THE WALNUTS PERSIAN WALNUT. 29 



The Persian walnut is largely grown for its fruit in California and the Southwest, 

 and in acreage and value of product stands next to the almond among American nut 

 crops. 



The black walnut and the butternut have been planted to a considerable extent 

 in the Mississippi Valley and Atlantic Coast States, but have not proved profitable 

 for their fruit alone, though in thickly set groves on strong land the value of the 

 timber produced may make the culture of the former profitable under favorable condi- 

 tions. In the wild state their fruit yields a considerable revenue to farmers and 



woodsmen in some parts of the country. 



i 



PERSIAN WALNUT (Juglans regia L.) 

 (Synonyms: English walnut; Madeira nut.) 



This tree is a native of western, central, and probably of eastern Asia, the home 

 of the peach and the apricot. It was known to the Greeks, who introduced it from 

 Persia into P^urope at an early day as "Persicon" or "Persian" nut and "Basilicon" 

 or "Royal" nut. Carried from Greece to Rome, it became Juglans (name derived 

 from Jovis and glans, an acorn; literally "Jupiter's acorn," or the "Nut of the Gods"). 

 From Rome it was distributed throughout Continental Europe, and according to 

 London, ' it reached England prior to 1562. In England it is generally known as "the 

 walnut," a term of Anglo-Saxon derivation, signifying "foreign" nut. It has also 

 been called Madeira nut, presumably because the fruit was formerly imported into 

 England from the Madeira Islands, where it is yet grown to some extent. In 

 America it has been commonly known as English walnut, to distinguish it from our 

 native species. From the fact that of all the names applied to this nut "Persian" 

 seems to have been the first in common use, and that it indicates approximately the 

 home of the species, th name Persian walnut is regarded as most suitable. All 

 references to it in this report will be found under that name. 



As a material for the manufacture of gunstocks and furniture the timber of the 

 Persian walnut was long in great demand throughout Europe, and the high prices 

 paid for it aroused a general interest in its culture as a timber tree. Loudon states 

 that as much as 600 (nearly $3,000) was paid for a large tree to be used for gunstocks 

 in England early in the present century. The introduction of black walnut and other 

 woods suitable for such use lowered the price, however, and greatly lessened the 

 profits of walnut-timber culture. Since then more attention has been paid to its 

 culture as a nut tree both in Great Britain and on the Continent. France and Spain 

 export large quantities of the nuts, and most of the improved varieties have come 

 from the former country. 



CULTURAL RANGE IN THE UNITED STATES. V/ J/ 



For more than a century the Persian walnut has been planted in a small way in 

 the Atlantic States. Thousands of trees have been grown from nuts by amateurs, 

 many nurseries have kept the tree in stock to fill small orders, and the Department 

 of Agriculture has made at least four distributions of the trees. 



From the data collected it now seems possible to determine its cultural range in 

 the United States with some degree of accuracy. East of the Rocky Mountains the 

 Persian walnut has been most successful in a limited area along the Atlantic Slope 

 from New York southward through New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, central 

 Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. The tree endures the winters in favored loca- 

 tions near the coast as far north as Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, 

 but has never been planted there except in a very small way. Some very fine old trees 

 are reported from Rochester, N. Y., where they are in old gardens in the suburbs of 



1 Arboretum et Fruticetum, Vol, III, page 1423. 



