BULLETIN 231] WALNUT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 291 



Surface. 



Quite smooth, with several quite conspicuous longitudinal seams or 

 grooves which give the variety a characteristic appearance. 



Color. 



Dull light brown, requiring bleaching for the best appearance. 



Uniformity. 



Quite strong, both in size, shape and surface. 



Cracking Quality. 



Poorly sealed at the apex, so that the nuts open easily. 



Pellicle. 



Amber to dark brown, or in many cases nearly black after exposure 

 to rain. The weakest quality of this variety. 



Meat. 



Decidedly plump and well filled, averaging a full 50 per cent. Equal 

 to the best in this respect. 



Flavor. 



Mild and pleasant. Sometimes rather musty after exposure to rain. 



TREE. 

 Foliation Period. 



Early. Not later than the average of the Santa Barbara Soft Shell 

 seedlings. 



Growth. 



Fairly vigorous, with a strong tendency toward the formation of 

 fruiting wood, making a low, spreading tree, with a few straggling, 

 upward-growing leaders. Very numerous fruit spurs develop all over 

 the tree as soon as it is established in the orchard. 



Foliage. 



Abundant and thrifty. 



Harvest Season. 



Early. 



Precocity. 



The strongest of any well tested variety. During the first ten years 

 in the orchard will probably produce at least twice as many nuts as any 

 other southern variety and many times more than any of the French 

 varieties or their derivatives. 



Production in Older Trees. 



The original tree of this variety stood in a grove of Santa Barbara 

 Soft Shell seedlings and was not selected as being a tree of unusually 

 heavy production. The chief merit of the Prolific in regard to produc- 

 tion appears to be its decided tendency toward heavy bearing from 

 about the third to the tenth year in the orchard as compared to other 

 varieties. Mr. Ware's grove averaged about 20 pounds of nuts per tree 



