THE WALNUT. 199 



and if these should be injured by frost no nuts can form. 

 Some trees, moreover, are shy in producing male flowers, 

 in which case they do not bear freely. 



Pruning. The Walnut requires no pruning beyond re- 

 moving dead or sickly wood. There is a common belief 

 that Walnut trees bear more freely if their branches are 

 well beaten, hence the old doggerel: 



"A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree, 

 The more you beat them, the better they be." 



This is a great mistake; it is liable to bruise the branches, 

 and set up decay. Leave the trees to nature, and they 

 will take care of themselves. 



Gathering and Storing the Nuts. For pickling purposes 

 they should be gathered by hand in June. For storing 

 in a ripe state the nuts are usually ripe in October. The 

 best way is to allow the nuts to fall off as they ripen, then 

 pick them up. But where there is any risk in leaving the 

 nuts to fall naturally, the branches should be lightly 

 beaten with a long pole to cause the nuts to fall off. After 

 gathering store them in a thin layer in any cool, airy 

 place until the husks naturally split ; then remove the nuts 

 and again spread them out to dry, after which place them 

 in a sack and shake them backwards and forwards to get 

 them clean ready for storing. The best method of storing 

 is in shallow alternate layers of sand, a little salt being 

 sprinkled over the nuts before adding the sand. Store 

 thus in casks or jars. Should the kernels get shrivelled 

 remove them from the shells, and soak them for a few 

 hours in milk and water, when they will regain their 

 normal plumpness. 



Pests. Lice attack the under and upper sides of the 

 leaves, and Leaf-gall Mite causes bladder-like swellings on 

 the leaves. Rooks, squirrels, and rats also eat the nuts. 



