THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



" The fruits of the walnut, in their immature state, and when they are sufficiently soft 

 to permit a pin to penetrate them without resistance from the shell, form an excellent 

 pickle preserved in vinegar, and, boiled with sugar, they make an equally good confection. 

 When ripe, the kernels are agreeable to eat, being deprived of their pellicle, which is 

 very bitter, but which loses that bitterness in a great degree after the fruit has been 

 kept for some time. They easily become rancid, and are then unwholesome and inju- 

 rious, causing pyrosis, or water-brash, and heaviness in the stomach .... The timber 

 is of great value, and is largely used in cabinet-work, and for gun and pistol stocks." 



(Hogg's Vegetable Kingdom?) 



VARIETIES. 



COMMON. Fruit oval, well filled, but varying greatly on 

 trees raised from seeds. The trees also vary in fertility. 



DWARF PROLIFIC (Early Bearing, Noyer Fertile, prse- 

 parturiens, Precocious). Fruit oval, rather pointed, 

 large, well filled, and of high quality. Its chief 

 characteristic is early bearing, but the trees do not 

 produce staminate and pistillate blooms until ten 

 to twelve years old, and may not attain to perhaps 

 more than half the size of the common walnut 

 tree. 



HIGHFLYER. Fruit medium, size, thin-shelled, and 

 well filled with good-flavoured kernels ; ripens 

 early, and is one of the best in good situations. 



LARGE-FRUITED (a Bijoux, Double, French, De Jangue, 

 a Tres Gros Fruit). Fruit very large, double the 

 size of the common walnut, oblong ; kernel rather 



small, seldom filling the nut, does not keep long, 

 and soon becomes rancid. The shells are used by 

 jewellers. 



LATE (Saint Jean, Tardif). Fruit medium size, round- 

 ish, well filled, keeps a short time. A late flower- 

 ing variety end of June therefore escapes spring 

 frosts ; and, though productive and comes true 

 from seed, has no great merit. 



THIN-SHELLED (a Coque Tendre, a Mesange). Fruit 

 oblong, shell tender, and well filled : earlier and 

 of better quality than the common walnut. Rooks 

 prefer this to all other varieties, and it is unques- 

 tionably the best walnut. 



YORKSHIRE. Fruit medium size to large ; shell mode- 

 rately thin, well filled, and ripens well ; tree hardy, 

 and a free bearer. 



PROPAGATION AND MANAGEMENT. 



Propagation. Walnut trees are commonly raised from seed, and varieties of merit 

 are perpetuated by budding, grafting, and inarching. Trees from seed are the tallest 

 and best for timber, but they are the worst for fruit production in this country. 

 Select the best nuts, keep them in sand in a cool place till February or March ; then sow 

 them 6 inches apart, and 3 deep, in drills 18 inches asunder. Keep the ground clear of 

 weeds in summer, and as soon as the leaves have fallen, take up the seedlings, shorten 

 the tap-root of each, and plant 18 inches apart in rows 2| feet asunder. Transplant 

 the trees again the following autumn, if they have made good progress ; if they have 

 not grown strong, let them remain another year. Successive transplantations should 

 take place every second year, with increased distance between the trees, to insure 

 fibry roots and well-matured growths, till the trees are transferred to their permanent 

 positions. 



