204 FRUIT-GARDENING. 



Juglans regia, commonly called Englisli Walnut, or Madeira 

 Nut, tas been neglected by many of our citizens. It is a native 

 of Persia, and is cultivated in France, England, and in other 

 parts of Europe, both as a fruit and timber tree. The fruit, in 

 England, is much used in a green state for pickling, and also 

 as an adulteration of soy sauce. In France, an oil, which sup- 

 plies the place of that of Almonds, is made from the kernel. 

 In Spain, they strew the gratings of old and hard nuts, first 

 peeled, into their tarts and other meats. The leaves strewed 

 on the ground, and left there, annoy moles ; or macerated in 

 warm water, afford a liquor which will destroy them. The 

 unripe fruit is used in medicine for the purpose of destroying 

 worms in the human body. Pliny says : " The more Walnuts 

 one eats, with the more ease will he drive worms out of the 

 stomach." 



The timber is considered lighter, in proportion to its strength 

 and elasticity, than any other, and therefore commonly used 

 in England for gun-stocks. It is used in cabinet work in most 

 parts of Europe. The young timber is allowed to make the 

 finest colored work, but the old to be finest variegated for 

 ornament. When propagated for timber, the nut is sown ; 

 but when fruit is the object, inarching from the branches of 

 fruit-bearing trees is preferable. Budding is also practised by 

 some. The buds succeed best when taken from the base of 

 the annual shoots. Ordinary-sized buds from the upper part 

 of such shoots generally fail. 



Walnut-trees that have not been grafted or budded may be 

 induced to produce blossoms by ringing the bark, that is, cut- 

 ting out a streak of the bark around the body or main branches 

 of the tree. Walnut-trees seldom yield much fruit until fif- 

 teen or twenty years old. The nuts are produced on the 

 extremities of the preceding year's shoots. The trees should 

 sta-^id forty or fifty feet apart, and be permitted to branch out 

 in their natural order. They need but little pruning, merely 

 to regulate any casual disorderly growth, to reduce over-ex- 

 tended branches, and to prune up the low stragglers. 



