NUTS AND NUT CULTURE 501 



husks and send the nuts through the mails. The expense of removing the 

 husk from the nut has thus far made commercial cocoanut growing in this 

 country in competition with the cheap labor of the tropics practically out 

 of the question. Nevertheless, it is not unlikely that the devising of special 

 machinery will soon overcome this problem, and that a more or less thriving 

 industry will develop in the marshy borders of southern Florida. A few 

 commercial cocoanut plantings recently set may be found off the Florida 

 coast from Miami and near Cape Sable in Monroe County ; but it appears 

 altogether unlikely that the growing of cocoanuts will ever be of importance 

 to American farmers outside of the southern parts of Florida, Texas and 

 California. 



The cashew nut likewise is of tropical nature. Trees of this species 

 are rarely seen in the United States except in experimental plantings in 

 Florida and in California. The nuts are borne singly at the apex of fleshy, 

 pear-shaped fruits which form in clusters and which are known as cashew 

 apples. The nuts are of much the shape of lima beans, but are both larger 

 and thicker. In color they are between a purplish and an ashy-gray. They 

 have a thin but stout, smooth-surfaced shell, within which is a secondary 

 shell, also thin, and which encases the kidney-shaped kernel. 



Between the two shells of this cashew nut there is a thin dark-brown 

 fluid of an extremely caustic property similar to that of poison ivy and 

 sumac, to which the species is closely related. Roasting entirely dispels 

 this poison, and as the nuts are invariably prepared in this manner before 

 being placed on the market, the consumer is in no danger of being poisoned. 

 The kernels are among the most palatable of all nut products now found in 

 our markets. 



For the present, the cashew can hardly be said to be of commercial 

 promise in any portion of this country. 



The pistachio is much more hardy than is the cashew. To a considera- 

 ble extent the two are now being grown in sections of southern California 

 and west Texas, and single trees have been known to survive for a number 

 of years in climates where zero temperatures are by no means uncommon. 

 Thrifty trees are reported from Kansas and one tree several years of age 

 near Stamford, Conn., was in a thrifty condition when seen by the writer in 

 1914. However, it is essentially a dry-land tree suited to the milder por- 

 tions of the temperate zones. The nuts, which are encased in a thin leath- 

 ery covering, form in loose clusters. They have thin but very stout, smooth 

 shells which usually split open on one side of the suture while being roasted. 

 To a considerable extent, the kernels, which are of greenish color and 

 delicate flavor, are consumed with no preparation other than that of roasting 

 and salting, but more largely they are ground and used in ice creams and 

 other confections. The pistachio tree is a slow grower, requiring several 

 more years to come into bearing than is the case with almond, Persian 

 walnut or pecan trees. Propagation is by budding and grafting. 



The Peanut. — The peanut is probably a native of tropical America. 



