THE WALNUTS 33 



graceful, dancing. A majestic tree, with a luxuriant 

 crown from May till September, this walnut needs room 

 to display its notable contour and size. It deserves more 

 popularity than it enjoys as a tree for parks. No tree is 

 more interesting to watch as it grows. 



The bitter spongy husk deters the squirrels from gnaw- 

 ing into the nut until the husk is dry and brittle. Hidden 

 in the ground, the shell absorbs moisture, and winter frost 

 cracks it, by the gentle but irresistible force of expanding 

 particles of water as they turn to ice. So the plantlet has 

 no hindrance to its growth when spring opens. 



Imitating nature, the nurseryman lays his walnuts and 

 butternuts in a bed of sand or gravel, one layer above an- 

 other, and lets the rain and the cold do the rest. In 

 spring the "stratified '' nuts are ready for planting. Some- 

 times careful cracking of the shell prepares the nut to 

 sprout when planted. 



The Japanese walnuts (J. Sieboldiana and J. cordiformis) 

 are grown to a Hmited extent in states where the EngHsh 

 walnut is not hardy. They are butternuts, and very 

 much superior to our native species. A Manchurian wal- 

 nut has been successfully introduced, but few people 

 but the pioneers in nut culture know anything about these 

 exotic species. South America and the West Indies have 

 native species. So we shall not be surprised, in our 

 travels, to find walnuts in the woods of many continents. 



The English Walnut 



J. regiuy Linn. 



Originally at home in the forests of Persia and north- 

 western India, the Enghsh walnut was growTi for its ex- 



