258 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



single row in some open spot where their shade 

 and wide-spreading roots will not prove injurious 

 to other plants. 



The final plantation may take place the year 

 after grafting or budding; it may either be 

 performed in autumn, after the fall of the leaf, 

 or in spring. The ground should be deeply 

 trenched, and large holes having been made, 

 the trees must be carefully lifted with balls and j 

 planted. In the spring, when all danger ot 

 severe frost is over, the graft may be shortened 

 back a little, and at the same season in the j 

 following year it should be cut back to five or 

 six eyes. 



As the trees form their heads naturally, little 

 pruning is required; it is merely necessary to 

 keep a straight stem by cutting off straggling 

 growth, to prevent branches crossing each other, 

 and to remove dead wood or that which is acci- 

 dentally injured. The best time for performing 

 these operations is in autumn, a little before the 

 fall of the leaf. 



For pickling, the fruit should be gathered 

 whilst the shell is so soft that it can easily be j 

 pierced with a needle. When perfectly ripe, the 

 husk opens, and at this time it is usual to beat i 

 the tree with rods; but this is at best a barbar- 

 ous practice, and, where there is no danger of 

 depredations, unnecessary, for the nuts, when 

 ripe, drop, and may be collected from time to 

 time. There is, however, a common prejudice, 

 that thrashing the trees increases their fruitful- 

 ness, but it does not appear to be founded on 

 fact. Where this mode of gathering is adopted, 

 care should be taken to strike lightly, and not 

 to bruise the buds upon which the future crop 

 depends. After gathering, the nuts should be 

 spread out in a layer about 3 inches thick, in a 

 dry, airy place, and turned frequently till they 

 easily part with their husk; and after having 

 been thoroughly dried, they may be packed in 

 alternate layers with sand in jars or casks, or 

 they may be placed in jars, and salt scattered 

 over them as they are put in. The jars should 

 then be kept in a cool, dry place. Previous to i 

 use, the Walnuts should be wiped perfectly 

 clean with a cloth ; and if the kernel is shrivelled, 

 they should be steeped for several hours in milk 

 and water, to restore its plumpness, and cause | 

 it to part readily from the thin pellicle with j 

 which it is covered. 



Large quantities of Walnuts are imported 

 into this country from France, Belgium, and 

 Holland. The total quantity imported annually 

 is said to be about 70,000 bushels. The tree 

 grows so well, and crops so regularly and abun- 



dantly in this country under the most ordinary 

 conditions, that it would be worth our while to 

 plant it largely for the sake of its nuts. 



Propagation is effected by seeds, budding, 

 grafting, and inarching. The best nuts should 

 be selected for seeds, and these, having been 

 stratified in sand in a cool place during the 

 winter, may be planted in February, either 

 where the trees are intended to remain, or in 

 a nursery for transplantation. By the former 

 method the tallest and best trees for timber are 

 obtained, whilst the latter mode is generally 

 more convenient, and affords trees which come 

 sooner into bearing and ripen their fruit earlier 

 in the season than those not transplanted. The 

 ground having been trenched 2 feet deep, the 

 nuts, if sown where they are to remain, should 

 be placed 4 inches apart, in patches of three or 

 four, and covered to the depth of 2 inches. In 

 general 60 feet may be allowed between the 

 patches; but in rich, deep soil, 70 or 80 feet 

 will not be too much. The strongest seedling 

 in each patch should be retained. 



If the plants are to be grown in a nursery, 

 the nuts should be placed 18 inches apart, in 

 drills 2J feet asunder. In the autumn of the 

 year after sowing, and as soon as the leaves 

 have fallen, every alternate plant should be 

 taken up with a ball, and replanted elsewhere 

 at 1 yard apart, the extremity of the tap-root 

 having been cut off 1 , in order to induce the pro- 

 duction of fibrous roots. The next year, those 

 not transplanted should be taken up, treated 

 in a similar manner, and replanted somewhat 

 farther apart. As the plants increase in size, 

 successive transplantations should take place 

 every second or third year till the trees are 

 finally planted. 



Although it is usual to propagate the Walnut 

 by means of the seed, yet other means must be 

 resorted to in order to secure the reproduction 

 of particular sorts with certainty. Grafting the 

 Walnut is seldom practised in this country, but 

 in France it is usual where named varieties are 

 cultivated. The trees are grafted when the 

 stems are from 3 to 5 inches in circumference. 



The methods employed are whip and cleft 

 grafting, flute -budding, ring -budding, shield- 

 budding, with a pushing eye, and herbaceous 

 cleft - grafting ; but whatever be the mode 

 adopted, the sap must be in full flow at the 

 time the operation is performed. For cleft- 

 grafting the scions should be taken off in spring, 

 before the rise of the sap, and laid with their 

 ends in the ground in a north border, where 

 they should remain till required for use. In 



