25; 
per shell, a kind that should never be 
planted for market), light colored, and 
with a fine, fat, sweet kernel. This is 
independent of other characteristics, such 
as fertility, hardness and lateness in bud- 
ding out. Whenever a variety combines 
all the above characteristics it might very 
well be called the "boss " variety to plant 
for market. 
For size and beauty of the nuts, I find 
that no varieties can surpass the Mayette, 
the Parisienne and Franquette, which I 
have fruited in California. But size and 
beauty of the nuts are not the only ad- 
vantages of these three fine kinds over all 
others, for they are, besides, hardy, put- 
ting forth late, and seldom, if ever, in- 
jured by frost in the spring. (They never 
were on my place at an altitude of 2,600 
feet.) As to the kernel of these three 
kinds, it is very fine, corresponding fully 
to the size of the shell, with a sweet and 
nutty flavor. As to their fertility in Cali- 
fornia, I cannot tell much yet, for my 
bearing trees are rather young; but the 
way they bear is encouraging, The Proa- 
parturiens, Chaberte, Vourey, Cluster and 
others have more or less claims as nuts 
for market. 
Walnut growing is an industry that 
ranks very high in France,' and which can 
be developed on the same scale in a State 
like California, if only we are wise enough 
to study the French method a little and 
do as they do, planting none but hardy 
kinds, and planting them on plateaux, 
hillsides, rolling land, alongside roadways, 
around large fields and vineyards, in cor- 
dons and avenues, on soils not well 
adapted to other crops and where the wal- 
nut in the course of time will grow to 
gigantic dimensions. But keep your deep 
and rich bottom land for the growing of 
other crops, and remember that walnuts 
require much space, and that in rich and 
valuable land walnut growing might after 
all, prove unprofitable, if you take into 
consideration the extra value of the land. 
The walnut belt in France comprises 
two-thirds of the whole area of that coun- 
try, extending from the ocean to the Alps 
and Jura mountains, and from the Pyr- 
ennes mountains to the Loire, a belt 
where exists a similar diversity of soil and 
climate as is found in California from one 
end of the State to the other, and up to 
to 2,500 to 3,000 feet in the Sierras. The 
finest walnuts in that immense belt 
came from the department of Isere in the 
Southeast, and are exclusively grown on 
grafted trees; the kinds most generally 
propagated, on account of their hardiness 
and beauty of the nuts, are the Mayette, 
Franquette and Parisienne; the latter is 
found to do better in light soil, while the 
Mayette and Franquette prefer a rocky 
soil, but rather deep and rich. The Cha- 
berte, less particular as to the nature of 
the soil, but very rich in oil, is much 
grown for the oil mills. To give an idea 
of the extent of the walnut industry in 
France, I will say that the Department of 
Isere alone exports annually to the capital 
of Kussia, 1100,000 worth of Mayette wal- 
nuts. Most of the walnut crop of that 
and adjoining Departments is carried 
down the rivefUhone to Marseilles on 
pine log rafts, at which port nuts and 
lumber are both delivered for the market. 
The walnuts of the Isere bring the best 
price of any walnuts in France, 5 to 8 
cents per pound, according to years; in 
fact, Isere walnuts sell with a premium, 
which is another illustration of that truth 
that fine fruits will always bring better 
prices anywhere. In that part of France 
the walnuts are planted a little every- 
where, especially on rolling land and hill- 
sides. By the way, whenever having 
level and rolling land on your place, 
always plant the walnuts on rolling land. 
In the Department of Dordogne, from 
which come the bulk of the walnuts ex- 
ported to the United States from France, 
statistics show 600,000 walnut trees. The 
walnut crop of that Department, in nuts 
for market and oil, amounts annually to 
one million of dollars. The nuts are ex- 
ported to the north of France, Switzer- 
land and the United States. To the latter 
country, on account of the tariff, are ex- 
ported only the common kinds. In the 
Department of the Loire, 15,000 acres are 
planted in walnuts, the trees being 
planted as high as 2,300 feet in the moun- 
tains; and so on in the whole walnut dis- 
trict. . 
Walnut picking costs five cents abushel 
in France, and prices for walnuts vary 
from half a cent to eight cents per pound. 
The cheap nuts are sold to the oil mills; 
the finer ones are shipped to market. 
Paris alone consumes 15 million pounds 
of dried walnuts and 10 million of fresh 
nuts. Half of the oil used in France is 
walnut oil, or three times as much as 
olive oil. One hundred pounds of wal- 
nuts average 18 pounds of oil. 
My advice in regard to those foreign va- 
rieties of walnuts is, that where the Los 
Angeles or common walnut of California 
does badly, people should not hesitate a 
moment to plant them as being so much 
superior and more hardy, and where 
that same Los Angeles walnut does well, 
to give at least those foreign kinds a fair 
trial, and see if they would not prove more 
profitable than the common kind. It is 
as easy to grow fine nuts as poor ones, 
and certainly more profitable. 
