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 fixed 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 usefuless is such that it is likely 

 to extend. It was introduced from Peru 

 into Spain, and thence into France. It 

 succeeds in favorable situations arid yields 

 from eighty to one hundred fold. Its 

 cultivation 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 roast- 

 ed. The importance of the plant is chief- 

 ly owing to the fixed oil contained in it, 

 which is used for the same purposes as 

 olive or almond oil. 



3. The Brazil nut is the fruit of the 

 BerthoUetia excelsa, a large tree of the 

 order Lecythidaceoe, found chiefly on the 

 Orinoco. The shell is very hard, and 

 contains a rich, oily meat in one piece 

 like an almond. The Portuguese early 

 carried on an extensive trade in these 

 nuts. They are now chiefly imported 

 from Para, and continue to form an ar- 

 ticle of great commdrcial 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 large- 

 ly extracted for use in lamps. 



4. The hickory nut (Carya alba) 

 abounds near the great lakes and in 

 some parts of New Jersey and Pennsyl- 

 vania. The nuts are in considerable 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 ob- 

 tained from it by pounding and boiling. 



5. The filbert is the fruit of the Cory- 

 lus avellana or hazel. The kernel has a 

 mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable to 

 the palate. In England filberts are usu- 

 ally 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 America. 



7. The Pecan {Carya olivalformis), 

 sometimes called the Illinois nut, a spe- 

 cies of hickory nut. The shell is thin and 

 the meat well flavored. The tree grows 

 in North America, chiefly in the Missis- 

 sippi 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 ac- 

 count of the kernel of its fruit, well 

 known by the name of almonds, an im- 

 portant article of commerce. It is men- 

 tioned 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 appear to be the 

 original kind, and the sweet to be an ac- 

 cidental variety. 



20 



