THE WILD NUTS OF CALIFORNIA 4^ 



shell, almost like a hazelnut ; its hear *-elative, Castanopsis semper- 

 virens, or Bush Chinquapin of the Sierra Nevada and dry Coast 

 Range, is said to have a better flavored kernel. The nuts of both 

 of these species are very difficult to obtain because the fruit sets 

 sparingly and the squirrels harvest the crop early. Of our two spe- 

 cies of native walnuts, one local in Southern California (Juglans 

 Californica) is usually a small tree bearing a small nut. A better 

 tree is the walnut of Central California (Juglans Hindsii), bearing 

 a larger nut which is better in flavor than the Eastern black walnut, 

 but its hard shell makes it of little commercial account in competi- 

 tion with better, cultivated nuts. The root is widely used as a stock 

 for the English walnut, as will be discussed in the chapter on the 

 walnut. 



The one native nut which is regularly sold in the local market is 

 the "pinenut" seeds of several species of Pacific Coast pines, par- 

 ticularly the "Nevada Nut Pine" or "One-leaf Pinyon." Their 

 flavor is somewhat resinous, but is agreeable. 



The seeds of two species of palms, Washingtonia filifera and the 

 Lower California Erythea armata, are sought for by the Indians, who 

 also eat the sweetish fruit of the Yucca Mojavensis, which somewhat 

 resembles in shape the banana, and in flavor the fig, and is called the 

 "wild date." 



The Indians also use the acorns of several species of California 

 oaks as food, extracting the bitterness by soaking in water, and then 

 making a rude bread of the acorn meal. 



The "jajoba," or "goat-nut" (Simmondsia Californica), is a low 

 shrub, the fresh fruits of which, deprived of their seed-coats, are 

 eaten like almonds, and when dried by fire and ground they are used 

 as a beverage, in the form of tablets made up with sugar, or as a 

 simple infusion. Fire-dried seeds contain 48.30 per cent of fatty 

 matter ; the oil is suitable for food and of good quality, and is said 

 not to turn rancid. In Lower California it is prepared by boiling 

 with water. 



The nuts of the California laurel were roasted by the native tribes 

 and esteemed a great delicacy. 



Cactus. The common cactus (Opuntia Engelmanni) bears a 

 sweet edible fruit which the Indians dry in large quantities for win- 

 ter use. By long boiling they make a sauce, which, after slight 

 fermentation, they consider especially nutritious and stimulating. 

 The local species has been used by Mr. Burbank in crossing to secure 

 improved spineless fruits on plants of greater productiveness. 



