44^ NUTS. 



particular as regards soil and locality; it is always more 

 vigorous on rich land than on poor land. A light loam 

 with dry subsoil will give the least wood and most nuts. 

 A strong soil produces an excessive growth of wood at 

 the expense of the crops. Wet soil produces too much 

 wood and too little fruit. In Kent, England, the hazel 

 thrives best in limestone land, and reaches a height of twelve 

 feet, and occasionally of thirty feet. The trees are set in 

 well-drained ground, about ten feet apart each way, though 

 sometimes they are set in hedges, when a less distance in the 

 row is adopted. Root pruning is frequently practised to 

 prevent the too rapid growth of food. The disposition of 

 the hazel to make thrifty inside cane growth is kept constantly 

 in check by summer pruning, and the outer limbs, together 

 with the general growth of the trees, are checked by pruning 

 back in the latter part of the winter. The thin, unfruitful 

 twigs are removed and the fruitful limbs are shortened back 

 nearly to the female buds. Care is taken to leave sufficient 

 male catkins for an ample supply of pollen. The fruit spurs 

 are near the extremities of the last year's growth, and nuts 

 are more abundant where air and light have ready access. In 

 the fifth or sixth year after planting, trees should bear consid- 

 erable fruit. Trees of this age in England are reported to 

 produce from three to four pounds of nuts each. It is a very 

 important orchard tree with many cultivators in Europe, and 

 has been greatly improved by years of careful cultivation and 

 selection. A very fruitful hazel orchard is reported in Wern- 

 feld, Germany, occupying about two and a half acres of land 

 and having a northwesterly slope. In that latitude the trees 

 are said to thrive with any exposure except directly southern. 

 They are recommended by Goeschke for clothing the steep 

 sides of hills and mountains; also for railroad banks. He 

 states that in Germany they are advantageously used in those 

 portions of fruit orchards where other trees fail. 



"Harvesting and Marketing. It is a popular method in 

 England to harvest and market finer nuts in their husks. 

 In all cases the fruit is left on the bush or tree until fully 

 ripe, the proper condition being readily determined by the 

 brown color of the nut, the tint of the husk, and the 

 readiness with which the nuts would rattle out by a slight 

 jarring of the trees. In curing the nuts thus harvested, 



