WANDERING JEW 



3505 



auarter-century, but certainly it would be very ap- 

 preciable. 



Among the species of walnuts not usually under culti- 

 vation, but which give promise of commercial pos- 

 sibilities, some are discussed in the following: 



The American black walnut, Juglans nigra. 



As a producer of marketable nuts, this species now 

 gives greater promise than does any other secondary 

 species of Juglans. Its natural 

 range extends from middle New 

 England to north Florida, in the 

 east, and from Minnesota to Texas 

 on the west. Although best suited 

 to deep fertile loams, moist yet 

 well drained, it readily adapts 

 itself to conditions less favorable. 

 It attains its best development in 

 the basin drained by the Ohio 

 River but is common at practi- 

 cally all altitudes in the eastern 

 states up to about 1,400 feet 

 where it is superseded by the but- 

 ternut. The tree is a symmetrical 

 and fairly rapid grower; usually 

 moderately productive and very 

 useful both in the landscape and 

 as a forest tree. The nuts usually 

 are thick-shelled, and it is seldom 

 that the kernels can be separated 

 from the cracked shell in perfect 

 halves. A few varieties, the ker- 

 nels of which crack out more or 

 less perfectly, are now listed by 

 the nurserymen. The two best 

 known are the Thomas, intro- 

 duced from Pennsylvania in the 

 early eighties, and the Stabler 

 from Maryland in 1915. 



The butternut, white or long wal- 

 nut, J. cinerea. 



In many respects, this species 

 is similar to the preceding. Its 

 northern range is somewhat 

 more extensive than is that of 

 the black walnut and its south- 

 ern and western limits are less 

 by about 300 miles. The tree is 

 shorter-lived, not as symmetrical 

 in form, nor as capable of 

 adapting itself to unfavorable 

 conditions, and the timber is of 

 inferior value to that of black 

 walnut. The nuts have thicker 

 and rougher shells and are more 

 difficult to crack but the kernels 

 are more readily separated from 

 the broken shells in perfect halves 

 than are those of the former 

 species. By many, the kernels of 

 the butternut are much preferred 

 to those of any other nut. 



The Japanese walnut, J. Sieboldiana. 



This species and its variety cordiformis, described in 

 Vol. Ill, page 1723, as there explained do not breed 

 true to type but revert to each other or to intermediate 

 forms, and not infrequently to a type, the nuts of which 

 are often practically indistinguishable from those of 

 the butternut. These forms are now fairly common 

 throughout much of the eastern and southern United 

 States. The trees are dwarfish in habit, broadly spread- 

 ing, ornamental, precocious, and usually prolific. A 

 few varieties have been recognized and propagated to a 

 limited extent, but so far as can be ascertained, none is 



3995. Blight or bacteriosis of the walnut, as shown 

 on fruits and leaves. 



now listed by the nurserymen. However, enough good 

 strains may now be selected to cover practically every 

 section of the United States, with the possible excep- 

 tion of the dry Southwest. The nuts vary in size and 

 form, but typically are broadly rounded at the base, 

 conical, and smaller than are those of J. nigra. When 

 struck with a hammer, they tend to open at the suture, 

 thereby breaking both half-kernels into quarters. 

 Frequently, nuts of the cordiformis type open auto- 

 matically at the apex, and with 

 the aid of a knife -blade, the half- 

 shells may be separated entirely 

 and the whole kernel removed 

 without breaking. In color, text- 

 ure, and flavor of kernel, the 

 Japanese walnuts are very simi- 

 lar to those of the butternut, J. 

 cinerea. 



Miscellaneous species of Juglans. 



A species from northeastern 

 China (J. mandshurica), the nuts 

 of which are intermediate in form 

 between those of J. cinerea and /. 

 Sieboldiana, was introduced into 

 the United States some years ago 

 but is not yet sufficiently well 

 tested to make possible a definite 

 report. It should be hardy and 

 therefore of value in the northern 

 states. Aside from those already 

 included, there are a number of 

 species of Juglans which are more 

 or less common in parts of the 

 United States, but all are of 

 minor importance, so far as nut 

 production is concerned, and ap- 

 parently of use only in sections 

 where the better species are un- 

 adapted and as stocks for supe- 

 rior varieties. Among such are 

 included J. californica, J. Hind- 

 sii, J. major, and J. rupestris. 

 For full accounts of these spe- 

 cies, see Vol. Ill, pages 1721 

 to 1724. . 



Juglans hybrids. 



The various walnut species so 

 freely interpollinate, when grown 

 in close proximity to each other, 

 that when pure strains are 

 desired it is not safe to plant the 

 nuts where there is danger of 

 such pollination having taken 

 place. The familiar Paradox 

 and Royal of California, crosses 

 of J. regia with any species of 

 black, and of any California 

 black with the eastern black, 

 respectively, are typical ex- 

 amples of such natural hybrid- 

 ity. In the East, there are num- 

 erous crosses of J. regia with other species, viz., J. 

 intermedia (J. regia x J. nigra} ; J. quadrangulata (J. 

 regia x J. cinerea) ; and one between J. regia and J. 

 Sieboldiana, which apparently has not yet been de- 

 scribed. Frequently, individual trees of these forms 

 are sturdy growers and make valuable stocks for other 

 species, as already noted, but usually they are practi- 

 cally nonproductive and of little value to the orchardist. 



C. A. REED. 



WANDERING JEW: Zebrina pendula and Tradescantia flumi- 

 nensis. The common purple-leaved wandering jew of greenhouses, 

 with pink flowers that open in sunshine, is Zebrina pendula, often 

 confused with Tradescantia. 



