314 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



duced by invaders and traders to various parts of Europe, namely 

 Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and England; and it is moreover 

 variously named after all these countries. From Europe it was intro- 

 duced into America and for over a hundred years walnuts have grown 

 in different parts of New York State, and farther south ; but the large 

 planting has been in California. There the industry was introduced 

 by the Spanish friars, who brought with them the Spanish strain, 

 which is a soft-shelled type, such as the Soft Shell and the Santa 

 Barbara. Walnuts have been introduced into South America also. 

 In later years French strains of such varieties as the Franquette 

 and Mayette have made their appearance, and the introduction of 

 these bids fair to revolutionize the walnut industry in America. 



There is no tree that demands as much care as the walnut in 

 the selection of the soil, especially when grown on English walnut 

 roots. It is claimed, and reasonably, that when grafted on either 

 American Black or California Black, the tree will stand heavier soil. 

 The walnut is a heavy feeder and the soils that suit it best are the 

 good, deep, rich, moist loams, at least fifteen feet deep and well 

 drained, although these are not necessarily the only soils upon which 

 it will grow. The soils to be avoided are those which are underlaid 

 near the surface by hardpan, and those underlaid near the surface 

 with rock, cement gravel, or loose gravel. In the former the tap root 

 will grow for a short time but cannot penetrate the hardpan, and the 

 tree will cease growing. The latter soils should never be selected 

 they are too light and thin. The preparation of the ground should be 

 about the same as for a fruit orchard good deep plowing and thor- 

 ough harrowing will bring their rewards. 



The tree should be carefully set, taking care, as with a fruit 

 orchard, to have the trees thoroughly lined and set firmly. The 

 distance recommended is from fifty to sixty feet apart. Under some 

 conditions the trees might be planted thirty feet apart and later 

 every other tree taken out. Eventually five to seven trees to the 

 acre would be sufficient, and the yield from these would be from three 

 hundred to a thousand pounds, which, at present prices, would bring 

 handsome profits. 



The walnut requires little or no pruning. Care should be taken 

 the first four or five years to keep nearly all laterals removed. This 

 will cause the tree to make a rapid terminal growth, and when the 

 laterals do begin to grow they will not come down close to the ground 

 as is the case with young trees where the laterals are allowed to re- 

 main necessitating the cutting off of quite large limbs. This keep- 

 ing the laterals off also gives a much larger tree, as the growth that 

 would naturally go into the laterals is forced into the terminal 

 growth, the young tree sometimes making seven or eight feet of 

 growth in one season. The young trees should always be staked and 

 tied with broad strips of cloth to prevent cutting. From time to time 

 dead wood will need to be removed from the tree and occasionally a 

 few limbs taken out to guard against having the tree grow too thick ; 

 but care should be taken not to remove large limbs. When this is 

 done be sure to make a slanting cut so as to shed the water, and then 



