PRUNING THE WALNUT 445 



Planting Nuts in Place. Some walnut orchards are being grown 

 for sprouted nuts planted where the tree is to grow. At first it was 

 the custom to put three nuts near together reducing the seedlings 

 to one subsequently. Recently the preference is given to planting 

 one good strongly sprouted nut in a place because removing surplus 

 seedlings is difficult and likely to disturb the one which is retained. 

 Any gaps in the planting are filled by planting seedlings from a 

 side-bed in which a number are grown for this purpose. There are 

 strong advocates of this method, which requires orchard budding 

 or grafting, when the trees are well established, in one of the ways 

 which have been described. 



Intercultures with the Walnuts. In the southern walnut regions 

 it is common to grow beans, squashes, etc., between the rows of 

 trees until the latter reach bearing age; root crops which attract 

 gophers should be avoided. Interplanting of smaller, early-fruit- 

 ing trees is also practiced to a considerable extent, and alfalfa 

 growing in the young walnut orchard is also practiced to some 

 extent, but must be carefully done if at all. 



PRUNING THE WALNUT 



The walnut is usually headed higher than ordinary orchard 

 trees and the pruning needed is in shaping the tree. Upward trend 

 of the branches should be secured, sometimes by cutting out the 

 shoots which grow downward, sometimes by tying them up for a 

 time to the central stem until they are stiff enough to retain this 

 position. The stem should be protected from sunburn until the 

 foliage accomplishes this. Whenever shoots are killed back by 

 sunburn or frost, they should be cut off cleanly below the black 

 mark which shows how far the injury has extended. If this is 

 done, the die-back down the branch is usually prevented. As the 

 trees become older, removal of some of the interior limbs may be 

 desirable to admit more light to encourage inside bearing. 



Systematic Building of the Walnut Tree. It is becoming clear 

 that the old practice of allowing walnut trees to grow very much 

 as they liked is not a good way. The following outline of the way 

 to secure good form and serviceability, and applying to the walnut 

 the principles indicated in Chapter XII, is drawn from the experi- 

 ence of Mr. Eugene S. Kellogg, of Santa Barbara County: 



When planted from the nursery walnut trees are generally over six 

 feet high and they should be headed back, the amount depending on their 

 subsequent care. If no irrigation water is available, they are usually cut to 

 a foot above the bud union and a new trunk is started. This new shoot 

 should be carefully staked so as not to become injured by cultivating or 

 strong winds. At the end of the first season's growth, this shoot should 

 be headed to about five feet. You will then have a vigorous, healthy young 

 trunk, which will make a more rapid growth during the next season than 

 the tree would have made in two seasons had it been headed to five feet 

 originally. 



Generally when the young tree is to have water it is headed about five 

 feet above the ground. After the first season's growth, three main branches 



