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We never see, in the Eastern markets, 
the nuts of the California black walnut, 
but on the Western coast they enjoy con- 
siderable popularity. They are not so 
large as our Eastern black walnut, but they 
are shaped much the same. In color they 
are a light brown, about the same as the 
Japanese species, and the outer surface is 
entirely free from the roughness that is 
so noticeable in both the black and the 
white walnuts of the East. 
The appearance of the tree is handsome; 
it is larger and more rank in growth than 
our black walnut, and is very valuable 
for timber. MHorticulturists of the Western 
Coast have paid some slight attention to 
the improvement of the species yet nothing 
notable has been done. The real value of 
the California black walnut is the vigor 
and rapidity of its growth, and the size and 
stateliness of the tree. 
If you want to make money, the species 
of walnut to grow is the Persian, commonly 
called the English, walnut. In localities 
where it can be grown it is a good paying 
crop, but—it will met grow anywhere 
and everywhere. It is less hardy than our 
native species and prefers the mild climate 
of our Southern and Southern Middle states 
on the Eastern seaboard and also the sunny 
Pacific Coast. A noticeable peculiarity 
is that it succeeds best when adjacent to 
large bodies of water. In localities suffi- 
ciently mild but not near water it is not 
profitable. Wherever it is grown it must 
have a strong, rich soil. 
The tree is not so attractive in appearance 
as the native species, and in orchard culture 
it does not grow to a great size. Yet iso- 
lated specimens are often seen that 
are described by the school-boy’s happy 
phrase, —“great big, aw/jwl big, and 
bigger ’n that!” .There are several Per- 
sian walnut trees in Caroline County, 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
Maryland, that measure two feet or more 
in diameter. 
The nut is so well known as to need no 
description. Our largest crop comes form 
California where it is grown commercially 
more than anywhere else in America. The 
method of harvesting is easy, as the outer 
hull cracks open and the nut may be at once 
picked out. The Persian walnut is a heavy 
.bearer in its favored localities, and bears 
early — sometimes in three or four years. 
Propagation must be by grafting or budding 
if one wishes to preserve varieties, as seed- 
lings are bound to vary. The method of 
cultivation is easy; if an orchard is planted, 
it may be put in grass. Single specimens 
for the garden require only such care as 
given to a fruit tree. Renshaw and Rush 
are two of the hardiest varieties. 
Because the Persian walnut represents 
a good market crop, considerable attention 
has been paid to its improvement with 
benefit to the size and quality of the nut 
and also to the hardiness of the tree. Large 
size nuts of excellent quality and thin shell 
are now grown successfully in Central 
Pennsylvania and even farther North. It 
certainly is a paying crop for the regions 
where it can be grown, and just because 
it cannot be grown everywhere gives it 
every prospect of being a paying crop for 
many years to come. 
The newcomer among the walnuts is 
the Japanese of which the two species, 
Sieboldiana and cordiformis, have become 
well known among horticulturists, though 
the layman is still ignorant of them. Some 
fifteen or twenty years ago the first Japanese 
walnuts were brought to the Pacific Coast, 
and from thence have been widely dissem- 
inated over the United States. 
It makes an interesting tree, this Japanese 
walnut, and a very ornamental one for 
lawns or large grounds. Even the most 
As an ornamental tree, the butternut is by no means unimportant 
May, 1908 
careless observer notices it, for it is semi- 
tropical in appearance when in full leaf, 
regular and upright in habit with spreading 
branches and a smooth gray bark. The 
general character of the tree and the manner 
in which it bears its nuts indicate a close 
kinship with the American white walnut. 
The nuts however, are produced in much 
larger clusters, as many as seventeen having 
been counted in a single cluster. As a 
further evidence of its affinity with our 
white walnut it crosses very readily with 
that species. 
The nut is not so large nor so dark as 
the white walnut, but has a smooth, light 
brown exterior and is easier to crack. The 
two different species grown in this country 
vary from cylindrical to heart-shape. The 
hulls come off readily and where the walnut 
is grown commercially they are scalded to 
hasten the loosening of the hull, a very 
successful method which does not hurt the 
nut. The kernel is rich and oily like the 
white walnut and has much the same flavor. 
Propagation of the Japanese species up 
to the present has been mostly from seed. 
An interesting experiment in hybridizing the 
Japanese and white walnut has resulted in 
a modified butternut with shell thinner 
and softer than the parent butternut, but 
as large in size. 
It is only fair to say that there does not 
seem to be a great future for the Japanese 
walnut as a market crop. It is too easy to 
grow, as it will thrive in almost any section 
of America and on any good, well-drained 
soil. At present it is grown but little com- 
mercially and compared with the commen 
black walnut commands a high price. 
But it is so fatally easy to grow and pro- 
duces such big crops and bears so early — 
three years from graft — that a few orchards 
of it would swamp the markets and bring 
prices to nothing. As an ornamental tree 
and a novelty it will probably become very 
popular. In this connection, however, it 
should be known that the Japanese is 
subject to a disease, in appearance very 
much like peach-rosette but not so fatal. 
North of 4o degrees (north latitude) spring 
is the best time to plant walnuts. South of 40 
degrees walnuts should be planted in the fall. 
While it is true that the butternut seems to 
prefer moist situations, it is also true that 
it succeeds well on uplands, hillsides, etc., 
and is not so particular about soils as was 
supposed years ago. Little pruning is 
necessary after the trees have been shaped 
up to a desirable height for bearing and from 
early spring, until in full leaf this pruning 
may be done. If trees are to be raised from 
seed, plant the nuts in the fall. 
This article would be incomplete without 
a reference to the Mexican walnut, but 
briefly, it is so inferior, in appearance, in 
quality of wood, and quality of nut to all 
other native species, that it merits nothing 
more than the mere mention ofits existence. 
Therefore walnut growing may be summed 
up thus: black walnuts of both East and West 
for timber, white walnuts for sentiment, Per- 
sian walnuts for profit, Japanese walnuts for 
novelty, and Mexican walnuts not at all. 
Le a nn te Ce A Ard i I A OO Act 
