BULLETIN 231] WALNUT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 255 



as that between the different types themselves. The various types, indi- 

 vidual trees and varieties now to be found in California have almost all 

 descended, as we have shown on page 171, from two sources, namely, the 

 Santa Barbara Soft Shell type, first produced and propagated by 

 Joseph Sexton of Goleta, which came probably from Chile, and second, 

 various French varieties and their derivatives, almost all of which were 

 first introduced or developed by Felix Gillet. It is doubtless true that 

 more than 99 per cent of the walnut trees now growing in this State are 

 descendants of one or the other of these sources. The only noticeable 

 exception to this is the Eureka, which originated as a chance seedling 

 from a tree introduced through another source. It is undoubtedly true 

 that with the exception of the Eureka all the varieties which are worthy 

 of discussion for California planting are either Santa Barbara Soft 

 Shell seedlings, old French varieties, or seedlings of some of these later 

 varieties which have originated in California. 



In discussing the various varieties now before the public we should 

 first of all formulate an idea or standard as to what constitutes an ideal 

 walnut. In regard to this, the first and most important quality is un- 

 doubtedly that of production. A variety however fancy or otherwise 

 desirable which does not produce comparatively large crops of nuts can 

 not be considered satisfactory, whatever may be its other qualities. As 

 to the ideal or greatest possible production, we may say that while the 

 crop of the present producing seedling groves of southern California 

 averages only about 50 pounds per tree, or 1,000 pounds per acre, there 

 are numerous individual seedling trees in the State which average close 

 to 300 pounds, and a very large number which produce regularly more 

 than 200 pounds. Since thrifty walnut trees, after reaching an age of 

 twelve to fifteen years, should have a distance of at least fifty to sixty 

 feet apart, which means an average of not over fifteen trees per acre, 

 we may estimate that at 200 pounds per tree the crop per acre would 

 equal 3,000 pounds of nuts, which at an average price of 12 cents would 

 amount to $360 gross per acre. This figure, as compared with present 

 returns from the citrus industry, is fairly modest, yet if it could be 

 maintained as a regular income it would represent a very satisfactory 

 return on much of the land in this State which is adaptable to walnut 

 culture. On the highest priced citrus lands of the south, walnuts even 

 on this basis could hardly compete with lemons and oranges. Three- 

 hundred-pound trees would add 50 per cent to the figure estimated and 

 such production should be ultimately attained in an ideal tree having 

 plenty of room at least by the time it reaches fifteen or twenty years 

 of age. As we have said above, however, these results are far above those 

 actually being obtained at present in the walnut industry. At this 

 point we may also consider the relative merits of a fancy variety, pro- 



