THE WALNUT — POLLINATION. 9 



*"In the village of Beaohemwell, In Norfolk, may be seen a walnut tree (Juglans 

 regia) which spreads its 'softly swelling hills' of leaves over the church-yard of All 

 Saints ChuTch, now in riain, as if it sought to mingle leafy dnst and human ashes. When 

 this tree is arrayed in all its honors 'fresh and green' it is an object interesting by its 

 symmetry and gigantic proportions. The crumoling walls of the ruin, throwing their 

 shado'v^ far away and standing out in gray relief from the green turf, beneath which 

 the good forefathers of the village sleep in peace, offer a striking contrast to the hn^e 

 mass of walnut foliage, presenting a specimen of its kind seldom equaled. This tree 

 has produced in one season 54,000 nuts, and its dimensions are as follows: Circumference 

 of the body of the tree near the ground, 32 feet ; height of trunk, 10 feet ; the circumfer- 

 ence of the five large branches is 16 feet, 14 feet, 9 feet, 8 feet, 8 feet; the circumference 

 of the extreme spread of the tree is 120 yards, and its estimated height is 90 feet." 



t "On the road from Martel to Gramat (Lot) is to be seen a colossal walnut tree at 

 least three hundred years old. The height of this tree is about 55 feet ; its branches 

 extend to a distance of 125 feet ; the trunk, 14 feet in diameter, is only 20 feet high, but it 

 sends out seven immense branches. It bears on an average each year 15 bags of 

 walnuts." 



t "An Italian architect mentions having seen at St. Nicholas, in Lorraine, a single 

 plank of the wood of the walnut, 25 feet wide, upon which the Emperor Frederick ill 

 had given a sumptuous banquet. In the Baidar Valley, near Balaklava, in the Crimea, 

 stands a walnut tree at least 1,000 years old. It yields annually from 80,000 to 100,000 

 nuts, and belongs to five Tartar families, who share its product equally." 



(4) POLLINATION. 



Until recent years no attempt was made to improve the varieties of 

 the walnut in cultivation by cross-pollination, but the universal prac- 

 tice has been to plant the nuts selected from fruitful and rapidly grow- 

 ing trees, and the seedlings grown therefrom, on not becoming regular 

 bearers, were dug up, as were also all trees producing inferior nuts. 

 Trees producing nuts deficient in kernels were not uncommon, but were 

 frequently reported, and many such trees still exist. From past 

 experience it is readily to be seen how important it is for the grower to 

 study and know the varieties, so as to plant and locate them in the 

 orchard so that they may assist in the pollination of one another. 

 In fact, the study of pollination becomes essential as the first step to 

 successful fruit culture. 



In all catkin-bearing trees — as the walnut — or of monoecious flowers, 

 the flowers necessarily differ and have their sexes separated, but are 

 borne by the same tree. The incoherent pollen is produced by the male 

 flowers (pendulous green cylindrical catkins), which is distributed 

 and comes in contact with the female flowers by the aid of insects, 

 the air and wind, by fall of gra-vity, or by friction, thus insuring a 

 crop. The male flowers, or staminate catkins, are the first to appear,, 

 and come out generally together with the first growth of the tree, 

 although in many instances they appear before the trees put forth, but 

 about the time they begin to show signs of growth. The female blos- 

 soms, or pistillates, appear much later, from one to three weeks inter- 

 vening. In some of the European varieties the difference is very slight, 

 the pistillates appearing about the time the staminates are in full 

 bloom. Instances of this nature with the "English" walnut are very 

 rare. 



The male flowers, or staminate catkins, after blooming lose hold and 

 drop, and, coming in contact with the limbs, thus distribute their poUpn 

 amongst the foliage of the trees. The pollen is also distributed and 



* Gardener's Chronicle, London, 1857, p. 694. 

 + Gardener's Chronicle, London, 1852, p. 868. 

 i Gardener's Chronicle, London, Vol. Vll, 1877, p. 310. 



