240 ' 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



net ware, especially tables, bedsteads, bureaus, aud chairs; also iu joiuiug, 

 wainscoting, and for floors, panels, and doors. In the southwest it is used 

 largely for lumber and for fencing. It takes the place of mahogany with us 

 in the manufacture of furniture and cabinet ware. 



The fruit is highly esteemed as a dessert, and is used wheu in an unripe 

 state for pickles aud catsups. A good salad oil is expressed from the kernel, 

 and the shells are used for dyeing purposes. 



3. J. regia, L. (English Walnut.) Stem 20 to 40 feet in height, and from 10 

 to 20 inches in diameter ; branches rather straight, head symmetrical ; leaves 

 consisting of 3 to 5 pairs of leaflets, increasing in size towards the top, termi- 

 nating with a single one ; leaflets ovate, acute, margins wavy, on short petioles ; 

 catkins oblong, 2 to 2i inches long, peduncle short. Fruit subglobose, mu- 

 crouate, about 2 inches in diameter ; exocarp leathery, smooth, ovoid ; shell 

 or endocarp wrinkled ; kernel large and sweet. 

 Flowers in early summer ; nut matures in 

 October. 



Like other trees grown from the seed it has 

 many varieties, the most important of which 

 are : — 



Var. maxima (large fruited). Nut twice the 



_ ,.«.«^^ ^ size of the J. regia, but perishable. 



^^^**MX /v^^^^^ ^^^- tenera (tender-shelled). The shell is 



thin, so that small birds pierce it before it is 

 ripe ; very delicate to the taste, but not a pro- 

 lific bearer. 



Var. serotina. Endures the frost, and can 

 be cultivated in higher latitudes than the J. 

 regia. 



There are many other forms, differing from 

 the species only in the size or quality of the 

 fruit. 



JUGLANS REGIA 



(English Walnut). 



Geogrophi/. — Though a native of the southern parts of the temperate zone, 

 the English walnut fruits iu a latitude of 45° in Europe and Asia, aud grows 

 well in the Atlantic States of North America, but does not fruit freely north 

 of Virginia. It is extensively cultivated in southern California. Its home is 

 a region below 40°, extending from the country southea.st of the Black Sea 

 eastward to Japan. 



FAymology. — The specific name, regia, is the Latin for " royal "or " kingly," 

 due to the high esteem of its quality, 



Hhtorij. — Food plants necessarily attracted the attention of man in the 

 earlie.st period of his existence ; and nuts, on account of their edible character 

 in an uncooked state, have always been favorites. At the present day nuts 

 form an important part of the food of the laboring classes, and with them the 

 walnut holds high rank, Loudon, in his work on trees, states that between 

 Heidelberg and Darmstadt the walnut is the principal tree, not only for the 

 fruit, but for shade. In that region when a young farmer desires to marry, 

 he is obliged to furnish proof to the intended bride's father that he has planted 

 with his own hands a stated number of walnut trees, which are already in an 

 advanced stage of growth. 



Use. — In the Levant, where the English walnut reaches perfection, it con- 

 stitutes a large portion of the food of the masses. It is highly prized iu 



