292 



NUT 



N YM 



this tree has a thin smooth 8hell,and 

 is of very httle value. The inner 

 bark is useful for making a yellow 

 dye. 



The shagbark tree is so called, 

 on account of the roughness of its 

 scaly bark, which hangs in slips on 

 the bodies of old trees. This has a 

 small rich nut, enclosed in a very 

 thick shell ; but it is not so much 

 esteemed for its timber as the oth- 

 er sort. The nuts naturally adhere 

 strongly to the trees, but the first 

 hard frost causes them to drop. 



The black walnut tree is said to 

 grow naturally in Virginia, and par- 

 ticularly on the banks of the Ohio. 

 Though it be rather brittle, it re- 

 ceives a good polish ; is hard and 

 heavy, and is much prized for its 

 beautiful brown colour, and used in 

 all sorts of cabinet work. 



We have another sort, not indi- 

 genous, but the only one that is cul- 

 tivated with care in this country. It 

 goes by the nameof theEnglish wal- 

 nut. The fruit is larger and better 

 than that of either of the other sorts, 

 except the oil nut. In its tender state, 

 it is used in pickles for sauce. But 

 the nuts are too solid for this use 

 when they are come to their full 

 growth. The tree is so tender that 

 it will only grow in sheltered situa- 

 tions, in vallies, or on the south 

 side of houses and barns ; and there 

 it will amply reward the cultivator 

 by its crops affording a pleasant ad- 

 dition to his table in the winter,and 

 finding a good, and certain market 

 in the great towns, both when gath- 

 ered in July, as a pickle or pre- 

 serve, or in winter,when in maturity. 



A moist Joamy soil seems to be 

 the best situation for walnut trees ; 



jbut they will grow on almost any 

 upland. They are not well adapt- 

 ed to be cultivated in nurseries. 

 They bear transplanting but poor- 

 ly,unlesswhen they are very }oung. 

 The roots should not be wounded, 

 but it is not easy to avoid it in ta- 

 king them up, asthey naturally run 

 deep. Though the transplanted 

 trees are best for fruit, they grow 

 short and bushy, and are not fit for 

 timber. Therelbre, he who wish- 

 es to cultivate a grove of them for 

 timber, should plant the nuts in the 

 places where he wishes the trees to 

 remain. 



As there is a considerable pith 

 in the limbs of walnut trees, they 

 do not admit of much pruning. The 

 water is apt to enter at a wounded 

 limb and cause it to rot. 



NYMPHA, « the state of winged 

 insects, between their living in the 

 ^orm of a worm, and their appear- 

 ing in the winged or most perfect 

 state. The eggs of these insects 

 are first hatched into worms, or 

 maggots ; which afterwards pass in- 

 to the nympha state, surrounded 

 with shells, or cases, of their own 

 skins : So that, in reality, these 

 nymphs are only the embryo in- 

 sects, wrapped up in this covering ; 

 from whence they at last get loose, 

 though not without great difficulty. 



" During the nympha state, the 

 creature loses its motion. Swam- 

 merdam calls it nympha aurelia,or 

 simply aurelia ; and others give it 

 the name of chrysalis, a term of the 

 like import." Did. of Arts. 



It is in their winged state only, 

 that they copulate. The female 

 lays eggs : and their ofTspring go 

 through the same changes. The 



