shade. The ancients believed that walnuts were marked by nature to cure 

 diseases of the brain or help in head troubles of any sort. This is due to the 

 resemblance of the nut to the head. The hard shell is like the skull, and the 

 thin, brown skin and lobed white flesh resemble the convolutions of the brain. 



The herbalists of old believed that "The leaves with boar's grease stayeth 

 the hair from falling and maketh it fair." Early disciples of Izaak Walton made 

 a decoction of the leaves to water the ground to make worms come to the 

 surface. 



The value of walnut for furniture was recognized in King Solomon's 

 time when this wood was brought from the Indies. The Venetians later 

 carved walnut into elaborate cabinets. During the reign of William and 

 Mary there began what has been termed the "age of walnut" when these 

 monarchs brought to England walnut furniture in the Dutch and Flemish 

 styles. 



American walnut, or black walnut as it is often called, was closely asso- 

 ciated with early colonial history. In 1633 Governor Winslow used a walnut 

 table in presiding over his councils in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth. 



At Maplewood, New Jersey, stands a huge walnut which is said to have 

 been planted in 1 743 in front of the Timothy Ball house. When visiting his 

 cousins, the Balls, General Washington hitched his horse to an iron ring 

 which was attached to this tree. 



So well known is the walnut in the United States that it has been pro- 

 posed that it be adopted as our national tree. It grows naturally in the region 

 occupied by four-fifths of the people of this country and has been planted 

 and grown successfully in every state in the Union. One writer says "England 

 has her oaks, Canada her maple, Italy her olives, Germany her linden, Japan 

 her cryptomeria, why not America her walnut?" 



The American walnut has many good points which entitle it for con- 

 sideration as the national tree It makes a beautiful decorative and shade 

 tree with its wide spreading habit and long, compound leaves. The wood is 

 valuable for many purposes, and during the war was much used for gun- 

 stocks and airplane propellers. The nuts are much prized as food. The 

 California species is used as a stock graft for English walnut since it is thriftier 

 than that species and its roots are better adapted to our soils. 



(109) 



