BULLETIN 231] WALNUT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 257 



varieties are considerably lighter in weight than others in which the 

 nuts are decidedly smaller. A desirable nut should be well filled with 

 plump meat without too much air space between the shell and the meat. 

 A comparatively heavy shell is more desirable than a very thin, light 

 one, since the nut is better protected, less susceptible to perforation and 

 similar troubles (see page 376), and it is also to be considered that 

 since walnuts are sold by the pound, the heavier the shell the greater 

 is the weight and the more the returns from a given number of nuts. 

 Next to be considered is the shape, smoothness, uniformity and color of 

 the nuts. These qualities may be sometimes of minor importance where 

 walnuts are grown on a very large scale and put upon the market without 

 individuality of any kind, yet for an ideal nut or for one which is to 

 command the highest price, certain qualifications are very desirable 

 in these respects. The most attractive form is usually considered to 

 be a somewhat elongated walnut, rather broader at the base than at 

 the apex. This is not very important, however, since the smoothness, 

 symmetry, and uniformity of the nuts affect their attractive appear- 

 ance more than their shape. An ideal nut should be quite smooth, free 

 from decided ridges, grooves, or other irregularities of surface ; it should 

 be symmetrical rather than one-sided or irregularly shaped, and all 

 the nuts should be of the same general shape and appearance, giving 

 them uniformity and individuality. A variety in which the nuts are 

 decidedly uniform so that the variety is easily distinguished and recog- 

 nized, even by the ordinary purchaser, has a marked advantage over 

 one in which the nuts are of all sorts of shapes so that only an expert 

 can distinguish the variety from others. The color of the nut is also of 

 considerable importance, although walnuts are almost always bleached 

 before putting them on the market and in this way they are all brought 

 to about the same color. A variety, however, which is of a light, attrac- 

 tive color, is entitled to considerable merit over one which is dull, dark 

 or unattractive. 



Next we may consider the cracking quality and sealing of the nut. 

 A thin-shelled- easily-opened nut is somewhat more attractive to the 

 eater than one which is hard and difficult to open, yet from a com- 

 mercial standpoint this quality is a comparatively unimportant one. 

 A rather firm-shelled nut, and especially one which is strongly sealed 

 at the natural line of opening or suture between the two halves of the 

 shell, is very much to be preferred to one which pops open at the 

 slightest pressure. In the latter case many of the nuts open in drying, 

 or when shaken about in the sacks and bins, moisture and mold spores 

 are admitted, many are spoiled in handling, and such a nut is in every 

 way very undesirable to the grower and of only very slight advantage 

 to the consumer. Concerning walnuts for the table, they are almost 



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