6o6 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



September i 7> i898 



Walnuts, Almonds, and Chestnuts. 



Th* University of California has, during the past two years, been doing 

 excellent work in determining the chemical composition of walnuts, 

 almonds, and chestnuts, in regard to their requirements and demands 

 upon the fertility of the soil, and their value as human food. 



The chief ingredient of the walnut and almond kernel, is the fat (oil), 

 of which in the walnut there is about 65 per cent., and in the almond 

 nearly 58 per cent, for both European and Californian grown nuts ; this 

 is nearly equal to the oil content of the olive— 65.73 per cent. On the 

 other hand the fat (oil) of the chestnut kernel, is but a small fraction of 

 the food content, viz., from about 3 per cent, in the European, to about 

 1 1.63 per cent, in Pennsylvania chestnut. The next largest constituent 

 of the almond and walnut kernel, is the protein, or flesh-forming 

 ingredient— in the almond, from 20 to 25 per cent, and in the ordinary 

 walnut, about 17 per cent. ; in the chestnut there is only about 11 per 

 cent, or about one-half that of the other nuts. About three-fourths of 

 the chestnut kernel is made up of starch, sugar, dextrine, &c, which, 

 like the fat, furnish fuel to the body, though less economically. 



All authorities agree upon the fact that nuts are a highly concentrated 

 form of human food ; caution should, therefore, be followed in their use. 

 Walnuts and almonds possess a higher nutritive value than even the 

 cereal grains ; and, as compared with fruits, they rank high in food 

 value, being the true seed only, and not made up mainly of fleshy cover- 

 ings, as in the apple, pear, &c. ; they, therefore, have less water and a 

 higher nutritive value generally, weight for weight. 



When, in a rational dietary system, other forms of food lack protein 

 or albuminoids and fat, the walnut and the almond will supply, in con- 

 centrated shape, those needs ; the chestnut, with its high content of starch, 

 sugar, dextrin, &c, may, on the other hand, be used as a substitute for 

 the cereals. Aside from the chestnut, the edible nuts are looked upon as 

 luxuries, and are quite largely used as such ; the chestnut, on the other 

 hand, has long been a staple article of food in Southern Europe. 



be kept back for many crops. Chestnuts do not withdraw as much 

 potash and phosphoric acid as do the other nuts ; but thev seen, 

 demand that the soil shall contain sulphates, which 

 surprising amounts in the kernel of the nut. 



Harpenden. 



are found 



J. J. Willis. 



of 

 to 



in 



Carnations in Scotlan 



The present season is the best for the full development of border car- 

 nations that has been experienced for some years, for not only have the 

 plants been free from disease and are flowering with great freedom, but 

 the blooms have also been large and of good form and substance. The 

 weather has been most favourable to the earlier blooms, and very few 

 have been tarnished by rain, while, judging by the number of unexpanded 

 buds upon the plants, a good supply of flowers may be expected for some 

 weeks yet. 



Several beds of the most trustworthy sorts are grown here for decora- 

 tive purposes, both for the embellishment of the garden, and for cutting 

 as required for decoration in vases, and these for the past month have 

 been one of the most prominent features in the place. Of the varieties thus 

 grown the following have proved the best in their respective colours 

 whilst for freedom of growth and for producing quantities of bloom they 

 leave but little to be desired : Mary Morris, rose pink, is a great 

 favourite either for making a display of colour in the garden or for 

 cutting. The plant grows about thirty inches in height, with strong, 

 branching stems, which are usually surmounted by eight or ten flowers, 

 well separated from each other on long, stout footstalks, and as these 

 open at much about the same time, there is no loss on cutting the 

 entire stem by having several unopened buds ; the side growths are 

 generally terminated by a single bud, and as these are from 



and 



eight to 

 port the 

 flowers 



twelve inches in length, 

 flowers, they 

 are large, of 



are 

 fine 



most 

 form 



useful 



are 



strong enough to 

 for small vases. 



sup- 

 The 



and substance, and always 



It is found that the potash in the ash of hulled walnuts comprises nearly open well. The now well-known Duchess of Fife is the best of the self 



20 per cent, of the whole ingredients, while that of the hull alone is nearly 

 four times as much, viz., 77*8 per cent. It will, therefore, be seen that if 

 the hulls of the walnut are not returned to the soil, the dominant ingredient 

 of the fertiliser intended for replacement must be potash, while if the hulls 

 are left on the ground the chief ingredient by [far should be nitrogen. 



pink varieties, and it has proved to be a good grower, and very free in 

 flowering, but has a more drooping habit than Mary Morris. Mrs. Muir 

 and Alice Ayres may be classed together so far as their habit of growth 

 is concerned 



the former is pure white, and the flowers are of good 

 and always opens well, while the latter has a dash of carmine upon a 



— — — q - — — - — — — — — — — - - j l. # - * 



The ashes of the parts of the almond and chestnut, on the whole, show white ground ; both bloom very freely. 



few such wide differences in potash as that above given. 



It is an interesting fact that the ash of the kernel of the walnut is, in 

 weight, more than twice that of the shell, while in other nuts it is more 

 nearly equal. Also, that in the kernel of the walnut and almond the 

 phosphoric acid is very largely predominant over the potash, while the 

 reverse is true in the ash of the shell. In the walnut kernel the phos- 

 phoric acid comprises nearly 58 per cent, of the ash. In the ash < f the 

 chestnut the potash is by far the predominant ingredient in both kernel 

 and shell, and is largest in the kernel. The same is true of the 



is largest in the 

 European chestnut. 



The soda of the European chestnut is nearly twenty 



times that found in the Californian samples 

 has a very large amount of ash. 



The European walnut meal 



Its potash is greater than in the Cali- 

 fornia sample of walnuts, but the phosphoric acid is still predominant. 



In the total quantity of mineral matters withdrawn from the soil the 

 almonds leads with fifteen pounds, the chestnut comes next with 8*2, and 

 the walnut last with 7-5 pounds in 1,000 pounds of the hulled nut. The 

 stone fruits fall much below the above in total ash, excepting the olive, 

 the ash of which, however, is largely silica (nearly eight-ninths), an 

 ingredient so plentifully in all soils that it is of no pecuniary value. 



The data for hulled nuts show that almonds withdraw 5*49 pounds of 



Uriah Pike is the best dark colour, and the plants appear to improve 

 in robustness as time goes on ; like most very dark colours the flowers of 

 this are apt to be discoloured rather quickly under a bright sun, but if 

 wanted for any special purpose they may be cut as soon as expanded, 

 and the beautiful colour is retained. . . J 



Queen of Bedders, deep rose, is the best in its colour, which is very 

 pleasing ; the plant is dwarf, and very free flowering, and makes an 

 excellent mass of colour. Mrs. Reynolds Hole has been for years one of 

 our standard varieties, but this year it is not doing so well as formerly. 



Redbraes, picotee, has been cultivated here for many years, and the 

 plants are as healthy now as at first. This is a fitting companion to Mary 

 Morris, their height and profuseness of flowering being very similar. 

 The marking or edging of this is rather too heavy for a show flower, but 

 for producing quantities of bloom upon the open border it is most useful, 

 and owing to the amount of growth that it makes, it is very easily 

 propagated. 



Galloway House, Garliestown. N.B. James DAY. 



Nymph/ea stellata. 



ihe data tor hulled nuts show that almonds withdraw 5 49 pounds of IN YMKH/tA b I lllm i m. 



potash, as against 37 for chestnuts, and rj for walnuts, for 1,000 pounds The star-like nymphrca has long been regarded with much favour by 



of fresh nuts : however, whpn iHp.p ^.thi-pc arp referred to the entire fruit. cultivator* nf bAnUl 1:1:-^ ^mmvmIIv cn. for of the compara- 



of fresh nuts ; however, when these figures are referred to the entire fruit, 

 the walnut and almond take about the same quantity, eight to ten pounds, 

 or nearly three times as much as the entire chestnut ; with the exception 

 of the olive, the stone fruits do not, on the whole, nearly approach the 

 latter figures for equal weights. 



The almond again leads in phosphoric acid, withdrawing 4*33 pounds, 

 the hulled nut of the walnut taking 278 and the chestnut only 1 '89 per 1,000 

 pounds of fresh nuts. 



These results are again all materially changed when referred to the 

 entire fruit. For equal weights, the stone fruits appear to be very much 

 less exhaustive upon the phosphoric acid of the soil than are the nuts. 



Again, the almond leads with 16 4 pounds of nitrogen, not nearly 

 approached by the walnut, with 102, or the chestnut with eight pounds 

 of nitrogen withdrawn from the soil per 1,000 pounds of fresh hulled nuts. 

 These figures, while materially altered when calculated for the entire 

 fruit, are still very high, and indicate a great draft upon the soil, for nuts 

 proper carry away all of their large amount of nitrogen, which conse- 

 quently must be replaced if paying crops are to be continuously produced. 



The quantity of nitrogen taken from the soil by a full crop of walnuts 

 and almonds amounts respectively to 40*8 and 32*8 pounds; on the 

 other hand, that of the prune crop is 44 4 pounds, and of an apricot 

 crop 687 pounds ; the olive crop, on the contrary, takes but 12*9 pounds 

 of nitrogen. 



This heavy nitrogen draft by the nut crop is further forcibly illus- 

 trated when we carry the calculations to the other soil ingredients. Of 

 me.->e we find the nut crop to remove but a small fraction, as much of 



cultivators of 

 tively large num 



nymph;i a has long been regaraea wim muw 



tropical water lilies, and deservedly so, for of the compa ra- 

 umber of species now in cultivation in English garden 

 - r • • • — It would appear also tnat 



none of them are superior to it in beauty. It would appear also that 

 Nymphaea stellata was as great a favourite with the ancient Egyptians 

 as with the present-day cultivators, for it was frequently represented on 

 their old monuments, and also used in their funeral wreaths, i 

 species is, therefore, of special interest, and it is a matter of consme 

 able importance that it has a robust constitution, and can be success™ 



1 A\ff\™u\t>* Viavintr to be surmounted. i"c 



There 



in open tanks con- 



------ o we cultivation 01 nupiuai — f to ;i 



taming artificially-warmed water, and Victoria regia was s ° ivc i y 

 very high degree of success in a Chelsea nursery within a jompaw > 

 short period of its introduction to this country. This fact doe 

 detract from the value of the services rendered by Mr. J- "£j s °r hav j 0 g 

 Gunnersbury House Gardens, in demonstrating the POS^Wrflction 

 this exquisitely beautiful nymphiea in the highest degree of pence ^ 

 * ' has a small tank fixed outside 



of 



nol^i, ! " , cr ? p t0 remov e but a small fraction, as much of an open tank. Mr. Hudson has a small tank fixed outside one » 



SSS^SSSn TT C [°P S > and onl y as much as the 0live Cr ° P ; plant houses > a "d through his flow and return hot-water pipe , one 0 

 T1 V T1^ U * S ,nu ' h P«^ph 0 ric acid is taken up by nut crops as by each, is taken. But. there would be no difficulty ■» 



those of the prune and apricot 



Thus it appears that when nut orchards need fertilisers, the first 



rich ii 

 y phos; 



a%Sdst»Sf ™ C i fP^wchard" If "the hulls of the walnut and 



mi "'<u wnen nut 01 



be nS intman y d b i-° r th0Be - rich in nitr °* en - P hos P horic 

 to nut orchards, but this need will probably noTarise as soon for ihem 



j~, r»ut, ot course, tnere wouiu u<= . h ch 



the water of a small pond some distance from the boiler by » 

 stove or orchid house is heated if it was so desired. The flower 

 n dennnH " " vil ,n nurugcii. » M~*r~~*~ - — species are of an exquisite shade of bright blue, with a ae " c '" ,r come 



chSK, 35? r, mly ,? h0S P hatic manUreS mUSt bC Sg* r Unlike that of ^ ?olS, and the/are borne on stout stalks so 

 as, ou. this need will ^iMiMMt a* soon for them distance above the surface of the water. Some experiments are ^ ^ 



rrtnr-..^ . r YiT~* "**-"* r as. ii tne nuns "i »a.nui auu conducted at Kew in the cultivation of the more tender nymp 

 returned to the orchard soils, the demand for potash will open, and the results can hardly S to be of much interest. 



