THE WALNUT— HARVESTING. 33 



(13) HARVESTING. 



Harvesting the walnut is very simple, as most of the nuts do not 

 nave to be picked, for they, of their own accord, drop to the ground 

 t ^*™"*y! ys* considerable attention must be paid to the gathering 

 ot the crops so as to have clean, bright nuts that may command a high 

 price and ready sale. The walnut harvest begins in September and 

 ends m November. In some sections the crop comes in quite early and 

 IS gathered in September, overlapping into October; in others, the crop 

 IB not harvested so early; but October is the principal month, sometimes 

 overlappmg into November. 



Some of the growers collect the nuts from the ground as they fall 

 every day, others collect them every other day, and some every third 

 day, until most of the crop has fallen of its own accord, and those 

 remaining on the trees are knocked down by means of a pole. Boys 

 and men are also employed to climb the trees and shake the nuts down; 

 others agitate the limbs with a long pole having a hook at the end. 

 The nuts that are ready to drop come down easily, and are picked up 

 and dried on trays in the sun. It generally takes from three to four 

 pickings to gather all the nuts from a tree. When the husk inclosing 

 the nut shows no signs of cracking it is an indication that the nut is yet 

 unripe, and when knocked down the kernels of many of these generally 

 dry away and do not fill well. Then, again, if the nuts are allowed to 

 hang on the trees or remain on the ground too long after falling, they 

 absorb moisture and rapidly deteriorate in flavor, color, and keeping 

 qualities. In the walnut sections along the coast damp fogs and dew 

 prevail during the harvest time, rendering the husks quite moist, and 

 the nuts contained inside become stained by the acid juice of the husks, 

 which, if not removed, renders the nuts quite black, and lessens their 

 market value. This acid is very strong and adhesive, and to remove it 

 the nuts have to be washed and afterward dried. Hon. EUwood 

 Cooper, of Santa Barbara, has a most perfect apparatus for washing 

 and drying the walnut, which is an invention of his own. It consists 

 of an iron cylinder with a long opening on the top side, where the nuts 

 are put in. When the nuts are washed the cylinder will turn with the 

 opening down, thus letting the walnuts and water out. As with all 

 other apparatus of this kind, it has to be seen to be appreciated. They 

 are made by the Fulton Iron Works, of San Francisco, and cost from 

 $125 to $140. 



* "The 'hard ' shells should and the 'soft ' and 'jiaper' shells must be gathered as soon 

 as possible after dropping from the trees, as it injures the quality and appearance of 

 the nuts to remain long on the ground. They are usually dried on trays about 3 feet 

 wide by 6 feet long, holding about one hundred pounds each. 'Soft' and 'paper' shells 

 should be dried in the shade, and many of the growers have buildings for that purpose. 

 After they are thoroughly dried they are bleached and then run over a screen with a 

 one-inch raesh, into strong sacks of uniform size, each sack bearing the registered trade- 

 mark of the ' Los Nietos and Ranchito Walnut Growers' Association,' and also the name 

 of the individual grower, thereby settling the question of responsibility in case the nuts 

 are not up to the required standard." 



t "There are different modes of gathering : some clean the trees at once, and others 

 go over them several times. I pick what has fallen without knocking. I then tap those 

 limbs lightly on which the nuts are ripest, and the third time over I aim to clean the 

 trees, 'fhe walnuts are picked up and put in sacks and barrels, bo as to be easily 



« A. Downer, of Rivera. ..,„„„ 



t Joseph Sexton, essay before Ninth State Fruit-Growers' Convention, 1888. 



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