386 [ THE WALNUT 



tain much tannic acid and yield a dark brown dye. The 

 oil extracted from the seeds is a good salad oil, and 

 being a drying oil is also much used by painters. The 

 wood of full grown trees is well known for its beautiful 

 veining and other qualities for which it is much sought 

 after by cabinet makers. 



The walnut is grown sporadically in the Maltese 

 Islands, and there are a few large trees at San Antonio 

 and Boschetto. The half- wild ungrafted walnut of Italy, is 

 that more frequently met with, but at San Antonio there 

 are Sorrento walnut trees of large size and apparently 

 of great age. Other Sorrento walnut trees have been 

 planted recently here and there in the Island, including 

 the Boschetto. The Sorrento walnut is noted for its 

 size, its oblong-elliptical shell of a dark colour, and its 

 cream coloured kernel of exquisite taste wrapped in a 

 dark brown rind. The introduction of other varieties is 

 of quite recent date. Thus, the "Bijou" walnut was in- 

 troduced from France in 1910. It is perhaps the largest 

 of all walnuts, of very regular shape and has a thin light 

 coloured shell. The kernel is white, of good quality, 

 enclosed in a light yellowish rind. The Mayette arid 

 Parisienne are two French varieties introduced from 

 France in 1911. The Tyrol walnut (fuglans regia L. 

 var. tyrolensis mihi} was introduced from Milan in 1904, 

 and is a strong growing variety noted for its rather small 

 walnuts, flattened at the stalk-end, and nearly round in 

 shape, with a thick rusty-brown shell, and a creamy 

 coloured kernel wrapped in a thick rind which is usually 

 of a lively crimson red colour. This walnut was intro- 

 duced in Malta in 1904, and is a fast grower. The Tyrol 

 walnut and to a certain extent also the Bijcu and the 

 Sorrento walnuts come true from seed. The walnut as 

 stated above, will bear transplanting when young, but is 

 best sown where it is to remain. It is also frequently 

 sown in pots and when two or three years old, the young 

 plants are transferred to their final abode during winter. 

 This tree takes from 6 to 10 years to fruit. 



