495 
though, as was before observed, these trees will not grow so large, or continue so long, as those 
which are removed young. 
This tree delights in a firm, rich, loamy soil, or such as is inclinable to chalk or marl; and will 
thrive very well in stony ground, and on chalky hills, as may be seen by those large plantations near 
Leatherhead, Godstone, and Carshalton in Surry, where are great numbers of those trees planted 
upon the downs, which annually produce large quantities of fruit, to the great advantage of their 
owners. 
The distance these trees should be placed, ought not to be less than forty feet, especially if 
regard be had to their fruit; though when they are only designed for timber, if they stand much 
nearer, it promotes their upright growth. The black Virginia Walnut is much more inclinable to 
grow upright than the common sort, and the wood being generally of a more beautiful grain, ren¬ 
ders it preferable to that, and better worth cultivating. I have seen some of this wood which has 
been beautifully veined with black and white, which, when polished, has appeared, at a distance, 
like veined marble. This wood is greatly esteemed by the cabinet-makers for inlaying, as also for 
bedsteads, stools, chairs, tables, and cabinets; and is one of the most durable woods for those pur¬ 
poses of English growth, being less liable to be infected with insects than most other kinds (which 
may proceed from its extraordinary bitterness); but it is not proper for buildings of strength, it 
being of a brittle nature, and exceeding subject to break very short. 
The general opinion is, that the beating off this fruit improves the trees, which I do not believe, 
since in the doing this, the younger branches are generally broken and destroyed; but as it would 
be exceeding troublesome to gather it by hand, so in beating it off, great care should be taken that 
it be not done with great violence, for the reason before assigned. In order to preserve the fruit, it 
should remain upon the trees till it is thorough ripe, when it should be beaten down, and laid in heaps 
for two or three days; after which it should be spread abroad, when, in a little time, the husks will 
easily part from the shells; then you must dry them well in the sun, and lay them up in a dry 
place, where mice or other vermin cannot come to them, in which place they will remain good for 
four or five months; but there are some persons who put their Walnuts into an oven gently heated, 
where they let them remain four or five hours to dry, and then put them up in oil jars, or any other 
close vessel, mixing them with dry sand, by which method they will keep good six months. The 
putting them in the oven is to dry the germ, and prevent their sprouting; but if the oven be too 
hot it will cause them to shrink. 
All the other sorts are propagated in the same way, but as few of the sorts produce fruit in 
England, their nuts must be procured from North America; they should be gathered when fully 
ripe, and put up in dry sand, to preserve them in their passage to England: when they arrive here, 
the sooner they are planted the greater chance there will be of their succeeding; when the plants 
come up, keep them clean from weeds; and if they shoot late in the autumn, and their tops are full 
of sap, cover them with mats, or other light covering, to prevent the early frosts from pinching their 
tender shoots, which often causes them to die down a considerable length before the spring; but 
if they are screened from these early frosts, the shoots will become firmer and bettei able to lesist 
the cold. Some of the sorts being tender whilst young, require a little care for the two hist winteis, 
but afterwards will be hardy enough to resist the greatest cold of this country. The black Virginia 
Walnut is full as hardy as the common sort. They all require the same culture as the common 
Walnut; but grow best in a soft loamy soil, not too dry; and where there is a depth of soil for 
their roots to run down. The Hickery, when young, is very tough and pliable, sticks of it there¬ 
fore are much esteemed; but the wood, when large, being very biittle, is not of any great use. 
The black Virginia Walnut is the most valuable. 
