38 
LOW ON LANJDED PllOPFJITY. 
G-aul, and other provinces of the empire, in- 
cluding, it must be believed, the Island of 
Britain. 
" The Walnut is a tree of the larger class, 
with a thick trunk, alight and furrowed bark, 
with wide-spreading arms. Its leaves are 
pennated or winged like those of the ash, and 
of a yellowish-green colour, and emit, when 
rubbed, a line aromatic odour. The fruit is a 
green oval-shaped drupe, containing a hard 
nut, of which the kernel is contained in a 
pellicle, and divided by a thin partition. In 
autumn, the husk or external covering softens, 
and permits the nut to fall or be readily 
shaken from the tree. The kernel is eaten 
either in its fresh or dried state, and yields, 
by expression, an oil little inferior to that 
of the olive, and, for certain of its uses, 
superior. 
" The Walnut is extensively cultivated in 
all the warmer and more temperate climates 
of Europe. In Italy, Spain, France, and 
Germany, even to the limits of the region of 
the vine, it is everywhere to be seen in the 
orchards, by the waysides, and mingled with 
the other forest and fruit trees of the country. 
But as we approach to the climates where it 
ceases to mature its fruits, it continually 
diminishes in numbers, until it disappears from 
cultivation. In the north of France, and in 
the southern and even midland counties of 
England, it grows freely, and produces fruits 
abundantly, but further to the north, it does 
so only partially and imperfectly. In the 
latitude of Edinburgh, it scarcely forms its 
fruits, and only ripens them when protected 
by walls, and in the warmest summers ; but 
in favourable localities it will grow, nay, keep 
pace with the more robust trees of the country, 
even to the extreme north of Scotland. 
" Besides its fruit and its oil, the Walnut 
yields timber greatly valued for certain uses. 
The wood is light, but close-grained, and of a 
deep-brown colour, streaked with darker and 
lighter shades. It is brittle in the direction 
of its length, and, therefore, unsuited to 
beams ; but it is tough in the lateral direction 
of its fibres, and does not readily split. It 
yields freely to the tool, receives a fine polish, 
and, when duly seasoned, does not shrink or 
warp. Hence it is well suited for wainscot- 
ing, panelling, and cabinet-work of any kind ; 
for which purpose, it was everywhere em- 
ployed on the continent of Europe, and was 
so extensively in England before the intro- 
duction of mahogany and other woods of the 
warmer countries. With us it is now chiefly 
employed for the stocks of guns ; for which 
purpose, its lightness, smoothness, and resist- 
ance to splintering, fit it beyond any kind of 
wood. 
" The Walnut is somewhat tender in the 
early stages of its growth, and apt to suffer in 
its young shoots from the frosts of spring. 
But yet, with due care, it may be reared in 
all the situations suited to it, and will gi'ow as 
quickly as most other trees. Like the oak, 
it affects a somewhat aluminous soil, but will 
not grow in the colder tills retentive of water. 
It is well suited to calcareous grounds, and 
grows with peculiar luxuriance in clays in- 
cumbent on chalk. It strikes its roots deeply 
into the earth, and will penetrate the chinks 
and fissures of rocks to an amazing distance. 
Even in the young state, its tap root is so 
large that the plant suffers a considerable re- 
tardation of growth by transplantation. It 
may, therefore, be beneficially raised from the 
nuts in the ground which it is to occupy ; to 
which end a little space should be trenched 
and limed, and a few nuts covered in, one of 
the most vigorous of the growing plants being 
ultimately preserved. But the Walnut may 
likewise be cultivated with success by the 
common means in the nursery, care being 
merely taken that the roots be not unneces- 
sarily mutilated in the process of transplanting, 
and that the plants be removed to their final 
destination before they have reached too great 
a size. When the Walnut is cultivated in 
plantations or orchards for its fruit, it is 
propagated by grafting, the varieties being 
selected which produce the finest fruits, just 
as in the case of the apple, the pear, and other 
fruit-bearing trees. 
" In the midland and southern counties of 
England, the Walnut was once extensively 
propagated in groves, parks, and hedgerows : 
and there are yet many trees planted from 
time to time, or preserved in the beautiful 
parks of the opulent. But the immense con- 
sumption of the wood for the stocks of fire- 
arms in the war, during the partial interrup- 
tion of our intercourse with other countries, 
produced a great diminution in the number of 
the finer Walnut trees in England. The price 
was at one time so great, that several hundred 
pounds might have sometimes been obtained 
for a single tree ; but, at length, the wood of 
the American Walnuts, which is not greatly 
inferior to that of Europe, began to be im- 
ported in quantity; and it was found, likewise, 
that walnut-wood might be procured in abun- 
dance from the Russian dominions on the 
Black Sea. 
" Although the wood of the Walnut does 
not now possess the great pecuniary value 
which circumstances once gave it, yet still it 
is a profitable wood to grow, high prices being 
given by the gun-makers of Birmingham and 
other places, for walnut-wood of English 
growth. But besides the prospect of a pro- 
fitable return, the Walnut recommends itself 
to the taste of the planter by its own natural 
