22iK> 



NUT-CULTURE 



NUT-CULTURE 



h.irlv favorable localities. There are ditTereiioes in the 

 ability of the varieties to eiulurc cold, and in time of 

 bliKMuini:. even where they are counted a success. Not 

 until seoiUinss were .provni aiul tested, from wliich 

 selections were made of suitable kinds, did the growing 

 of this nut prove profitable. 



.\t the present time the culture of the ahnond is con- 

 fined chiefly to California. To some extent it is grown in 

 Utah. Idaho, Arizona and New Mexico, and fair crops 

 of the highest quality in all respects are grown tlicre. 

 There are single orchards in California of hundreds of 

 acres in extent. The average crop of tlie region is 

 estimated to be about ;5,(X)0 tons or ti.OOO.OOO iiounds, 

 and in view of the large quantities of ahnonds imjiorted 

 there is room for a large increase in ])roduction. This 

 is being met to a considerable extent bj' extensive 

 ])lantinps in California. It is thought that the pro- 

 duction of new seedlings will still further overcome the 

 weak points already mentioned, and materially extend 

 the culture of really choice varieties to some extent. 

 The varieties being growni are nearly all of California 

 origin and are Nonpareil, I X L, and Ne Plus Ultra, 

 and are esteemed for market in the order named. 

 Drake, Texas Prolitic and Languedoc are also prized, 

 especially for shelling, but their price is not equal to 

 that of the others ntimed. The methods of planting and 

 cultivation of the soil arc about the same as for the 

 |x>ach. Twenty to twenty-five feet is a good distance 

 apart for planting the trees in rich soil; sometimes 

 they arc set a-s much as thirty feet apart. In the state 

 of California, they are frequently set in the quincunx 

 form. See ahso Almond, Volume I. 



The icalntds. 



American walnuts. — The kernels of all species of the 

 walnut family are liked because of their rich and deli- 

 cious flavor; but some of them are so small and difficult 

 to get out of the shell that they are of little or no com- 

 mercial value. Our native black walnut, J uglans nigra, 

 and butternut, J . cinerea, are of this character. At 

 present there are very few trees of either species that 

 are grown for their nuts; but there are some prospects 

 of improvement in this direction. 



Asiatic species. — Within the hist forty years there have 

 been introduced from .Japan two new walnuts, J. Sic- 

 bfiMiarta and var. cordiformis, and from Manchuria one, 

 J. mandjihurica. These make beautiful and stately 

 trees, but the nuts of all but J. Sieholdiana var. cordi- 

 formis have too thick shells to be of much value. See 

 J uglans. 



Persian species. — ^The Persian walnut, J. regia, which 

 has long been called English walnut and by several 

 other titles, has been cultivated for many centuries for 

 its thin-shelled and richly-flavored nuts. It is a native 

 of Persia and the regions about the Caspian Sea. The 

 Greeks and Romaas took it to southern Europe before 

 the Christian era. It wits brought to America in the 

 early settlement of the country, but did not succeed 

 everywhere, and the few trees that survive in the 

 eastern states have been mostly neglected. Some of 

 them have borne nuts abundantly and others have not. 

 Unproductiveness ha-s generally been due to the isola- 

 tion of the trees and the inopportune times of the 

 blfximing of the flowers of the two sexes. These isolated 

 trees are .scattered over the ea-stem states from New 

 York to Georgia, and rarely beyond the Appalachian 

 mountain chain, because of the more uncongenial 

 climate there. 



Regions of successful culture. — On the Pacific coast 

 the Persian walnut is a great success, especially in 

 southern California. True enough, there are some fail- 

 ures, but they are mostly due tfj lack of proper iiollina- 

 tion, a matt/;r which can and will soon be generally 

 understfiod anfl overcome. There are extensive orchards 

 already in bearing, and with the advantages which are 

 now being afforde'l by the introduction of the best varie- 



ties from Europe and the origination of improved seed- 

 lings, the walnut industry is sure to advance rapidly in 

 that region. The soil of the richer valleys of the Pacific 

 slo])e is just what is needed, and where there is an 

 abundant supply of water a few feet under the surface 

 there is no need of irrigation. But in poor, dry soil it is 

 folly to expect success. The crop of California alone, 

 in 1910 was about 10,000 tons or 20,000,000 pounds, or 

 1,000 carloads of 20,000 pounds e.ach. It is confidently 

 expected that California alone will, within a few years, 

 produce all that our home markets require. Recently a 

 very deep interest h;is developed in walnut-culture in 

 the Atlantic States, as some of the hardiest and most 

 fruitful seedling trees have come to be appreciated, are 

 given varietal names and are being propagated by 

 the mu'series. As yet there are very few trees planted 

 out in orchard form, but there are a few small orchards 

 of such trees, mostly in New York, New Jersey and 

 Pennsylvania, and there are larger ones of seedlings of 

 these improved strains, some of which are in profitable 

 bearing. There seems to be good reason for believing 

 there will be a thriving industry in walnut-culture in 

 the Atlantic States and possibly farther to the west- 

 ward within a few years to come. But the ex-periments 

 with J. regia have not been very favorable to it in the 

 central or Mississippi Valley regions west of the Appa- 

 lachian Mountain chain, perhaps owing to the change- 

 ableness of the climate. 



Propagation. — The larger number of bearing trees 

 are seedlings, but those grafted or budded with choice 

 varieties are far preferable, and such trees will form the 

 walnut orchards of the future. The native black wal- 

 nut, J. nigra, is the species used as a stock principally 

 in the eastern states and it serves the purpose very well. 

 J. nipestris, a species native in Texas and adjacent 

 regions, is also used as a stock, especially in the South, 

 and the varieties of J. regia grow very well on it. This 

 native species is closely allied to J. califr>rnica, which is 

 now used in California, Oregon and Washington as a 

 walnut stock more than any other species. J. cinerea is 

 being tested in a small way for this purpose, and so are 

 the Asiatic species, but so far with uncertain results. 

 The planting of seedling walnut orchards is giving way 

 to those of the named varieties, of which there are rnany 

 and among them several that have proved to be reliable 

 bearers and their nuts of standard commercial value. 

 Although some seedlings are grown and sold by the 

 nurseries, they are becoming unpopular. There are a 

 few small nur.series both East and West now devoted 

 almost entirely to the growing of grafted and budded 

 walnut trees. 



Planting and culture. — The distance for the trees to 

 stand apart in the orchard is from 40 to 60 feet, accord- 

 ing to the vigor of the variety and the richness of the 

 soil. Clean tillage is best for the trees until they reach 

 bearing age, when the ground may be seeded to some 

 grass that does not make a compact sod. If hoed crops 

 are grown between the trees until that time, it will do 

 no harm and economize the space. Almost no pruning is 

 needed for this tree, except to keep the branches from 

 getting so low as to interfere with tillage. The trunk 

 should be 4 to 5 feet high. See Walnut, Volume VI. 



The chestnuts. 



American species. — Like the .walnuts, our native 

 chestnuts are not so desirable for market purposes sis 

 those from foreign countries. The wild American 

 chestnut, Castanea dentata, is richer in quality than any 

 foreign kind, but the size is less than half that of the 

 introduced nuts. Throughout the larger part of the 

 eastern United States, and extending into lower Canada, 

 there are untold millions of native chestnut trees, 

 yii^lding a wealth of nuts that find ready sale in the 

 markets, so far as they arc gathered; but the prices 

 are onlv about half those of the large c\iltivated and 

 imported product. At the present time there are but 



