as long as Spain was the 

 mistress of the Netherlands, these guards were re- 

 cruited frpm the Walloon part of Flanders. The 

 Walloons, in the thirty years' war, were' distin- 

 guished for valour, and for their savage spirit. 

 WALNUT (juglans). The walnuts differ from 



the hickories, in many respects, in the structure of 

 their flowers and fruit; and the last have been 

 formed into a distinct genus under the name of 

 carya. (See Hickory.) The foliage and general 

 babit of the trees are very similar, but a difference 

 is again perceived in the properties of the wood. 

 The true walnuts are easily recognised by the fruit, 

 the outer rind being destitute of valves, and the 

 external surface of the nut rugose and irregularly- 

 furrowed. 



The common European walnut, (J. regta), was 

 discovered by Michaux the elder, growing wild in 

 the province of Ghilan, which lies on the Caspian 

 sea, between lat. 35 and 40. It was introduced 

 into Europe at a remote period, and is now common 

 in the central parts of that continent, but flourishes 

 most in Italy, Spain, and the south-western depart- 

 ments of France. It is a lofty and beautiful tree. 

 The fruit, in the wild state, contains a small, hard 

 nut, of inferior quality; but in the cultivated va- 

 rieties, the nut is much larger, the shell becomes 

 thin enough to be easily crushed by the fingers, 

 and the kernel is very agreeably tasted. These 

 nuts are highly esteemed, and often served up at 

 desserts, and form an article of commerce. The 

 oil expressed from them is in general use as an 

 article of diet, in those districts where the tree 

 abounds, and serves a still more important purpose 

 in the preparation of fine colours : it is preferred 

 on account of the complete and rapid manner in 

 which it dries, and the facility of obtaining it per- 

 fectly limpid, by diffusing it upon water in large 

 shallow vases. In copper-plate printing at Paris, 

 it is considered indispensably necessary for a fine 

 impression, either in black or colours. By boiling 

 the husks when beginning to decay, and the bark ot 

 the roots, a substantial dark-brown colour is ob- 

 tained, which is used by dyers for woollens, and 

 also by cabinet-makers to stain other species of 

 wood in imitation of walnut. The fruit, in a green 

 state, before the shell hardens, is much used for 

 pickling, and also as an adulteration of soy sauce. 

 The leaves, strewed on the ground, annoy worms. 

 Before mahogany was imported so abundantly into 

 Europe, the wood was employed, almost exclusively, 

 in cabinet-making, and is still in general use in the 

 interior ; and the furniture is far from being inele- 

 gant. It is preferred for the stocks of muskets, as 

 it is lighter, in proportion to its strength and elas- 

 ticity, than any other wood. Great quantities of 

 wooden shoes are also made of it. Seven or eight 

 varieties are cultivated. When propagated for 

 timber, the nut is sown ; but when fruit is the ob- 

 ject, inarching from the branches of fruit-bearing 

 trees is preferable. Budding has also been tried 

 with success, and the buds succeed best when taken 

 from the base of the annual shoots : ordinary-sized 

 buds from the upper parts of such shoots generally 

 fail. Trees that have not been grafted or budded, 

 may be induced to produce blossoms by ringing the 

 the bark. It is especially necessary to protect 

 amputated limbs from the weather, by nicely adapt- 

 ing a covering of clay to the exposed surface, so as 

 entirely to exclude the rain. 



The black walnut (J". nigra) is found in most 

 parts of the United States of America, the extreme 

 north and east excepted, and the low district of the 

 Southern States, where its absence seems to be 

 owing to the nature of the soil, which is either too 

 sandy or too wet. It requires a deep and fertile 

 soil, and in favourable situations the trunk often 

 attains the diameter of six or seven feet. It is one 



