THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



25! 



diameter, and was split into quarters 

 with wedges to bring it within reach 

 of a mill-saw. Of course these were 

 exceptional growths, and show the ulti- 

 mate magnitude attained by the species 

 under favoring conditions ; yet the aver- 

 age growth is from three to six feet in 

 diameter, and the liight from 60 to 90 

 feet. 



As a T'imber Tree, it is the most val- 

 uable of our native species. The wood 

 is a rich, dark brown, deepening with 

 age, fine-gi'ained, and susceptible of a 

 high polish. For cabinet work, gun- 

 stalks, counter-tops, stair-rails, and fine 

 inside finish for buildings, it is unri- 

 valed by any other native wood. In 

 the Chicago market, good Black Wal- 

 nut lumber is quoted at $50 to $150 

 per 1,000 feet, board measure, in car- 

 load lots. Crotches, burls and other 

 parts with feathered or wavy grain, 

 sell at very much higher prices for ve- 

 neers. In the early days, while the 

 country was still covered with "' the 

 forest primeval," the settlers were ac- 

 customed to work up this timber into 

 fence posts and rails. That which was 

 not straight in the grain was burned, 

 to clear the ground. Many farms in 

 Ohio and Indiana were laboriously 

 cleared of Walnut timber which would 

 now be worth thousands of dollars 

 more than the value of the land from 

 which it was cut. 



For Cultivation on the prairies and 

 eastern borders of the plains, the Black 

 Walnut is deservedly popular. At the 

 17th Annual Meeting of the Kansas 

 State Horticultural Society this tree 

 was placed at the head of a list of 15 

 species which had proved succesful in 

 that state. The Black Walnut, when 

 young, is successfully [)lanted from 

 nursery rows, but having a long tap- 

 root, it is better, perhaps, to plant the 

 nuts where the tree is to remain. They 

 are gathered only in the fall, and de- 

 posited in beds, two or three deep, wei-e 



they are lightly covered with earth o 

 sand. Keep the bed moist through th( 

 winter, and subjected to the action o 

 the frost. When fairly sprouted in th{ 

 spring, the nuts are cai-efully taken uj 

 and planted where the tree is to stand 

 It is recommended to plant in alternate 

 rows with Cottonwood, Box Elder, oi 

 some rapid growing evergreen, to shel 

 ter the young trees from high winds 

 and hot sunshine. The sheltering trees 

 may be removed before they interfere 

 with the growth of the Black Walnuts 

 The latter begin to produce nuts when 

 eight or ten years old. The nuts, when 

 fresh, are large and roundish, some- 

 what resembling a green orange. The 

 kernel is less palatable than that oi 

 any of the allied species, somewhat 

 rank in flavor, yet is relished by many. 

 The largest market for them at present 

 is for planting; they bring little for 

 eating purposes. — Prairie Farmer. 



WHITNEY'S NO. 20. 

 During a late visit to Mr. A. R. 

 Whitney's orchard we found something 

 over 1,000 trees of this famous variety 

 in bearing, every one of which seemed 

 to have passed the last severe winter 

 unscathed, while nearly all other varie- 

 ties suffered, as our apples generally did 

 throughout the Northwest. Their hardi- 

 ness is established beyond cavil. The 

 parent tree has fruited abundantly every 

 season since 1854, but this year its 

 crop is light. Yet the tree seems per- 

 fectly vigorous, and good for many 

 more paying crops. Mr. Whitney's 

 history of the origin of No. 20 is as 

 follows : In the autumn of 1849, he 

 washed the seeds from a lot of pomace 

 from the common Siberian ci-ab apple. 

 These were planted in the spring of 

 1850. The following winter he grafted 

 500 Willow Twigs on these Siberian 

 seedlings. In September, 1854, one of 

 the seedling roots, in nursery plot No. 

 20, on which the graft had perished, a^ 



