38 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



ject to the changes of the atmosphere; in such places they will retain all their good 

 qualities for about twelve months. In Britain the nuts of the walnut may be pre- 

 served fresh and tit for the table or for sowing for a year either by burying them in dry 

 soil or sand so deep as not to be reached by frost, the heat of the sun, or rain ; or by 

 placing them in dry cellars and covering them with straw. The latter mode is most 

 commonly adopted by the growers of this nut for the London market. Walnuts 

 should not be gathered until their outer covering parts readily from the shell, which 

 will be before the covering becomes mealy. There is a critical time at which the hull 

 leaves the shell without staining it, a result sure to follow if the hulls are allowed to 

 remain on and become soft. After being hulled, the nuts should be well dried in the 

 sun for a day or two and then stored away, either on shelves in an airy room or 

 packed in jars or boxes in dry, white sand, which improves the color of the shell, and 

 keeps the kernel more moist." 



Concerning London's advice not to gather the nuts "until the outer covering parts 

 readily from the shell," it must be said that it can not always be followed in the United 

 States. There appears to be a marked difference in this respect due either to a differ- 

 ence in varieties or to a cause not yet understood. In some portions of California and 

 in Delaware the hulls open on the trees and the nuts fall to the ground as freely as 

 do the almond and the shellbark hickories, while the reports indicate that in portions 

 of Arkansas the hull is as persistent as that of the black walnut, even after the nut 

 is fully mature. In southern California the Persian walnut commences ripening about 

 the last of September. Where the nuts "pop out of the hull," as some correspondents 

 express it, the practice is to clear the ground in September of all leaves, and pick up 

 the fallen nuts about once a week. California growers are very generally opposed 

 to beating the trees with rods, believing that the dormant fruit buds are injured 

 thereby. Where the hull remains persistent after the nut falls to the ground the prac- 

 tice of harvesters is to leave the nut on the ground until the green hull turns dark. 

 The hull is then removed by hand or by placing the nuts in a revolving churn or some 

 such suitable device. A revolving cylinder with internal projections to hatchel off 

 the hulls of nuts with fragile shells would doubtless be useful in hastening this proc- 

 ess. Where the hulls have discolored the shells the nuts are washed to remove 

 stains. Some growers bleach the nuts with sulphur fumes, but this practice should 

 be discouraged, owing to its injurious effects on the quality of the meat. In the larger 

 orchards gangs of hands are started after the nuts have commenced to fall. Taking 

 row by row through the orchard these men slightly jar each tree that the ripe nuts still 

 on the tree may fall. The nuts are picked up into baskets and taken to the drying 

 house. As soon as the first round is finished the second is commenced. In four or 

 five rounds the crop is gathered. By this method Mr. Heath harvests the crop of his 

 180-acre orchard. 



The soft-shell ripens a little earlier than the common nut and they both vary some- 

 what according to the season. Mr. Sexton generally commences to pick on the 10th 

 to the 15th of September, and the gathering continues during a month or six weeks. 

 The walnuts are picked up and put ill sacks and barrels, so as to be easily handled, 

 and are then hauled to a sunny place to dry. 



CURING. 



The curing of walnuts for market is an operation demanding much care. They 

 are dried on platforms or trays, either in the sun or by artificial heat, and when 

 properly cured they will not turn rancid or sour for several months in an ordinarily 

 dry, cool place. The platforms for sun-drying are made of narrow boards with spaces 

 one-fourth of an inch wide between the boards. The platform should be about 8 feet 

 wide, 40 feet long, and the beds should be covered with canvas at night to protect 

 the nuts from dew. The nuts should be stirred once or twice each day, and with 

 favorable weather they will dry sufficiently in three days to be ready for market. Mr. 



