ON PAPER-SHELL WALNUTS 



moist, loamy soil, in order to thrive. Trees that 

 produce wood of such extraordinary hardness of 

 texture, and nuts so stocked with fats and proteins, 

 could not be expected to draw adequate nourish- 

 ment from impoverished soil. In point of fact, 

 the black walnut and the butternut, in the regions 

 of the United States to which they are indigenous, 

 are usually found growing along the rivers, or in 

 rich alluvial valleys. Any idea that they could be 

 raised to advantage on soil that is too poor to pro- 

 duce ordinary crops of cereals or vegetables, is 

 fallacious. 



At the moment, there is not demand enough 

 for the black walnut or the butternut to justify 

 the raising of these trees on a commercial scale. 

 It will be necessary to produce new varieties by 

 hybridization and selective breeding before these 

 nuts can be made popular. But, as I said before, 

 there is every reason to believe that a series of 

 experiments looking to the production of improved 

 varieties would be more than justified by the re- 

 sults obtained, and I shall point out in another 

 connection the commercial possibilities of produc- 

 ing lumber trees in this way that make the project 

 doubly attractive. 



It may be well to call attention to one or two 

 peculiarities of the walnut that should be known 

 to anyone that attempts hybridizing experiments. 



[57] 



