THE WALNUTS 35 



to grow them extensively for market, until California 

 undertook to compete with Europe for the growing Amer- 

 ican trade. Now the crop reaches thousands of tons 

 of nuts, and millions of dollars come back each year 

 to the owners of walnut ranches. Hardy varieties have 

 extended the range of nut-orcharding; and so has the 

 grafting of tender varieties on stock of the native black 

 walnut of California. 



The beauty of this Eurasian walnut tree would justify 

 planting it merely for the adornment of parks and private 

 grounds. Its broad dome of bright green foliage in sum- 

 mer, and its clean gray trunk and bare branches in winter, 

 are attractive features in a landscape that has few de- 

 ciduous trees. A fine dooryard tree that bears delicious 

 nuts, after furnishing a grateful shade all summer, is de- 

 serving the popularity it enjoys with small farmers and 

 owners of the simplest California homes. 



As a lumber tree, the walnut of Europe has long been 

 commercially important. It is the staple wood for gun- 

 stocks, and during wars the price has reached absurd 

 heights, one country bidding against its rival to get con- 

 trol of the visible supply. Furniture makers use quanti- 

 ties of the curly walnut often found in stumps of old trees. 

 The heart wood, always a rich brown, is often watered and 

 crimped in curious and intricate patterns, that when 

 polished blend the loveliest dark and light shades with the 

 characteristic walnut lustre, to reward the skilled crafts- 

 man. 



In the United States this wood is rarely seen, because 

 the trees are grown for their nuts. They require several 

 years to come into bearing, are long-lived, have few ene- 

 mies, and need little pruning as bearing age approaches. 



