WALNUTS AND HICKORIES 163 



and the spreading chestnut. No doubt the wal- 

 nut would oftener be chosen for a shade tree 

 were it not for the fact that its leaves are late 

 to come and among the first to fall. Then, too, 

 it is apt to become a prey to the web worm in 

 the late summer and lose most of its leaves. Of 

 course, this latter evil can be overcome by 

 spraying the trees, but many people think this 

 is too much trouble. The flowers of the walnut 

 and hickory are very much alike, but their fruit 

 is widely different. The hickory nut is smooth- 

 shelled, and when ripe drops out of the husk, 

 which splits into four valves to discharge it. 

 The walnut is wrapped in a green covering, 

 which clings closely to the rough, deeply cut 

 shell, until it is torn off or decays. 



The name "walnut" means foreign nut, and 

 was bestowed by the Saxons to distinguish the 

 nut from the hazelnuts and beechnuts grown on 

 English soil. The walnut to receive this name, 

 and the only one known in early times, was the 

 English or Persian walnut of the market. The 

 Greeks called it the Persicon and the Basilicon; 

 the Eomans named it the acorn. The Greeks 

 esteemed the walnut tree highly, and always 

 held their outdoor festivals beneath its shade. 

 There is a story that Diana, the daughter of the 

 Grecian god, Dion, was turned into a walnut 



