THE WALNUTS PERSIAN WALNUT. 35 



ment and premature rancidity of the meat. In the matter of size it may be said that 

 if the kernel is plump and fills the shell, then the larger the nut the better, from a 

 market standpoint. It is desirable, also, that the nuts selected be from trees that 

 combine productiveness, hardiness, and the habit of starting growth late in the spring. 

 These qualities should be sought even in selecting seed for growing the stocks on 

 which to propagate improved varieties. 



Seed beds. In Europe nuts that are intended for planting are kept through the \r 

 winter in a "rot heap," made by piling up the nuts as soon as gathered without 

 removing the 'hull. This heap must be turned over frequently in the course of the 

 fall and winter to prevent heating. A better plan than this is that of stratification 

 (see p. 11), using sand as the medium in which to bed the nuts. As practiced by 

 California growers, it is thus described: 1 "A frame consisting of 10-inch boards is 

 placed on the surface of the ground and half filled with sand. The nuts are then 

 spread thickly (a layer of nuts 6 inches deep) and covered with about 3 or 4 inches of 

 sand. An embankment of earth is laid all around the frame to prevent the nuts from 

 drying. The nuts are examined from time to time and as soon as they show signs of 

 germination are planted in nursery rows." The sand is kept constantly moist, and in 

 case of lack of sufficient rain is watered. 



To insure uniform germination it will probably be found helpful to grade the 

 nuts according to size, bedding those of uniform size together. Large nuts generally 

 germinate earlier than small ones of the same species. 



Nursery treatment. The soil should be deep and rich, well drained, and thor- 

 oughly pulverized. The sprouted nuts should be carefully planted 1 foot apart, in 

 rows 4 feet apart and covered well with fine soil well firmed down over the seed. 

 Cultivation should be frequent enough to keep the surface fine and should be supple- 

 mented by use of the hoe whenever weeds appear in the rows. If the soil is good and 

 the season favorable the young trees make a rapid growth, and in California ordi- 

 narily make stocks suitable for budding the first season. If they are to be planted in 



orchards without budding or grafting, they are usually left in the nursery row until 2 

 or 3 years of age. This is the common practice among California growers. O. N". 

 Caldwell, of Carpenteria, who has had an experience of twenty years in the business, 

 writes : " I have raised trees from seed and transplanted all the way from a year old 

 up to six, and they have grown and done well, but as far as my experience goes, I 

 prefer to move them at 3 years of age or about that time. The best trees I have were 

 planted at 3 years old. A part of my orchard stands where the trees were not 

 replanted, and I can see very little difference between these and those that were 

 transplanted at 2 or 3 years old." Very different from this is the practice of Russell 

 Heath, a successful walnut grower at the same place. He pursues a method similar 

 to that quite commonly followed in eastern New York some forty years ago for keeping / 

 up a supply of cherry and apple trees for planting in home orchards. That is, of 

 leaving the trees in nursery rows until they reach bearing age. He says: "I leave 

 the trees in the nursery rows until they have attained the age of bearing, say the 

 eighth or ninth year. ' Of course nurserymen can not afford to raise trees of that 

 description, but a man who stakes his money and his time upon an orchard can afford 

 to wait. I would rather give $10 for a tree that is 9 years old than to give 1 cent 

 for a tree that is 4 years old. There is money in it because they cost me no time to 

 cultivate in the nursery. One man will go through a nursery and cultivate 1,000 

 trees in half a day, but if you place those trees in an orchard you are at great 

 expense. You can buy teams and hire men, but I tell you that even in California, 

 with all its fruitfulness, you can't buy brains to drive those teams." 



Inasmuch as Mr. Heath's plan involves the necessity of removing all or most of / 

 the side branches and the formation of a new head for the tree as well as considerable 



1 Report California State Board of Horticulture, 1891, page 154. ' 



