28 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



OTHKK VARIETIES. 



A very large proportion of our almond importations come from France, Italy, and 

 Spain. Under existing tariff rates (which are 5 cents per pound on almonds not 

 shelled, and 74 cents per pound on shelled almonds) ' it is found to be cheaper to 

 import the shelled rather than the unshelled article. Two and one-half pounds of the 

 nuts are required to yield 1 pound of shelled almonds, which makes the net duty 12 

 cents -per pound of meats, if imported in shells, against 74 cents per. pound for those 

 imported without shells. Among importers the different grades are distinguished by 

 the names of the ports from which they come. It is probable that in some cases sev- 

 eral varieties are included under a single name, but from lack of access to specimens 

 with shells and of more definite information concerning them only an enumeration of 

 the names as they are found in the market, with brief references to their quality, is 

 possible at this time. 



ALICANTE. Has large, broad kernels of excellent quality. From Alicante, Spain. 



BAKI, OR ALBEUZZI. From the mainland of Italy, shipped from Bari or Livorno. 

 Our specimens were much broken when received. The kernels are irregular in size 

 and form, but of excellent quality grading with Jordan and Alicante in this respect. 



CANARY. From Canary Islands. Kernel short, plump, uniform ; quality ordinary. 



JORDAN (pi. 4, fig. 9). This name is a corruption of the French word "jardin" and 

 signifies simply "garden" almond. They are imported only as kernels, principally 

 from Malaga, Spain, and bring the highest price in our market, often from 8 to 10 

 cents per pound more than others. The kernels are single, narrow, long, and plump, 

 and are rubbed or cleaned in some way before shipping. Specimens received from 

 Malaga, through the kindness of Charles Heath, United States consul at Catania, 

 show this variety to have a dense, thick, hard shell. We are not aware that the pro- 

 duction of this almond has been attempted in California. The effort seems worth 

 making on account of the high price of the product. 



PROVENCE. These are received from Marseilles and Bordeaux. They are smaller 

 than those from Spain, and are long in form, with white meat. 



SICILY. Received from Messina. The kernels are plump, often double, and 

 irregular in size and form. As found in the markets these are composed of a mixture 

 of sweet and bitter kernels. But whether thus grown or whether the mixing is done 

 by the shippers we have not determined. 



VALENCIA. As received by us, bears a close resemblance to Alicante. They 

 come from Valencia, Spain. 



THE WALNUTS. 



Three species of the walnut are of commercial importance in the United States. 

 Of these, the black walnut (Juglana nigra) and the butternut (Juglam vinerea) are 

 native, and one, the Persian walnut (Juglans regia), has been introduced from the Old 

 World. The walnuts may be readily distinguished from the hickories, which they 

 somewhat resemble, by their thicker bark, which on trees a few years old cracks into 

 persistent, longitudinal ridges, and by their simple ameuts, or catkins, composed of 

 stamiuate blossoms; the bark of the hickory being scaly or smooth and the ameuts 

 compound. They may also be distinguished by the thick, fleshy hull inclosing the 

 nut, which in the walnuts bursts irregularly after it falls from the tree, while in the 

 hickories it is regularly four-parted and valvular, often opening sufficiently to release 

 the nut while the hull remains attached to the tree. 



1 These rates are reduced by the tariff act of 1894 to 3 cents per pound on almouds not shelled, and 

 5 cents per pound on shelled almonds. At the present time, December, 1895, therefore, the net duty 

 on almond meats per pouud is 7 cents if imported in the shells, agaiust 5 cents per pound if imported 

 without the shells. 



