74 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Another way is to spread out the pits on a smooth piece of 

 ground and cover with sacks, and over these a layer of straw three 

 or four inches thick to retain moisture. The pits may be planted 

 out as soon as they crack open, although no harm wilf be done if 

 they are allowed to lie until the sprouts are well out. 



Another method which has been especially recommended for 

 treatment for almonds is the following: Lay boards upon the 

 ground and cover them with an inch of sand; spread on this a 

 layer of almonds and then another inch of sand, and ^o on. Keep 

 the pile wet, and in three weeks of warm weather they will burst 

 open. Plant in drills one inch deep and put over them a light coat 

 of rotten straw. 



If from any cause the pits have become quite dry, they should 

 be soaked in water two or three days before planting. 



Nut Tree Seedlings. In growing nut-tree seedlings, much the 

 same methods are followed as with pits of stone fruits. There are 

 methods described in detail by California growers which should be 

 given. As has been said, the nuts may be planted at any time 

 after ripening, in the milder parts of the State, if the grower 

 will undertake the greater care and cultivation. On some light 

 soils where the rainfall is not excessive, this is not much trouble. 

 Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, gives this as his method : 



The nuts may be planted as soon as gathered, though in Nevada City 

 it is too cold to plant them in the fall, for the frost in winter would surely 

 lift the nuts right out of the ground. For keeping and sprouting walnuts, 

 I throw into the bottom of a box one inch deep of sand, then a layer of 

 nuts; put in another inch of sand, and another layer of nuts, and so on to 

 one or two inches from the top. Then water well with a sprinkler and 

 water again during the winter whenever the sand gets too dry. The sand 

 has to be pretty well saturated with water, especially from the first of 

 January down to planting time, which is in February, March, or April, 

 according to localities. The latter part of March or first week in April is 

 best for Nevada City. The nuts are planted in drills and covered to a 

 depth of two to three inches. 



In propagating chestnuts it is always better to select for seed the 

 largest, finest, and healthiest nuts; in the fall or beginning of winter the 

 nuts have to be planted in a box of damp sand, by layers, the box being 

 kept in a cellar. The nuts may be stored in a hole in the open ground, a 

 layer of chestnut leaves being first thrown in the bottom of the hole, on 

 top of that a layer of nuts, then another layer of leaves, and so on to the 

 top, which has to be properly covered with two or three inches of earth 

 so as to prevent the frost injuring the nuts. In February or March, 

 according to location, the nuts are taken out and planted in drills to a 

 depth of three to four inches; less for smaller seed like American chest- 

 nuts. 



In growing seedlings of English walnuts, Mr. J. Luther Bowers 

 of Santa Clar^Khas shown that water-soaking of nuts may make 

 it unnecessary to v 'undertake storage in damp sand, if the nuts are 

 of the last crop. He describes the method as follows : 



"The nuts should be large and thin shelled and should be of last year's 

 crop. To ascertain this, break a few and split the kernel open at the germ 

 end, or the point where the root starts. If the meat of the kernel shows a 



