NUTS. 



1. The English walnut {Inglan- 

 aceoe) has a thin shell. This nut is 

 much esteemed and is an important 

 article of commerce. It yields by ex- 

 pression a bland jfixed oil, which, under 

 the names of "walnut oil" and "nut 

 oil," is much used by painters and is a 

 common article of food. 



2. The peanut {Arachis) is also called 

 ground nut and earth nut. It is cul- 

 tivated in all warm regions of the 

 globe, and its usefulness is such that 

 it is likely to extend. It was intro- 

 duced from Peru into Spain, and 

 thence into France. It succeeds in 

 fav^orable situations and yields from 

 eighty to one hundred fold. Its culti- 

 vation is so general in the eastern parts 

 of Africa, and even in the interior, that 

 doubts have been therefore enter- 

 tained of its American origin, of which, 

 the most eminent botanists seem to be 

 quite satisfied. The fruit is sometimes 

 eaten raw, but generally boiled or 

 roasted. The importance of the plant 

 is chiefly owing to the fixed oil con- 

 tained in it, which is used for the same 

 purposes as olive or almond oil. 



3. The Brazil nut is the fruit of the 

 Bertholleda excelsa, a large tree of the 

 order Lecythidaceos, found chiefly on 

 the Orinoco. The shell is very hard, 

 and contains a rich, oily meat in one 

 piece like an almond. The Portu- 

 guese early carried on an extensive 

 trade in these nuts. They are now 

 chiefly imported from Para, and con- 

 tinue to form an article of great com- 

 mercial importance. When fresh, they 

 are highly esteemed for their rich 

 flavor; but they become rancid in a 

 short time from the great quantity of 

 oil they contain. This has been largely 

 extracted for use in lamps. 



4. The hickor\' nut {Carya alba) 

 abounds near the great lakes and in 

 some parts of New Jersey and Pennsyl- 

 vania. The nuts are inconsiderable de- 

 mand and are sometimes exported. 

 The shell is thin, but hard, and the 

 kernel sweet. The oil, which was used 



by the Indians as an article of food, 

 was obtained from it by pounding and 

 boiling. 



5. The filbert is the fruit of the Corylus 

 avella?ta or hazel. The kernel has a 

 mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable 

 to the palate. In England filberts 

 are usually large hazel nuts. The 

 American hazel nuts are of two other 

 species. 



6. The chestnut {Castanea vesca) 

 is eaten raw, boiled, or roasted, or 

 is ground into meal and puddings, 

 cakes, and bread are made from it. The 

 tree is common to Europe and Amer- 

 ica. 



7. The pecan {Carya olivalformis), 

 som.etimes called the Illinois nut, a 

 species of hickory nut. The shell is 

 thin and the meat well flavored. The 

 tree grows in North America, chiefly in 

 the Mississippi valley, and in Texas, 

 where it is one of the largest of forest 

 trees. 



8. The almond {Amygdalus) grows 

 on a tree about twenty or thirty feet 

 high, a native of the East and of 

 Africa, but has now become completely 

 wild in the whole south of Europe. It 

 is planted for the sake of its beautiful 

 flowers, which resemble those of the 

 peach in form and color. The wood 

 of the tree is hard and of a reddish 

 color, and is used by cabinet-makers. 

 But it is chiefly valued on account of 

 the kernel of its fruit, well known by 

 the name of almonds, an important 

 article of commerce. It is mentioned 

 in the Old Testament, and appears to 

 have been cultivated from a very early 

 period. It was introduced into Britain 

 as a fruit-tree before the middle of the 

 sixteenth century, but it is only in the 

 most favored situations in the south of 

 England that it ever produces good 

 fruit. It is successfully cultivated in 

 southern California. Almonds are 

 either sweet or bitter. The bitter ap- 

 pear to be the original kind, and the 

 sweet to be an accidental variety, per- 

 petuated and improved by cultivation. 



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