BULLETIN 231] WALNUT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 133 



coming from a common base. Other trees are found in considerable 

 numbers scattered here and there through the forest and about the hill- 

 side between the springy basins. Quite a number of these scattering 

 trees have recently been cut for wood. Altogether there are several 

 hundred of the trees. Evidently they have seeded spontaneously from 

 the older ones and become distributed over an area of about a square 

 mile by natural means. The impression gained at present, however^ 

 from all these trees, is that they are no longer reproducing to any 

 extent, but are gradually dying out. There is hardly a specimen less 

 than at least twenty years of age, or possibly fifty years might be nearer 

 the truth. All the older trees are dying back and breaking down and 

 show very little vigorous, new development. The latter is seen only in 

 the case of those trees which have been cut down during the last two or 

 three years. In these cases a very vigorous crop of sprouts has been sent 

 up from each stump. 



Examination of the stumps of some of these cut-off trees shows one 

 that many of them were more than one hundred years of age when cut, 

 and this is true even of some of the smaller ones. Some may be found 

 which are considerably older than this and apparently well up toward 

 two hundred years old. The broken off stem shown in the picture of 

 the largest tree was cut off and found to be at least sixty years of age, 

 and probably considerably older than this at the base. This was much 

 the smallest of the trunks in this group. 



The little glade in which this tree stands was evidently the site of 

 an Indian village, as evidenced by numerous arrow heads, spear points, 

 mortars, etc., which have been found there. On investigation these 

 trees show beyond all possible doubt that many of them must have been 

 large, old trees even at the time of the Spanish occupation of Cali- 

 fornia, and that they could not have been planted by any white people. 

 This grove can be most readily reached by driving from Napa to Wil- 

 son's Inn, a summer resort, at which is located Atlas post office, and 

 from which a wood road leads down to the walnut trees at a distance 

 of about two miles. 



A few miles southeast of this grove, on the old Combs ranch in Gor- 

 don Valley, there stand several black walnut trees, one of which is par- 

 ticularly large; early settlers state that this tree existed from their 

 earliest recollection, but that they can remember it as a comparatively 

 small tree. It is, therefore, probably older than any of the trees planted 

 about the towns during the past sixty years, but younger than those 

 upon the mountain-side, from which it presumably descended. One 

 of the oldest residents of this region, Mr. Joe Gordon, of Gordon Val- 

 ley, was interviewed in regard to the history of these trees. Mr. Gordon 

 is of Spanish descent and was born and has always lived in this vicin- 



