BUTTERNUT. 
stance, composed of small transparent vesicles, which are easily discerned 
with the aid of a glass. The nuts are hard, oblong, rounded at the base, 
and terminated at the summit in an acute point ; the surface is very rough, 
and deeply and irregularly furrowed. They are ripe, in the neighborhood 
of New York, about the 15th of September, a fortnight earlier than the 
other species of Walnut. Some years they are so abundant, that one per- 
son may gather several bushels of them in a day. The kernel is thick and 
oily, and soon becomes rancid ; hence, doubtless, are derived the names of 
Butternut and Oilnut. These nuts are rarely seen in the markets of New 
York and Philadelphia. The Indians who inhabited these regions, pounded 
and boiled them, and separating the oily substance which swam upon the 
surface, mixed it with their food. When the fruit has attained about half 
its growth, it is sometimes used for making pickles, being first plunged into 
boiling water, and thoroughly wiped, to clean it of its down, and afterwards 
preserved in vinegar. 
The Black Walnut and Butternut, when young, resemble each other in 
their foliage, and in the rapidity of their growth ; but w^hen arrived at 
maturity, their forms are so different as to be distinguishable at first sight. 
Remarkable peculiarities are also found, on examining their wood, espe- 
cially when seasoned : the Black Walnut is heavy, strong, and of a dark 
brown color ; while the Butternut is light, of little strength, and of a reddish 
hue : but they possess in common, the great advantage of lasting long, and 
of being secure from the annoyance of worms. From its want of solidity 
and from the difficulty of procuring pieces of considerable length, Butter- 
nut timber is never used in the cities, in the construction of houses, though 
it is sometimes employed for this purpose in the country. In some Dis- 
tricts of New Jersey, it is often taken for the sleepers which are placed 
immediately on the ground, in the framing of houses and barns. As it long 
resists the effects of heat and moisture, it is esteemed for the posts and rails 
of rural fence, and for troughs for the use of cattle. For corn shovels and 
wooden dishes, it is preferred to the Red-flowering Maple, because it is 
lighter and less liable to split ; consequently, articles made of it are sold at 
a higher price. Near New York, I have observed it to be made use of for 
canoes formed of one or two logs, and for the futtocks designed to give 
them solidity ; but in boats of considerable size some stronger wood is 
selected for this purpose. At Pittsburgh on the Ohio, the Butternut is 
sometimes sawn into planks, for the construction of small skiffs, which, on 
account of their lightness, are in request for descending the river. At 
Windsor in Vermont, it is used for the pannels of coaches and chaises ; the 
workmen find it excellently adapted to this object, not only from its light- 
ness, but because it is not liable to split, and receives paint in a superior 
manner; indeed I have remarked that its pores are more open than those 
of the Poplar and Basswood. 
