Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/nutculturisttreaOOfull NUT CULTURIST A TREATISB ON THE PROPAGATION, PLANTING AND CULTIVATION OF NUT-BEARING TREES AND SHRUBS ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES OF ^HK KRUITS KNOWN IN COMMERCE AS EDIBLE OR OTHERWISE USEFUL NUTS By ANDRKW S. KUIvIvE:r, Author of the "Grape Culturist" '•'■Small Fruit Ciilturist" '■'■Practical Forestry,' '■'■Propagation of Plants" etc., etc. ILLUSTRATED i^^U^ p'-' 'SWsX YORK ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 1896 h^- 6^^°' ,\ Copyright, 1896, BY ORANGE JUDD COMPAKT PREFACE Believing that the time is opportune for making an effort to cultivate all kinds of edible and otherwise use- ful nut-bearing trees and shrubs adapted to the soil and climate of the United States, thereby inaugurating a great, permanent and far-reaching industry, the follow- ing pages have been penned, and with the hope of en- couraging and aiding the farmer to increase his income and enjoyments, without, to any appreciable extent, adding to his expenses or labors. With this idea in mind, I have not advised the general planting of nut orchards on land adapted to the production of grain and other indispensable farm crops, but mainly as roadside trees and where desired for shade, shelter and ornament, being confident that when all such positions are occupied with choice nut-bearing trees, to the exclusion of those yielding nothing of intrinsic value, there will have been added many millions of dollars to the wealth of the country, as well as a vast store of edible and deli- cious food. This work has not been written for the edification, or the special approbation, of scientific botanists, but for those who, in the opinion of the writer, are most likely to profit by a treatise of this kind. Unfamiliar terms have been omitted wherever simple common words would answer equally as well in conveying the intended information. There being no work of this kind pub- lished in this country that would serve as a guide, I have been compelled to formulate a plan of my own, iii iy PREFACE. and to describe all the newer varieties from the- best specimens obtainable, and these may not, in all cases, have been perfect. Under snch circumstances, this work must necessarily be incomplete, and especially where the possessors of claimed-to-be new and valuable varieties have either refused or failed to give any infor- mation in regard to them-.- -On- the contrary, however, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to many corre- spondents, who have so generously placed specimens of both trees and nuts of rare new varieties in my hands for testing and describing, as well as assisting me in tracing their history and origin. That this treatise may become the pioneer of many other and better works on nut culture is the sincere wish of THE AUTHOR. RiDGEWooD, iST. J., 1896. CONTENTS. Page. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION, . . . . ,. .. . . . 1 CH^VPTER 11, The Almond, ....... 12 CHAPTER III. The Beechnut, . . . . . . . . 44 CHAPTER IV. Castanopsis, . . . . . . ... 55 CHAPTER V. The Chestnut, . . . . ... 60 CHAPTER yi. . Filbert or Hazelnut, . . . . . . 118 CHAPTER YII. Hickory NUTS, . . . . . . . . 147 CHAPTER VIII. THE WALNUT, . . . . . . . . 203 CHAPTER IX. Miscellaneous Nuts— Edible and. Otherwise, . . 254 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Fig. 1. A California almond orchard, 2. Budding knife, 3. Yankee budding knife, 4. Prepared shoot, 5. Incision for bud, 6. Bud in position, 7. Hard-shelled almond, . 8. Thin-shelled almond, 9. Beechnut leaf, bur and nut, . 10. Leaves and nut of Castanopsis chrysophylla 11. Castanopsis bur, 12. Chestnut flowers, 13. Splice graft, 14. Splice graft inserted, 15. Stock, .... 16. Cion, .... 17. Two cions inserted, 18. One cion inserted, . 19. American chestnut leaf, 20. Spike of burs of bvish chinquapin {Castanea nana) 21. Spike of chinquapin chestnut bur (C. pumila), . 22. f^ingle bur, init and leaf of chinquapin chestnut {C. pumila) 23. Japan chestnut leaf, ..... 24. Burs of Fuller's chinquapin (one-half natural size) 25. Fuller's chinquapin, five years old from nut, . 26. Bur of Numbo chestnut, 27. Spines of Numbo chestnut, . 28. Numbo chestnut, 29. Paragon chestnut bur (one-half natural size), 30. Spines of Paragon chestnut bur, 31. Paragon chestnut, 32. Four-year-old Paragon chestnut tree 33. Open bur of the Ridgely chestnut, 34. Japan Giant chestnut, 35. Spines of Japan chestnut, 36. Chestnut weevil, 37. Large filbert, .... 38. Large seedling hazelnut, . .^9. Constantinople hazel, .... •10. English filbert orchard, five years from seed 41. Varieties of filberts and hazel seedlings, vi LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. Vll Fig. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 07. 90. 91. 92. Extra large hazel seedling or round English filbert Filbert orchard struck with blight, fifth year from seed Hazel fungus, . . . , Fourteen-y ears-old pecan tree in Mississippi Leaf and sterile catkins of shellbark hickorj Western shellbark, Section Western shellbark. Leaf of pignut, .... Bitternut branch and leaf, Bitternut, ..... Large, long pecan nut, Oval pecan nut, .... Small oval pecan nut, Little Mobile pecan nut, Stuart pecan nut, .... Van Denian pecan nut, Risien pecan nut, . . . , Lady Finger pecan nut, The original Hales' Paper-shell hickory tree Hales' hickory, .... Section of Hales' hickory. Long shellbark hickory, Shellbark Missouri, .... Long Western shellbark, Fresh Niissbaumer hybrid, Nussbaumer's hybrid, . Crown grafting on roots of the hickory Sprouts from severed hickory roots, The hickory-twig girdler, . Hickory borer, .... Burrows of hickory scolytus, Persian walnut, showing position of sexual organs. Bearing branch of English walnut, Seedling walnut. Flute bxidding, .... Flowering branch of hybrid walnut, Hybrid walnut, .... Hybrid walnut, shell removed, Jnglans Sieboldiana raceme, Black walnut in husk, . Juglans nigra, husk removed, . Juglans Californica. Juglani rupestris, showing small kernel Juglans Sieboldiana, . Juglans cordiforaiis. Small fruited walniit, . Barthere walnut, . . . • Chaberte walnut, Chile wnlnut, . . . . • Cut-leaved walnut, Gibboiis walnut, . . . • Mayette walnut, Page. 136 137 141 154 156 158 158 161 163 164 166 166 167 167 169 169 171 172 172 173 173 174 175 176 189 190 196 198 200 204 205 216 220 228 230 230 231 232 233 235 235 238 23J 240 242 242 242 243 245 Vlll THE iftrt CULTUBIST. •Tig 94. Kernel of walnut, . . . . . . Page. 245 95. Jiiglans regia octogona, , 245 96. Cross section, . . . . . . . 245 97. Parisienne walnut, . . . . . 246 98. Serotina or St. John walnut, .... 247 99. The caterpillar of the regal walnut moth. 252 100. The regal walnut moth— Citheronia regalis, 252 101. Brazil nut, . . . . . . . 258 102. The cashew nut, . . . . 260 103. Litchi or Leechee nut, ...... . . 270 104. Branch of nut pine, . . , . - . . 277 105. Paradise or sapucaia nut. 279 106. Souari nut, ....... 281 ao7. Water chestnut, . . . . 283 CHAPTEE I. INTRODUCTION. No special amount of prophetic acumen is required to foresee that the time will soon come when the people of this country must necessarily place a much higher value upon all kinds of food than they do at present, or have done in the past. In this we are pre-supposing that in the natural course of events, our population will cont?nue to increase in nearly the same ratio it has since we assumed the responsibilities of an independent nation. The very existence of animal life on this planet de- pends upon the quantity and quality of available food, and while some sentimentalists may assume to ignore and even attempt to deprecate the animal desires of their race, nature compels us to recognize the fact that there can be no fire without fuel, and the great and use- ful intellectual powers of man are the emanations of the animal tissues of a well-nourished brain. The brawny arm that rends the rock and hurls the fragments aside, gets its power through the same channel and from the same source as those of other members of society, what- ever the nature of their calling ; for mankind is built upon one universal and general |)lan, varied though it may be in some of the minor details of construction. We certainly have no cause to fear that the theories of Malthus, in regard to the overpopulation of the earth as a whole, will ever be verified in the experience of the human race, because with necessity comes industry, also the inventions of devices to enable us to avoid just such dangers, and if these fail to keep pace with our wants 1 2 THE i^UT CULTURIST, and needs, wars, earthquakes, drouths, floods, and conta- gious, epidemic and other diseases, become the weapons which nature employs to prevent overpopulation. But we cannot deny that nature does sometimes encourage or permit a somewhat redundant population in certain favorable countries and localities, and then follows a struggle for existence, and food becomes the paramount object in life. To ward off danger of this kind and keep the supply in excess of the demand, is a problem which should seriously engage the attention of every one who takes the least interest in the general welfare of his countrymen, even though the day of want or scarcity of food may be very far distant. Among the various sources of acceptable and nutri- tions food products heretofore ahnost entirely neglected in this country, the edible nuts stand preeminently and conspicuously in the foreground, awaiting the skill and attention of all who seek pleasure and profit — to be derived from the products of the soil. For many centuries these nuts have held a prominent position among the desirable and valuable food products of vaii- ous Euroj^ean and Oriental countries ; not only because they were important and almost indispensable in making up the household supplies of all classes of the people, but often because available for tilling a depleted purse, and the thing needful for this purpose has, in the main, been received from far-distant nations, who through in- difference and neglect failed to provide themselves with such a simple and valuable article as the edible nuts. Much as we may boast of our immense natural re- sources and advantages, we have not, as yet, availed our- selves of one-half of those we possess, and the remainder is still awaiting our attention. We also neglect to avail ourselves of the many superior domestic traits and prac- tices of the foreign nations with whom we are in con- stant communication. It may be that the absence of INTRODUCTION. 3 incentives has made us careless and indifferent in regard to a day of need, which in all probability will come to us sooner or later ; but whatever the cause, the fact re- mains that we have been spending millions annually on worthless articles and sentimental problems and projects, which have brought us neither riches nor honor ; in truth, to use a homely phrase, we have been following the bellwether in nearly all of our rural affairs and pur- suits. As a natural result we are spending millions for imported articles of everyday use which might easily and with large profit be produced at home, and in many instances the most humiliating part of the transaction is that we send our money to people who do not purchase any of our productions and almost ignore us in commer- cial matters. I am not referring to those products ill- adapted to our climate, nor to those which, owing to scarcity and high pi'ice of labor, we are unable to produce profitably, but to such nuts as the almond, walnut and chestnut, which we can raise as readily as peaches, apples and pears. There certainly can be no excuse for the neglect of such nut trees on the score of cost of labor in propagation and planting, because our streets and highways are lined and shaded with equally as ex- pensive kinds, although they are absolutely worthless for any other purpose than shade or shelter, yielding nothing in the way of food for either man or beast. Can any one invent a reasonable excuse for planting miles and miles of roadside trees of such kinds as elm, maj)le, ash, willow, cotton wood, and a hundred other similar kinds, where shellbark hickory, chestnut, wal- nut, pecan and butternut would thrive just as well, cost no more, and yet yield bushels of delicious and highly prized nuts, and this annually or in alternate years, continuing and increasing in productiveness for one, two or more centuries. Aside from the intrinsic value of such trees, they are, in the way of ornament. 4 THE NUT CULTURIST. just as beautiful as, and in many instances much superior to those yielding nothing in the way of foo'l except, per- haps, something for noxious insects. I am not attempting to pose as the one wise man engaged in rural affairs, but am merely recounting my per- sonal observation and experience, having in my younger days taken the advice of my elders^ and at a time when a hint of the future value of nut trees would have been worth more than a paid-up life insurance policy. But as the hint was not given, I selected for roadside trees ash, maples, tulip, magnolias, and other popular kinds, all of which thrived, and by the time they were twenty years old began to be admired for their beauty, although their roots were spreading into the adjoining field, rob- bing the soil of the nutriment required for less vigorous- growing i^lants. Later, however, the discovery was made that I was paying very dearly for a crop of leaves and sentiment, neither of which was salable or avail- able for filling one's purse. When thirty years of age the very best of my roadside trees were probably worth two dollars each for firewood, or one dollar more than the nurseryman's price at the time of planting. The greater part of these trees, however, have since been cre- mated, a few being left as reminders of the misdirected labors of youth and inexperience. In this matter of following a leader in tree-planting along the highways, it appears to be a predominant trait of our rural population and as old as the settlement of this country, for nowhere is it more pronounced than in the New England States, ' where the American elms attracted the attention of the Pilgrims and their con- temporaries and descendants, and even continued down to the present day, No one will deny that the American elm is a noble tree in appearance, is easily transplanted and of rapid growth, and yet it is one of the most worthless for any eaonomic purpose. It may IN"TRODUCTIOJT. 5 be that its worthlessness for other purposes made it all the more acceptable for streets and roadsides, the better kinds being reserved for firewood, fencing, furniture, and the manufacture of agricultural and other imple- ments. But whatever the cause or object, the elm be- came the one tree generally selected for planting in parks, villages, cities, and along roadsides in the coun- try, not only in the older but in many of the newer States. From present indications, however, the glory of this much over -praised tree is on the wane, for the imported elm-leaf beetle {Galeriica calmarieyisis) is slowly but surely spreading over the country, defoliating the elms of all species and varieties, and it is a question whether we should bless this insect for the work it is doing or look upon it as a pest. Perhaps future genera- tions will sing paeons in its praise, and they certainly will have reasons for rejoicing if better and more useful kinds are planted in the places now occupied by the worthless elms. In other localities some pioneer or leader in road- side ornamentation selected or recommended some spe- cies of maple, linden, catalpa, poplar or willow, but it made little or no difference as to kind, because, as a rule, all his neighbors followed without a thought or question in regard to adaptation to soil, climate, or fitness in the local or surrounding scenery, or of its future economic value. The result of this want of taste and forethought may be seen in whatever direction one travels through- out the older and more thickly settled portions of this country. Had the early settlers of the New England States planted shellbark hickories, or even the native chestnut, in place of the American elm, they would not only have had equally as beautiful trees for shade and ornament, but the nutritious nuts would scarcely have failed to bring bright cheer to many a housrehold and money to fill oft- 6 THE NUT CULTURIST. depleted purses, while their descendants would have blessed them for their forethought. Of course there are other valuable kinds of nuts which thrive over the greater part of the New England States, but I refer only to the two, which were so abundant in the forests that one or both could have been obtained for the mere cost of transplanting. But it is not fair to prate about the remissness and follies of our ancestors, unless we can show by our works that wisdom has come down to us through their experience. What is true of the New England is equally true of all the older States, and is rapidly becoming so in many of the newer, little attention being paid to the intrinsic value of the wood or the product of the trees planted along the highways. There are also millions of acres of wild lands not suitable for cultivation, but well adapted to the growth of trees, whether of the nut-bearing or other kinds. But for the present I will omit further reference to the planting of nut trees except on the line of the highways, just where other kinds have long been in vogue and are still being cultivated for shade and ornament, — with no thought, perhaps, on the part of the planter, that both could be obtained in the nut trees, with something of more intrinsic value added. The nut trees which grow to a large size are as wtII adapted for planting along roadsides, in the open country, as other kinds that yield nothing in the way of food for either man or beast. They are also fully as beautiful in form and foliage, and in many instances far superior, to the kinds often selected for such purposes. The only objection I have heard of as being urged against planting fruit and nut trees along the highway is that they tempt boys and girls — as well as persons of larger growth — to become trespassers ; but this only ap- plies to where there is such a scarcity that the quantity taken perceptibly lessens the total crop. But where ^ INTRODUCTION. 7 there is an abundance, either the temptation to trespass disappears, or we fail to recognize our loss. As we can- not yerj well dispense with the small boy and his sister, I am in fayor of providing them bountifully with all the good things that climate and circumstance will afford. It is a truism that conscience is neyer strengthened by an empty stomach. A mile, in this country, is 5280 feet, and if trees are set 40 feet apart — which is allowing sufficient room for them to grow during an ordinary lifetime — we get 133 per mile in a single row ; but where the roads are three to four rods wide, two rows may be planted, one on each side, or 266 per mile. With such kinds as the Persian walnut and American and foreign chestnuts, we can safely estimate the crop, when the trees are twenty years old, at a half bushel per tree, or 66 bushels for a single row, and 133 for a double row per mile. With grafted trees of either kind we may count on double the quantity named, presuming, of course, that the trees are given proper care. But to be on the safe side, let us keep our estimate down to the half-bushel mark per tree, and with this crop, at the moderate price of four dollars per bushel, we would get $264 from the crop on a single row, and double this sum, or $528, for the crop on a double row — with a fair assurance that the yield would increase steadily for the next hundred years or more ; while the cost of gathering and marketing the nuts is no greater, and in many instances much less than that of the ordinary grain crops. At the expira- tion of the first half century, one-half of the trees may be removed, if they begin to crowd, and the timber used for whatever purpose it may best be adapted. The re- maining trees would probably improve, on account of having more room for develoj^ment. There has been a steady increase in the demand, and a corresponding advance in the price of all kinds of 8 THE NUT CULTUKIST. edible niits^ during the past three or four decades, and this is likely to continue for many years to come, be- cause consumers are increasing far more rapidly than producers ; besides, the forests, which have long been the only source of supply of the natiye kinds, are rapidly disappeai'ing, while there has not. been, - as jet, any special effort to make good the loss, by replanting or otherwise.^ Tiie dealers in such articles in our larger cities assure me that the demand for our best kinds of edible nuts is far in excess of the supply, and yet not one housewife or cook in a thousand in this country has ever attempted to use nuts of any kind in the prepara- tion of meats and other dishes for the table, as is so gen- erally practiced in European and Oriental countries. The question may be asked, if the demand is suffi- cient to warrant the planting of the hardy nut trees ex- tensively along our highways or elsewhere. In answer to such a question it may be said that we not only con- sume all of the edible nuts raised in this country, but im23ort millions of pounds annually of the very kinds which thrive here as well as in any other part of the world. I have before me the records of our imports from the year 1790 to 1894, but as I purpose dealing more with the 23resent and future than with the distant past, I will refer here only to the statistics of the four years of the present decade, leaving out all reference to the tropical nuts, which are not supjjosed to be adapted to our climate. Of almonds, not shelled, and on which there is a protective duty of three cents per pound, we imj)orted from 1890 to the close of 1893, 12,443,895 pounds, val- ued at $1,100,477.65. Of almonds, shelled, on whicli the duty is now five cents, we imported 1,326,633 pounds. The total value of both kinds for the four years, amounted to 11,716,277.32. Whether this high protective duty li^TRODUCTIOi^. . 9 is to remain or not is uncertain, but it is quite evident that it has had yery little effect in stimulating the culti- vation of this nut except in circumscribed localities on the Pacific coast. Of filberts and walnuts, not shelled, and with a duty of two cents per pound, we imported during the same years from eleven to fifteen million pounds annu- ally, or a total for the four years of 54,526,181 pounds, and in addition about two million pounds of the shelled kernels, on which the duty was six cents (now four) per pound. The total value of these importations amounted to $3,176,085.34. . I do not find the European chestnut mentioned in any list of imports, although an immense quantity mnst be received from France, Italy and Spain eyery year, and they are probably imported under the head of mis- cellaneous nuts, not specially provided for, and upon which the duty was two cents per pound in 1890-'91, but was later reduced to one and a half cents. Under the head '^miscellaneous nuts," or all other shelled and unshelled ''not specially provided for," there was imported during the period named 6,442,908 pounds, valued at 1235,976.05. The total for all kinds of edible nuts imported was $7,124,575.82. These figures are sufficient to prove that we are neglecting an opportunity to largely engage in and extend a most important and profitable industry. It is true that in the Southern States considerable attention has been given, of late, to the preservation of the old pecan nut trees and the plant- ing of young stock, but it will be many years before the increase from this source can overtake the ever-increas- ing demand for this delicious native nut. Californians are also making an effort to raise several foreign varie- ties of edible nuts on a somewhat extensive scale, but all these widely scattered experiments are mere drops in the ocean of our wants. Under such conditions I ask. 10 THE ]S^UT CULTURIST. in all seriousness, if it is not about time that our farmers and rural population generally began to count their worthless and unproductiye possessions, in the form of roadside and other shade trees — which have probably cost fully as much to secure, plant and care for during the few or many years since they were set out, as would have been expended upon the most beautiful and valu- able nut-bearing kinds. If our ancestors were at fault in the selection of trees for planting, we need not expect that posterity will excuse us for continuing and repeat- ing their folly, especially when our dear-bought experi- ence should teach us better. At the present time there might be some difiSculty in procuring, at the nurseries, a choice selection of nut trees in any considerable quantity, suited to roadside planting, because heretofore there has been little de- mand for such stock; and nurserymen are only human, and conduct their establishments on business principles, propagating the kind of trees in greatest demand, regard- less of their intrinsic or future value to purchasers. They will also continue producing such stock just so long as the demand will warrant it, and further, it is but natural that they should sometimes recommend and advise their customers to purchase worthless, and even pestiferous kinds, such as the ailanthus and white pop- lar, because the profits in raising these trees are large and there is little danger of loss in transplanting. But if purchasers will insist on having better kinds and re- fuse to accept any other, they will soon be accommo- dated ; and if not, then let everyone who owns a plot of ground become his own propagator of trees. It is not beyond the ability of any moderately intelligent man (or woman, for that matter) to raise nut trees, and as readily as one could potatoes or corn. Where farmers w^ant a row of trees along the road- side, to be utilized for line fence jDOsts, they cannot pos- INTRODUCTION. 11 sibly find any kinds better adapted for this purpose than chestnut, wahiut and hickory ; and these will give just as dense a shade, and look as well — besides, in a few years they may yield enough to pay the taxes on the entire farm, the crop increasing in amount and yalue not only during the lifetime of the planter, but that of many generations of his descendants. This appeal to the good sense of our rural popula- tion is made in all sincerity and with the hope that it will be heeded by every man who has a spark of patriot- ism in his soul, and who dares show it in his labors, and by setting up a few milestones in the form of nut-bear- ing trees along the roadsides — if for no other purpose than the present pleasure of anticipating the gratifi- cation such monuments will afiord the many who are certain to pass along these highways years hence. It is surely not good policy to enrich other nations at the expense of our own people, as we are now doing in sending millions of dollars annually to foreign coun- tries in payment for such luxuries as edible nuts that could be readily and profitably produced at home. There need be no fear of an overproduction of such things, no matter how many may engage in their cultivation, be- cause in such industries many will resolve to do, and even make an attempt, but a comparatively small num- ber will reach any marked degree of success. CHAPTER II. THE ALMOi^D. Amygdalus, Totcmef or t. Name supposed to be de- riyed from amysso, to lacerate, because of the prominent sharp, knifelike margin of one edge of the deeply pitted, wrinkled nut. Martins, an Italian botanist, suggests that the name came from the Hebrew word sliahacl, sig- nifying vigilant, or to awake, because after the rigors of winter the almond tree is one of the earliest to hail the coming of spring, with its flowers. The common Eng- lish name is from the Latin amandola, corrupted from amygdala. In French it is amaudier ; in German, mandel ; Portuguese, amendoa ; Spanish, almendro ; Italian, amandola, mandalo, mandorla, etc. ; Dutch, amendel ; Chinese, Mm-lio-gin. Under the natural classification of plants the almond belongs to the order Rosacem, and in the tribe Drupacem. Linnaeus placed the peach and almond in the same genus, and they are now generally considered to be only varieties of one species, — the wild almond tree is prob- ably the j)arent from which all the cultivated peaches and nectarines have descended. In most of our modern botanical works these fruits are classed as a sub-section of Prumis, the plum. They are mainly deciduous shrubs, or small trees. The flowers are variable, both in size and color ; but in the almond they are usually somewhat larger than in the peach, almost sessile, and from separate scaly buds on the shoots of the preceding- season, appearing in early spring, before or with the unfolding leaves, the latter being folded lengthwise in 12 THE ALMOI^D. 13 the bud. Leaves three to four inches long, tapering, finely serrate, with few or no glands at the base of the blade, as seen in many varieties of the common peach. Fruit clothed with a fine dense pubescence in both peach and almond ; but in the latter the pulpy envelope be- comes dry and fibrous at maturity, cracking open irreg- ularly, allowing the rough and deeply indented nuts to drop out ; while in the peach the pulpy part becomes soft, juicy and edible, the reverse of the almond. The nectarine is only a smooth-skinned peach. History of the Almond. — As with most of our long-cultivated fruits and nut trees, very little is now known of the early history or origin of the almond, and even its native country has not been positively deter- mined, although it is supposed to be indigenous to parts of Northern Africa and the mountainous region of Asia. Theophrastus, who wrote a history of plants about three centuries before the Christian era, mentions the almond as the only tree in Greece that produces blossoms before the leaves. From Greece it was introduced into Italy, where the nuts were called nuces grcecce, or Greek nuts. Columella, about the middle of the first century of our era, was the earliest Roman writer to mention the almond as distinct from the peach. From Italy this nut was slowly disseminated, making its way northward mainly through France, reaching Great Britain as late as 1538 (Hortus Keivensis). But its cultivation has never extended in Britain, beyond sheltered gardens and orchard houses, owing to the cool and otherwise uncon- genial climate, and the same is true of Northern France and other regions to the eastward in Europe. But in the south of France, also in Italy, Spain, Sicily, and throughout the Mediterranean countries, both in Europe and Africa, the almond thrives, and has long been ex- tensively cultivated. These nuts are an important arti- cle of commerce, immense quantities being exported by 14 THE l^VT CULTURIST. Spain, mainly from Valencia, while tlie so-called Jordan almond comes from Malaga, as very few are raised in the valley of the Jordan. Bitter almonds come princi- pally from Mogador in Morocco. As for almond culture in the United States, very little is to be said further than that, while w^e have few experiments to refer to as having been made east of the Eocky mountains, not one of our great pomologists, in their published works, has ever given any reason for the almost entire neglect of this nut. Mr. Wm. H. White, author of '^Gardening for the South" (1868), throws no light ujDon the subject, merely describing a few of the well-known varieties of the almond. Down- ing's ^^ Fruit and Fruit Trees of America," Thomas' "American Fruit Oulturist," Barry's "Fruit Garden," and a score of other standard pomological works may be consulted, without obtaining therefrom any information in regard to the culture of this nut further than to be assured that the hard-shelled varieties are hardy in the North wherever the peach tree thrives, and the thin, or paper shelled, succeed only in warm climates. All these authoi's agree in saying that the propagation and culti- vation of the almond is the same as practiced with the peach. Coming down to recent years for information in regard to almond culture, we find H. E. Van Deman, pomologist to the Department of Agriculture, dismissing the subject in his report for 1892, as follows : "I only mention this nut to state to all experimen- ters that it is useless to try to grow the almond of com- merce this side of the Eocky mountains, excex^t, possi- bly, in K"ew Mexico and southwestern Texas. This is thoroughly established by many reports from those who have tried it in nearly every State and for many years past. It is too tender in the North and does not bear in the South. In California it is an eminent success. THE ALMOXD. 15 ^' The flavor of the hard-shelled almond, so far as I have tested it, is little or no better than a peach kernel, and is therefore practically worthless. The tree of this variety is about as hardy as the peach, and bears quite freely. The attention paid to the almond in the Atlan- tic and Central States might well be given to other nuts." This is certainly a very easy way of disposing of the cultivation of a nut which has so long figured among OLir importations from European countries ; besides, no ex^ieriments are cited, experimenters named, or reasons given why almond culture is a failure in the Southern States. But fortunately there are men in the South who are able and ready to give reasons for their opinions and statements, in regard to the cultivation of crops or plants with which they have become familiar through personal experience. When I asked Mr. P. J. Berck- mans, Augusta, Ga., president of the American Pomolog- ical Society, for information on this point, he promptly re|)lied as follows : *^The reason that almonds are not cultivated in Georgia and other Southern States is because of their early blooming, as spring frosts usually destroy all the blossoms. We have tried many varieties of the soft- shell without success. The hard-shell will occasionally bear a crop of fruit, as it blooms later, and the blooms seem to resist cold better than the other varieties. In middle Florida soft-shell almonds are sometimes success- ful, but they have been tried so sparingly that I cannot obtain any satisfactory reports." Admitting, as we do, that President Berckmans' long experience in the cultivation of nut and fruit trees in the South enables him to speak with authority on this subject, still, we have some encouragement for con- tinuing experiments with the almond in regions known to be favorable for the cultivation of its near relative, the peach. Furthermore, experiments seem to be want- 16 THE NUT CULTURIST. ing with the almond in the more elevated regions of the northern line of Southern States, also in Maryland, Del- aware and southern New Jersey, near the seacoast, or other large bodies of water, which, as is well known, have considerable influence in retarding the early bloom- ing of fruit trees, as well as warding off late spring and early autumn frosts. It is scarcely reasonable to suppose that a region of country as extensive as that of one-half of the Middle and all of the Southern States, with a range of climate admitting of the successful cultivation of such hardy fruits as the apple and pear, and from these down to the pineapple and cocoanut, should not yield a locality or localities admirably adapted to the cultivation of the half-hardy almond tree. It is no doubt true that there are extensive regions in the South where late spring frosts are exceedingly troublesome, and sometimes dis- astrously so, to fruit growers ; but even these have their limits, as shown in the vast quantity and variety of fruits annually i^roduced in the Southern States. But great local variations in climate are natural to all coun- tries in the temperate zone, and we frequently find the most favorable and the unfavorable for fruit culture within a few miles of each other. If there are not thousands and tens of thousands of acres of land located in favorable positions between Vir- ginia and Florida, adapted to produce the commercial almond in some of its varieties, then we must confess that the study of climatology is of little use to the pomologist. Furthermore, all the varieties of the so- •called hard-shelled almonds which thrive in our north- ern States are not worthless, neither are the kernels of all of them ^^ bitter," and even if they were, they would still be worth cultivating, else we would not import such vast quantities from Morocco to supply the demand. THE ALMOKD. 17 If none of the tliin-shelled varieties heretofore tried in the South are successful, it is time that either our ex- periment stations or individual horticulturists made some attempt to produce those that are adapted to that region of country. But until we have some more definite infor- mation than heretofore disseminated, iu regard to almond culture in the South, it is safe to conclude that failures in the past have been due mainly to want of judgment, or knowledge of varieties and of positions for the orchard, with, perhaps, some neglect in care and cultivation. In California almond culture has been pushed with vigor for several decades, but at first with rather indif- ferent results, because growers depended upon noted European varieties, which, as experience proved, were not adapted to the soil and climate of the country. In a paper read before the American Pomological Society at its session held at Sacramento, Cal., Jan. 16-18, 1895, Prof. E. J. Wickson, of the University of California, alluded to this subject of almond culture in the State as follows : *^In no branch of this effort for improved va- rieties has our success been more marked than in the development of seedling almonds. The achievements of A. T. Hatch in this line are too well known to require but a passing allusion. It is not too much to say that this work rescued almond culture to California. When he began, the almond, because of almost universal failure of the old varieties, was a jest and a byword in our horticulture. Nine-tenths of all the almonds planted during the preceding twenty-five years had gone for firewood or were carrying the foliage of the prune to conceal their hated stems. At the present time, through the dissemination of Mr. Hatch's varieties, the almond, in all regions decently adapted to the tree, is productive and profitable and has a future." That almond culture in California is rapidly becom- ing an important and successful industry, we have an 2 18 THE KUT .CULTURIST. THE ALMOiq^D. 19 ocular demonsfcration in the tons of these valuable nuts received from there in the past few years, and placed on sale in Eastern markets. If one man, by his individual efforts, can revolutionize or establish a great industry in a region as large as the State of California, it is not too much to expect that something of the kind could be done elsewhere, with the combined efforts of several men. If the varieties heretofore tried in the East are unsuited to the climate, it is certainly within the range of probabilities that others better adapted to surround- ing conditions can be produced. The native grape,, raspberry and strawberry have had a history similar to the almond, but now all are extensively and successfully cultivated. Propagation of the Almond. — The propagation of the almond is identical with that of the peach : that is, from seed to procure new varieties, or by budding the more desirable ones, when obtained, upon seedling almond, peach or plum stocks. The half-wild hard- shelled almond is probably the most congenial and best stock for this purpose, but seedlings of the peach are most generally employed because the most abundant and cheapest. Under certain conditions, such as cold, heavy, moist soils, and where rather dwarfish trees are desired, the plum may be employed with advantage as a stock, but it is not to be recommended for general orchard culture. In mild climates seedlings of the best of the soft-shelled varieties may be raised and planted in orchards without budding, but the nuts from such trees are likely to be somewhat variable in size and quality, although the trees will usually prove to be as healthy and productive as those subjected to artificial modes of propagation. If, however, the grower desires a uniform product, he must resort to the usual means of obtaining it ; that is, multiplying superior or distinct varieties by budding, either upon peach, almond or other stocks. 30 THE NUT CULTURIST. It is advisable, as well as exceedingly important, for all wlio intend or feel inclined to cultivate almonds in regions where the adaptation of this nut has not been fully established by years of practical experience, that seedlings should be raised in large numbers, and from these a selection be made to meet the requirements of the climate and other conditions under which they are to be propagated and grown. If spring frosts haye been heretofore inimical to the cultivation of the almond, then the production of late-blooming varieties would be a remedy. There will also be variations in the season of ripening ; some may come on too early, others far too late for special localities, but all these faults or varia- tions may be readily overcome by raising seedlings, and then selecting for propagation those coming nearest ful- filling the requirements of local conditions or circum- stances. It is by such experiments and means that fruit culture has reached its j^resent position in this and all other countries, where it is j)i'acticed as an art or indus- trial pursuit. Varieties that have become exceedingly popular and profitable in one locality or country, may not have succeeded elsewhere, and this holds good with all cultivated plants. In making experiments with the almond in regions where it has not been cultivated, but under conditions which appear to be favorable, I would certainly advise testing the well-known varieties first, and if these fail, then see what can be done in the way of producing new ones adapted to the locality and climate. Raising Seedlings for Stocks. — In warm or moderately mild climates the nuts, whether peach or almond, may be planted soon after they are gathered in the fall, but should the weather continue warm and moist the nuts will sometimes sprout prematurely and the young sprouts get frosted later in the season, and for this reason it is better to store them in a cool room, THE ALMOND. 21 packed in dry sand or soil, until the approach of steady cold weather, and then plant. Having lost choice kinds of nuts from being in too great haste in getting them into the ground in the fall, I am prompted to give this warning to those who have had no experience in raising- nut trees. If not convenient to plant in the fall, nuts of all kinds may be packed in barrels, boxes, or similar vessels, mixed with or stratified with sharp sand or light soil, then stored in a dry, cool place, — a very cool cellar will answer, but in my experience, out of doors is pref- erable, — and in the shade of some evergreen tree or on the north side of a building, and there banked over with earth just sufficient to keep the nuts at an equably low temperature. It is advisable to have a few small holes in the bottom of the barrels or boxes, to insure proper drainage, should any considerable amount of water get in at the top ; but this will not occur if the vessels are properly covered with boards when placed in position for winter. It must also be kept in mind that mice, squirrels and chipmunks are- fond of almonds and other kinds of edible nuts, and if placed where these little rodents can find them, they are sure to take a share, or perhaps the entire store, before their visits are discovered. I have known field mice to dig down under boxes of nuts, en- large the holes left for drainage, and spend the winter among the chestnuts which I had put away for planting in spring. The safest way is to place fine wire netting on the bottom of the box, and then cover it with the same. Owing to the abundance of mice and other little nut-eating animals, I have never dared to plant out nuts in the fall, and so have always stored them in sand, but out of doors during the winter, and well covered with earth. In other lacalities it may be safe to sow in autumn, and if protection from vermin is required, coat the nuts with gas tar, the same as practiced by farmers 22 THE iN^UT CULTURTST. in protecting seed corn against the attacks of crows and other corn-pulling birds. One pint of warm tar will be sufficient for a bushel of nuts, and the application is readily made by placing the nuts in a barrel, pouring the tar on them, and stirring with a stick until every nut is coated. To prevent the tar sticking to the hands in planting, dust the nuts with dry wood ashes, laud plas- ter, or fine dry sand. If peach stones are to be planted for stocks they may be put into the ground as soon as ready in autumn, because they are rarely disturbed by vermin ; or if more convenient, mix with common soil, and in heaps, in the open ground, and leave in this position until spring, then pick out as they begin to sprout, and plant. The hard-shelled almond may be treated in the same way, only they are not to be handled quite as roughly as peach stones, and for protection it is best to put them in bar- rels or boxes, as described above. When ready for planting take out the nuts and drop them in shallow drills, one every ten or twelve inches, then cover with about two inches of soil. It is to be sup- posed, of course, that a seed bed has been prepared, by thorough working over and enriching, if necessary, in advance of planting. The distance between the drills or rows should be sufficient to admit of cultivating the plants with a horse or mule, and cultivator, during the summer, and if this is done and the soil stirred often enough to keep down all weeds, the stocks should be- come large enough to admit of budding the first season ; if not, then this operation must be deferred until the following year. But in case the seedlings are raised from choice varieties and to be left in their natural condition for fruiting, they may be lifted when one or two seasons old and set where they are to remain permanently. The Season for Budding. — So much depends upon climate, location, and variation of seasons, that no THE ALMOND. 23 special date or time can be given for budding trees of any kind, but it is always to be done while the stocks are in active growth, because the bark must part freely from the wood underneath, in order to admit of insert- ing the bud under it. If the buds are set too early in the season there is danger of a premature growth ; that is, of pushing out a shoot in the fall instead of remaining dormant until the following spring. Under certain con- ditions, however, and for special purposes, it may be advisable to force the buds as soon as they have formed a union with the stock, but as a rule, in the propagation of hardy and half-hardy trees, it is better to keep the buds dormant during the cool or cold winter months. Here in the Northern States we usually begin to look over our stocks during the latter part of July or first week in August, and note their progress and condi- tion. Sliould they show the least signs of cessation of growth, we begin budding them, and push the work as rapidly as possible. If the season is a wet one the stocks may continue to grow and remain in good condition for budding until the middle of September ; but in a dry season they may cease to grow in August, and it is these variable conditions which gives to the close observer and man of experience such an advantage over the novice in the propagation of plants. It is better to begin budding too early than to be a few days too late. The operation called budding consists in taking a bud, with a small portion of the bark adjoining, from one plant, and inserting it in another, or in some other part of the same plant from which it was taken. The physiological principles which goyern the operation are, that there must exist an affinity between the plant from which the bud is taken and the one upon which it is to be jDlaced, and the nearer the relationship the more readily will it unite and the more perfect the union. For instance, the cultivated peach and almond are sup- 34 THE NUT CULTURIST. posed to be of the same origin, and descendants of one original species ; consequently there is a close relation- ship between the varieties of both sections, and their seedlings may be employed indiscriminately for stocks. The next nearest relatives in the family line are the plums {Prunus), some of which answer very well as stocks for the almond, although very rarely used for FIG. 2. BUDDING KNIFE. this purpose. The next group in the line of botanical relationship are the cherries (Prunus cerasus), but these are too far removed to be employed as stocks for either the peach or almond. For budding are necessary a small knife for prepar- ing the buds for insertion and making an incision in the bark of the stock to admit tliem ; and a quantity of some material to tie around the stock, so as to hold the FIG. 3. YANKEE BUDDING KNIFE. bud in place. Budding knives are made after various patterns ; one that is commonly used has an ivory or bone handle, made very thin at the end, that is used to peel the bark from the stock where the bud is to be in- serted (Fig. 2). Another form of budding knife is made with a horn handle, and a small tapering piece of ivory fastened in the end. These knives, of various shapes and sizes, can be had at the seed stores ; but another and quite a different form of budding knife is shown in Fig. 3, and is known as the '^Yankee budding knife." It is THE ALMOKD. 25 merely a small one-bladed pocket knife with a thin blade, round at the end. The cutting portion extends about one-third around the end of the blade and two- thirds of its length, leaving the lower part dull. Al- though this form of budding knife has been in constant use in some of the older nurseries in this country for nearly a century, it does not appear to have been manu- factured for the general trade, but only on special orders for nurserymen. It is so simple a knife, however, that with a little grinding almost any small one-bladed pocket knife can be transformed into one of these handy bud- ding knives. The rounded end of the blade is used for lifting the bark, and for rapid work it is far more con- venient than any form of knife that must be reversed in the hand every time a bud is inserted. In addition, a polished bit of steel is smoother and far less likely to lacerate the alburnous matter between the bark and wood than the best piece of bone or ivory. It may be said, however, that it is immaterial what form of knife is employed, provided it has a keen edge and is dexter- ously used. The material most commonly used in times past for tying in the bud is the inner bark of the linden or bass- wood tree, usually called bass, and always to be pro- cured in the form of mats, or as prepared from our indigenous bass woods and kept on sale at the seed stores. Kecently, however, another excellent tying material has come into use, known in the trade as raffia or roffia. It is the cuticle of the Jupati palms. One species {Rayliia tmdigera) is a native of the lower valley of the Amazon and Orinoco, and another [R. Euffia) of Madagascar and adjacent islands. Raffia is somewhat softer and more pliable than the ordinary bass, although it does not hold its form quite as well ; but it is so cheap, soft and strong, that it has become very popular, and is extensively used for budding and many other purposes. But if none of 26 THE KUT CULTUEIST. these tying materials are at band, the inner bark of the persimmon, corn husks, cotton twine, woolen yarn, or even strips of old muslin and calico may be employed with equally as good results, although not as handy and convenient for such purposes. The amateur, with only a few stocks to bud, can readily imj^rovise implements and materi- als for doing the work, even if they are not of the regulation type. In selecting buds, the young shoots of the present season's growth are preferred, and these should be taken from the most healthy and vigorous branches of bearing trees, if possible. The leaves should be immediately removed, not by breaking or pulling off with the hand, but by severing the leaf- stalks with a knife, as shown in Fig. 4. If the leaves have fallen from the twig, the buds may be too ripe, with some kinds of plants, but with the almond, and where only a few leaves near the base have dropped, all may be used with fair success. If there are any soft and immature buds on the upper joart of the shoot, or any undeveloped ones at the base, they should be rejected. Success FIG. 4. PREPARED SHOOT, j^ buddlug dcpcuds vcry largely upon the condition of the stocks at the time the opera- tion is performed. Unless the sap is flowing and in sufficient abundance to allow the bark to part or peel readily from the wood underneath, the bud is certain to fail. If the buds used should happen to be a little over- THE ALMOND. 27 ripe or wholly dormant when placed m direct contact with the living tissues and the juices of the stock, tbey will absorb moisture and nutrimen-t, and be as likely to unite and live as under opposite conditions. In performing the o2)eration of budding, the follow- ing rules may be observed : Take the twig from which the buds are to be removed, in the left hand, with the small end pointing under the left arm ; insert the knife- blade half an inch, or a little more, below the bud, cut- ting through the bark and a little into the wood ; pass the knife under the hud, and bring it out about the same distance above it, taking off the bud with the bark, and a thin slice of wood attached, as at c, Fig. 4. Then, if using the Yankee budding knife, or one of similar form, let the forefinger clasp the lower part of the blade, make the horizontal incision in the stock first, and from this an incision downward about an inch long, — or it may be twice this length without doing any harm, — being careful not to cut too deep. Lift up the edge of the bark by pass- ing the back of the end of the blade (with- out removing it) up to the horizontal inci- fig. 5. inci- sion. Lift the bark on the other side in the sign for bud. same manner, the tw^o incisions making a wound in the stock resembling the letter T, as shown in Fig. 5. If other forms of budding knives are used, the thin end of the ivory handle is thrust under the bark, raising it sufficiently to admit the bud. The budder holds the bud between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand while making the incision in the stock ; and as the knife leaves it he places the lower point of the bark attached to the bud under the bark of the stock before this falls back into place, and thrusts it down into position. If the upper end of the bark attached to the hud does not 28 THE NUT CULTUEIST. pass completely under the bark of the stock, it must be cut across, so as to allow that which remains with the bud to fall into place and rest firmly on the wood of the stock, as shown in Fig. 6. When the bud is in position and fitted to the stock, as shown, wind the raffia, or other material used, around the stock, both above and below, covering the entire incision, leaving only the bud and part of leafstalk un- covered. Of course experienced propagators have their own individual systems and modes of operation, but the above may be taken as a safe guide for the amateur budder. The ligatures should be loosened or removed as soon as the bud has become firmly united with the stock, which will usually be in ten or fifteen days, if at all. When the buds have failed, others may be inserted, provided, of course, the stocks are in condition to admit of the operation. Exceptions, however, may be made where the budding has been done so late in the season that the stock has ceased to grow by the time the buds have taken, and in such cases the ligatures may be left FIG. 6. BUD IN on later and removed any time before POSITION. winter. In cold climates the snow, ice and water are likely to get in around the bud if the ligatures are not removed. But where the stocks are vigorous and the buds set early, there will be danger of the ligatures cutting into the bark as the stocks swell or increase in diameter, unless they are loosened or en- tirely removed. Under ordinary circumstances budded stocks should not be headed back until the following spring, and then should be cut off two or three inches above the inserted bud ; and when this pushes into growth, all suckers and sprouts below and above it should be rubbed off as they THE ALMOND. 20 appear, for the object is to throw the entire strength of the stock into this one bud, and when this has made a growth of two or three feet the short stump of the stock above the base of the shoot may be carefully removed with a sharp knife. This is usually done the last of July or first of August, which gives time for the healing of the wound before the close of the growing season. Sometimes it may be necessary to place small stakes by the side of these shoots for their support and to prevent breaking at the point of union with the stock ; but this will rarely be necessary, except in very exposed situations. If the young trees make a fairly good growth they will be ready for planting out in the orchard the follow- ing spring, and one-year-old almond trees are usually preferable for transplanting than older. It is not ad- visable to prune these young trees during the growing season the first summer, but allow all the side shoots or branches to grow unchecked, for by so doing we secure a more stocky plant, if not as tall a one, than we would if trimming up was practiced. But when the trees are taken up for transplanting, in the late fall or early spring, then they may be pruned and the lateral branches cut off close to the main stem, leaving a naked rod, and if low-headed trees are desired (and they usu- ally are), cut back the main stem to about three feet from the ground. If the young trees have made a growth of from four to six feet, then prune away the lateral branches to a hight of three feet or a little more, and cut in all branches above this point to within four to six inches of the main stem, leaving the buds on these stumps to form the head of the tree. Four or five branches at the top of the stem will be sufficient for the foundation for an open, round-headed tree, or in what may be termed a vase form, which is the best for almonds. 30 THE iN"UT CULTUEIST. Soil and Exposure for Almonds. — The almond requires a warm, ratlier light and well-drained soil. Cold, heavy clays, and low, moist soils, whether light or heavy, are always to be avoided for the almond and closely allied trees. That the soil should be moderately rich is, of course, a condition required with all culti- vated nut and fruit trees, but over-stimulation may re- sult in excessive and immature growth late in the sea- son, this leaving the twigs in such a state that they will be unable to resist even a few degrees of frost, to which they may be subjected the ensuing winter. In what are generally termed mild climates, or where the tempera- ture seldom goes more than four to six degrees below the freezing point, hardy trees, if they have made a late growth, are often injured more than they would have been in a colder climate, with early matured wood. There are many kinds of what we consider very hardy trees and shrubs here in the North, that are very likely to be winterkilled or severely frosted when grown at the South, simply because the conditions are such that they do not ripen up in time to resist the cold. In touching upon the subject of location for an almond orchard east of the Mississippi, I should be inclined to relegate this valuable nut to semi-tropical Florida, were it not for the fact that almost a score of ornamental species and varieties of the same genus, — to say nothing of the widely cultivated peach, — flourish over a very wide range of country and climate, and nowhere better than near the Atlantic ocean in the Mid- dle and some of the Northern States. It is also gener- ally conceded that several of what are called hard-shelled varieties thrive and bear fruit in nearly all of our best peach-growing regions. From all that I have been able to learn of almond culture, and with my own limited experience with this nut, experiments are wanting to prove that it cannot be successfully cultivated in the THE ALMOKD. 31 peach-growing region of the Eastern States. I will not say ^'profitably" cultivated, for this is a rather vague term when applied to horticultural operations of any kind. Success is not synonymous with profit ; in fact, it is frequently quite the opposite, and an abundant crop may mean glutted markets and a corresponding loss to the producer. But, to return to location, the principal cause of failure in almond culture, where it has been tried in the older States, seems to be the early blooming of the trees and subsequent destruction of the embryo fruit by frosts. To avoid this, high, open, airy situations, and even the north side of hills, would cer- tainly be preferable to southern slopes and protected locations, especially in the South or where the tempera- ture in winter does not go low enough to kill the wood of the previous season's growth. Theoretically, we might suppose that there are many locations favorable to al- mond culture in the elevated regions of North Carolina and Tennessee, as well as in the northern tier of counties in Alabama and Georgia. But in the absence of carefully conducted experiments in these regions, we have only to wait for their consummation at some future time, to prove the truth or falsity of our theory. In the rich, warm valleys of Kew Mexico, Arizona and California, congenial locations are plentiful, inas- much as almost every variety of climate is at hand, with a temperature ranging from that of perpetual summer to the opposite extreme, and all to be found within a few miles, and frequently to be found in the same county. Under such conditions, it rests with the would- be cultivator to decide upon the kinds of fruits desired, then to seek a location best adapted to his purpose. If, as claimed, — but not proven, — there are no limited or extended areas fitted for almond culture east of the Mississippi river, there are certainly plenty of such west of it, awaiting the industrious and intelligent nut 32 THE i^UT CULTUEIST. culturist. Almond orchards have been planted in Cali- fornia and Arizona, and the quality of the nuts, as well as the quantity, is very satisfactory ; but a greater number and more extensive orchards are needed to meet the home demand. Planting and Pruning. — In planting and pruning the almond tree the same system should be adopted as with its near relative, the peach. One-year-old bud- ded trees are preferred for planting in an orchard, to older, except in the case of seedlings, then two-year-old may be selected, because these are seldom larger than one-year budded trees. The trees should be set fifteen to eighteen feet apart, varying the distance according to variety, soil, and otlier local conditions, and it is best to place them in rows and at right angles, in order to ad- mit of cultivating both ways, as it is termed, thereby saving as much hand labor as possible. For the first two or three years after planting, all weeds and grass should be kept away from the stems and over the roots, either by frequent hoeing, or covering wdth a mulch. The best way, perhaps, to prevent the growth of weeds, is to use the land among the trees for some low-growing crops, such as beans, tomatoes, melons or potatoes, then see that the workmen, when hoeing these crops, hoe up the weeds and grass about the trees at the same time. We might reasonably suppose that the most careless cul- tivator of trees would think of this, but, unfortunately, extended observation proves quite the contrary, and it is scarcely possible to go through any very extensive fruit-growing region without seeing many such instances of neglect. A square yard or more of tough sward is frequently left for years undisturbed about the stems of all the trees in an orchard, while the little annual plants growing near by, and not worth, at an extreme valuation, five cents each, are cultivated with the great- est care. THE ALMOND. 33 The first pruning of the trees should be done at the time of transplanting from the nursery rows, us directed on a preceding page, and from the top of the stem only three or four shoots allowed to groAv the first season,, all others being rubbed off as soon as they appear, or when they have made a growth of tw^o or three inches. These three or four upper branches are to become the founda- tion of the future head of the tree, and should be allow^ed to grow unchecked the first season ; the next spring cut back one-half to two- thirds of their original length. This pruning will force out strong side or lateral shoots near the base, thus giving a sturdy foundation to build upon later, the pruner keeping in mind that the Aveaker the growth the more severe should be the pruning. Better leave a few strong buds, from which vigorous shoots will be produced, than a great number succeeded by many feeble twigs. If blossoms and fruit appear on the young two-year-old trees, a limited number may be left to mature, although no considerable crop ought to be gathered before the third year. In after years a somewhat different system of prun- ing may be ado^^ted, keeping in view the fact that the fruit buds and fruit are always produced on the young shoots of the previous season's growth, and for this rea- son an annual renewal of such parts of the tree is abso- lutely required, in order to secure a good crop on trees of any age. In some localities and countries it may be possible that almond trees produce a crop every year ; but this is scarcely to be expected anywhere. Conse- quently a system of pruning should be followed which will conform to the variations of circumstances and con- ditions ; and this brings us to the consideration of — The Proper Time to Prune. — If the growth of the trees and their fruiting were always uniform, then we might readily adopt some invariable system and season for pruning; but as we are dealing with uncertainties, 3 34 THE NUT CULTURIST. our rules must be equally flexible and variable. If the season is favorable, and the trees bloom freely and fruit sets abundantly, we may proceed to i3rune as soon as the embryo nuts are as large as peas, — but only cutting back some of the largest bearing shoots, and thinning out others here and there, just enough to equalize and evenly distribute the crop through the head of the tree. But in case the frost or cold of winter has destroyed the crop for the season, then as soon as this is discov- ered, prune and cut back all the shoots and branches sufficient to insure a vigorous growth of young bearmg wood for the ensuing year. Under this system of prun- ing we fix the time as after blooming in the spring, in order to have our work correspond to circumstances and conditions, and where there is a crop in prospect the pruning is comparatively light ; but if there is to be no fruit, or bat little, then one should aim to produce an abundance of bearing shoots for the following season. In other words, we prune severely in non-bearing years, whether they occur alternately or otherwise ; . but this system is only applicable to trees like the almond and peach, which j^i'oduce their fruit on the shoots of the preceding year's growth. VAEIETIES OF THE ALMOND. Almonds are usually divided into three groups, viz. : Bitter, hard-shelled, and soft, or pa|Der-shelled. In each there are many varieties, although they are rarely known in market except by the general name of the group to which they belong. If they are soft, hard or bitter, this is sufficient designation for commer- cial purposes, with, perhaps, the addition of the name of country in which they were grown, or that of the city or seaport from whence exported. Bitter Almond, Amygdalus communis amara. — The varieties of this group are not specifically distinct. THE ALMOiq^D. 35 and some have soft, thin shells, while others are thick and hard; but the karnels are very bitter, hence the name. But in the countries where these almonds are most extensively cultivated, as in the South of France,. Austria, Spain and Greece, the trees are generally raised from the nut, and, as might be expected, the crop pro- duced under such conditions is exceedingly variable, the nuts being large or small, and the shells of various de- grees of hardness, with an occasional tree producing both bitter and sweet kerneled nuts. These wilding trees are, in the main, more hardy than the imjDroved varieties, hence are largely employed as stocks for the better sorts, as well as for the plum and apricot. It is: also claimed that, as a rule, the bitter almond trees bloom later in the spring than those of the other two groups, and for this reason are not so liable to be injured by spring frosts. The trees are hardy in all of our most favorable peach-growing regions of the Middle and lS"orthern States, but some of the varieties ripen rather too late for localities north of the latitude of 'New York city. All this, however, and other obstacles, will soon disappear, whenever the time arrives for our horticultur- ists to take up almond culture and pursue it with half the zeal they have the cultivation of the peach and many other kinds of fruits. Hard- Shelled Almond, A. c. dulcis^ or sweet- kerneled almond. — The varieties of this group, as a whole, differ from those of the next only in the firmness of their shells, which are moderately firm, with a slightly rough and deeply pitted surface, as shown in Fig. 7. Varieties of this group are fully as large as, and perhaps a little longer than the thin-shelled, and the kernels are fully as valuable when removed and sold as shelled almonds. It may require a little more labor to crack and remove the kernels for market, but the difference is scarcely worth taking into consideration by the grower, 36 THE i^UT CULTUKIST. The common sweet, hard- shelled almond thrives in peach-growing regions as far north as Central ^ew York, and I well remember of seeing trees loaded with these nuts, in my boyhood days, in the western part of the State. The late Patrick Barry, in the Fruit Garden, when referring to this nut, says : ''This is a hardy and productive tree, succeeding well in the climate of West- ern New York, and still farther north. Nut very large, with a hard shell and a large sweet kernel ; ripe here (Rochester) about the first of Octo- ber. The tree is very vigorous, has mooth, glaucous leaves, and when in bloom in the spring is more bril- liant and show^y than any other fruit tree." Nearly every one of our noted horticulturists who have said any- thing about almond culture in the North, agree with Mr. Barry in re- gard to the beauty of this tree and FIG. 7. HAKD-SHEI.LED Its productivcuess ; but it is well to' ALMOND. i^ggp jjj^ mind that it is no more to be depended upon than the peach, and the barren years will far outnumber the bearing ones. But the almond is probably as certain here as in France, where it is cul- tivated extensively as an article of commerce, although a full crop once in about five years is about all that is expected. We can probably do much better than this, especially if proper attention is given to the production of new^ varieties adapted to our climate, as has been done in California with the almond, and here in the East with the peach and many other kinds of fruits ; and when such have been secured, proceed to multiply them in the usual mode of budding upon seedling stocks. Soft, or Brittle-Shelled, A. c. fragilis. — In this group we have many distinct varieties, besides THE ALMONJ). 37 THIX-SHELLED ALMOND. others which are known by local names, but have no permanent and prononncecl clistinguisliing cliaracter- istics that would aid in separating them, should this be desired. The most common form, widely known as the sweet-kerneled thin-shelled (Fig. 8), is one of the oldest in cultivation in European countries. The flowers usually apj^ear with the leaves, or before thej unfold, and are large and of a pale rose color. The tree is rather tender for latitudes north of Philadelphia, but succeeds south- ward, and westward to the Pacific, if late frosts do not come to destroy the flowers or embryo nuts. Large Fruited Almond, A. c. macrocarpa. — This is an old French variety, and perhaps most widely known as the Sultana, although the latter name is often applied in market to almost every variety of sweet almond. The leaves of the genuine variety are much broader than those of the preceding groups, and are smooth and deep green. Flowers very large and showy, of a pale r(%e color, and always appear in spring before the leaves, and for this reason it has long- been cultivated in England as an ornamental tree. Fruit large, depressed or flattened at the base, but pointed at the top. Shell rather hard and firm, and will withstand rough handling and transportation long distances. Ker- nel very sweet and tender, hence highly prized every- where. There are several sub-varieties ; one, known as the Pistache almond, is highly esteemed for the table, on account of its delicate flavor, altliough it is very small and not popular for commercial purposes. The Peach Almond, A. c. ])ersicoides. — This is another old variety, described by Du Hamel about the middle of the last centurv, under the name of Amandier- 38 THE is^UT CULTURIST. Peclier, or peach-leaved almond. Leaves similar to those of the common peach. Fruit ovate, obtuse; husk slightly succulent ; shell of a yellowish color, and the kernel sweet-flavored and excellent. Du Hamel says the fruit varies widely, even upon the same tree or branch, some having a dry, thin husk, while on others it is soft and fleshy, somewhat like that of the peach. As the almond and peach are of the same species, it w^ould not be at all strange if an occasional variety raised from the seed of either class should diverge towards, or even pass completely over to a closely allied group. From the varieties found in the forementioned groups we must seek to find, or produce therefrom, those which will succeed in this country wherever it may be thought desirable to attempt the cultivation of this nut. So far as my knowledge extends, no attempts have, as yet, been made to produce distinct American varieties in the Eastern States, as with its near relative, the peach, but all the almonds thus far cultivated here are of well- known foreign varieties. Perhaj)s the demand for almond trees has not been sufficient heretofore to en- courage very extended experiments in this direction, but I cannot believe that our people will continue for an- other century to import millions of pounds annually of almonds if it is possible to raise them in this country. That it is possible on the Pacific coast has already been fully demonstrated, but w^e want to see the field greatly enlarged, and give the people of the Eastern States a share in what is evidently soon to become a large and profitable industry. Ornamental Varieties of the Almond. — These are only referred to because some of the many in culti- vation belong to the groups producing the most valuable nuts, but the greater part of the purely ornamental vari- eties are worthless for other purposes. Amygdalus coch- inchinensis grows to quite a large tree in its native coun- THE ALMOND. 39 try, or thirty to forty feet high ; flowers small, white, produced in long racemes; tender. A. orientalis, a small shrub, with grayish or hoary leaves, and small rose-colored flowers ; sometimes cultivated under tlie name of argentea, or Silvery almond. A. incana (lioai-y) is another dwarf species, from the Caucasus, with soHtary red flowers. A. nana and A. ^^umila are oriental sj^e- cies of very dwarf shrubs, with either red or white flow- ers. The double-flowering varieties of these have long been inhabitants of our gardens. Properties and Uses. — For domestic purposes the almond is highly esteemed wherever it is known, and is employed in hundreds of different ways in the l^reparation of appetizing dishes and dainties for the table. In countries where this nut is in cultivation, it is brought to the table in the half-opened green husk, for at this time the kernels are just passing from the milky stage, and are considered more readily digested than later, or when fully ripe. But it is only when they are fully mature that they are gathered for market, and after thorough drying they are placed in strong sacks and distributed among dealers in all parts of the world. But only certain varieties are exported in this condition, and principally those with very thin shells, because these are most in demand, for the table and dessert, where the almond is not a home product. Other sweet varieties, whether with very hard or very tender shells, are cracked and only the kernels exported. The im- portation of shelled almonds into this country is some- what in excess of the unshelled, and as they are of greater value per pound, the duty levied is proportionally higher. There is also a great saving to the importer and consumer, — not only in freight, but the extraction ot the kernels is done in countries where labor is abundant and cheap. Whether the almond shells are used for any purpose in European countries, or are considered as 40 THE NUT CULTTEIST. wholly a waste product, I have been unable to learn, but it is asserted, and by men whose word is worthy of credence, that almond shells ground into a fine golden colored flour, is much used in this country for adulter- ating red pepper, cinnamon and other spices. Almonds are not only used extensively at all times and seasons, by persons of all ages and sexes, at table and elsewhere, but they are employed largely in the making of fancy confectionery with sugar, or in the form of salted almonds, the kernels having been first thor- oughly steamed or scalded, to remove the skin, and then rolled or dusted with fine salt. Prepared in this way they are usually considered more readily digestible and healthful than in their natural state. Sweet almonds are also valued in the form of emul- sions, as a medicine in pulmonary disorders, and the oil of almonds is a common standard article in the stock of druggists everywhere, as it enters into the composition of cosmetics, syrups, pastes and powders of various kinds. The kernels of the wild bitter almond contain a poisonous principle knowm as hydrocyanic or Prussic acid, .which does not exist in the sweet varieties, although found in their leaves and the bark of their twigs. But as bitter almonds are not palatable, there is little danger of anyone being poisoned from eating them, should these nuts ever be cultivated here for any special pur- pose, as in other countries. Insects and Diseases. — Whenever the almond tree becomes common here in orchards it will doubtless suffer from the attacks of the same kinds of natural en- emies as affect the peach. One of the most widely dis- tributed of these pests is the common peach-tree borer. The parents of these borers are small, slender-bodied, bluish, transparent-winged moths, the male somewhat smaller than the female. These moths usually appear THE almo:nd. 41 in this latitude during the month of June, and the female deposits her eggs on the stems of the trees near the surface of the ground, or a little below it if she can find a convenient opening to suit iier purpose. Tlie eggs deposited soon hatch, and the young larva? bore through the tender bark at this point, and when fairly under it, branch off, cutting galleries through the soft alburnum underneath. Yfhen a number of these borers are at work on the same tree they sometimes girdle and kill it the first season, especially if it is young or a small specimen. But if the tree is not killed outright it will shov/, by the check to its growth, that borers are at work. The borers continue feeding throughont the remainder of the season, and up to the time freezing weather sets in for the winter, and if not full grown at this time they will finish their growth early in spring, then crawl to near the outside, or just under the old bark, and there spin a thin cocoon, in which they are transformed to the pupal stage, remaining in this form for a few weeks, then issuing in the winged or moth stage. In the line of preventives and remedies there is nothing better than clean cultivation about the trees, and annual examination of each tree early in summer and the crushing of every borer found. The next best thing, in the way of a preventive, is to wrap the stems from a little below the surface of the ground to a foot or more above it with heavy paper, cloth, or bark of some kind, to keep the moth from laying her eggs on the bark of the tree. I have used common tar paper for this purpose, not only because it is very cheap and does not decay when exposed to the weather, but the exhalation or odor of tar seems to be offensive to the moths. In the use of this material I have never found that it was in the least injurious to the bark underneath. Painting the stems with soap, cement, clay, or even common 42 THE KUT CULTUKIST. mineral paints, will answer very well if a little care is given to keeping down the number of insects by remove ing the larger part of the borers with knife or gonge. In recent years a i^est known as the '^shot-hole borer" (Scolytus rugulosus) has appeared in many and widely separated localities, in both the Eastern and AYestern States, attacking the almond, peach and plum tree. It is supposed to have been introduced from Europe with imported nursery stock, and thence rapidly distributed, by similar means, through the country. In its perfect stages it is a minute brown beetle, about one- twelfth of an inch long and one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter. This pest appears about midsummer, boring numerous minute holes through the bark and into the sapwood uDderueath, and in this the female deposits her eggs, and from these are hatched the little grubs found later feeding on the soft inner bark and alburnous matter beneath it. Erom every hole made in the bark a small globule of gum will soon appear, drying upon the surface — thence onward until autumn — and glisten- ing in the sun, an immutable sign of the presence of a minute but destructive enemy. AYheu the beetles and their eggs are once in posses- sion there is no practical way known of removing them, and the best thing to be done is to cut down and burn every infested tree, and just as soon as it is known to be in this condition. There are also several indigenous species of bark beetles, which will very likely attack almond trees as soon as they are as abundant as peach trees, but all may be destroyed with the same, or very similar weapons and materials. What are called preventives consist mainly of sub- stances to be applied to the stems in a semi-liquid form, and of such a nature as to be offensive to the beetles because of their odor, taste, or because so hard that the insects cannot cut through them with their mandibles. THE ALMOND. 43 Common lime whitewash, soft soap, whale-oil soap, or a thin mineral paint made of pure linseed oil, will answer yery well for this purpose if applied often enough to keep the bark constantly coated. Of the fungous diseases affecting the almond in tliis country, very little is as yet known, although we may safely include under this head all those that have been inimical to the peach, for the transition from this tree to the almond would only be a natural sequence. The peach-leaf curl {Taplirina deformans) would not be far from home on the almond leaf, neither could we expect that almond orchards would be wholly exempt from that mysteriously distributed and uncontrollable disease known as ^^ peach yellows." In California an almond-leaf blight has already ap- peared and seriously affected the trees in some of the orchards. It is caused by a fungus known as Cercospora circumscissa Sacc. This fungus attacks the leaves and young twigs, causing the former to fall off early in the season, thereby checking the growth of the tree and pre- venting the maturing of the fruit. It is thought that remedies may be applied to check this disease, and there will probably be some form of copper solution em]3loyed for destroying it, as with various species of fungi on other kinds of fruit trees. CHAPTEE III. THE BEECHXUT. Fagiis, Linn, The Beecli. The Latin name of the genus {Fagus) supposed to be an equivalent of the Greek pliegos, an oak, or it may be derived from ])liago, to eat ; the nuts of this tree having been used as food by man in all ages and countries where it is a native. The modern English name, beech, was probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon lece or hoc ; in Dutch it is heiih ; French, lietre ; Icelandic, heyh ; Danish, hog ; Swedish, hah; G-erman, huclie or huoche; Eussian, huh; Italian, faggio ; Armenian, /(^o; and in Welsh ffaiuydd. The beech belongs to the order CiqniUfercB, or oak family. The genus contains about fifteen species of handsome deciduous and evergreen trees, or shrubs, very widely distributed throughout the temperate and colder regions of both the northern and southern hemispheres. Male flowers are bell-shaped, in long-stalked drooping heads ; calyx five to seven cleft, containing numerous stamens. Female flowers two to four in a clnster on the summit of the scaly-bracted peduncle ; the inside scales uniting, forming a four-lobed involucre of imbricated bracts, the whole becoming at maturity a somewhat prickly, scaly bur, within which are found a pair of sharp-edged triangular nuts, containing a tender and sweet-flavored kernel. History of the Beech. — The common beeches of both Europe and ]N"orth America are so closely related that the two species may be considered as one for all practical purposes, such as propagation, cultivation, and 44 THE BEECHNUT. 45 yalue of the wood and nuts. It is true, however, that our native beech is not environed with ancient myths and stories of love and war, neither is it celebrated in poetry and song, yet it has, doubtless, played just as noble a part in human affairs among the pre-historic races of America as those recorded of its Euro23ean con- temporary.- As the beech in Europe is found m the forests of G-reat Britain, Norway, Sweden, France, Ger- many, and southward to Constantinople, Palestine, Asia Minor and Armenia, it was well known and highly ap- preciated by all the early inhabitants of these countries, and is frequently referred to by the earlier writers of Greece and Rome who touch upon the rural affairs of their times. It is supposed that Theophrastus refers to the beech under the name of Oxua, and Dioscorides as PJiegos, and the latter author places it among the oaks, in which he was not far out of the way, because the beech is a member of the oak family in our modern classification. Virgil and Pliny speak highly of the little triangular nuts, and the people of their times set considerable yalue upon beechnuts as an article of food. Pliny also assures us that at the siege of Chios, the be- sieged inhabitants lived for some time entirely on these nuts. We are inclined to think, however, that both Virgil and Pliny are in error when they tell us that the beech was propagated by being grafted on the chestnut. They were probably led astray in this by some romancing gardener of their time, for we even have some of the same ilk with us at this day. Pliny refers to the beech several times in his writings, and places a much higher value upon this nut than he does upon the chestnut ; in fact, speaks rather contemptu- ously of the latter, and seems to be surprised that nature should have taken such care of the nuts, which he calls '^vilissima,'' as to enclose them with a prickly involucre or bur. 46 THE :n^ut cultueist. But my limited space will not allow of tracing the history of the beech from ancient to modern times, although it has always been esteemed as food for man, as well as for wild and domesticated animals. Swine fat- tened on beech and oak mast have for ages been noted for their excellent flesh, and the value of many an old estate in Great Britain was determined more upon the mast the forest produced, than the area or number of square miles they contained. As a monumental tree the beech has no rival, for its smooth gray bark, perennial and almost unchange- able, has ever been a convenient place to register chal- lenges to enemies, epitaphs, epithets, and probably more frequently than all, the initials of the name of some loved one, who might possibly pass that way and find her name engraved on the beechen tree. I doubt much if there is a beech grove in all Europe or in America, within a convenient distance of a city, country village or schoolhouse, on which the bark of the trees is not scar- ified by the knives of boys in recording the initials of their own names, and those of their favorites of the op- posite sex. These living registers were long ago recog- nized by the poets, and more than eighteen centuries ago Virgil admits it in these lines : " Or shall I rather the sad verse repeat, Which on the beech's bark I lately writ." In more modern tinijs Tasso hints of the same habit, in Jerusalem Delivered, to wit : " On the smooth beechen rind, the pensive dame Carves in a thousand forms her Tancred's name." That the Spanish youths were not oblivious to their opportunities for recording the names of their favorites we must assume to be true, from the lines of Don Luis de Gongora, who tells us that : " Not a beech but bears some cipher, Tender word, or amorous text. If one vale sounds Angelina, Angelina sounds the next." THE BEECHNUT. 47 Propagation of the Beech. — The beech, in all its species and varieties, may be propagated by the usual modes, viz. : By seed, layers, budding and grafting. The seeds, when gathered, should be mixed with clean, sharp, moist sand, placed in boxes, and then stored in a cool or cold place and carefully protected from mice, until the time arrives for sowing in spring. They may also be sown in the fall and lightly covered with leaf mold or other light soil, but unless coated with tar or some offensive poisonous substance, vermin of some form will be yery likely to find them and leave few to grow. Seedlings are used for stocks upon which to work the many yarieties in cultivation ; but as I am not writing this for the encouragement of propaga- tors of purely ornamental trees, I will omit giving any very extended description of the different modes of propagating the beech, farther than to say that should remarkably fine varieties with extra-sized nuts be discovered or produced, they can be perpetuated and multiplied by the same processes adopted for other kinds of nut trees. Soil and Location. — The beeches of N'orthern countries, in their many yarieties, thrive best in a cool, moist soil, for their roots rarely penetrate very deeply, but spread out widely and near the surface, forming an intri- cate network, which will try the patience of the wood- man who attempts to clear away a forest of beech and break up the ground. In this country, as well as in Europe, the beech thrives in calcareous soils, or what is usually termed limestone regions ; consequently, when transplanted or raised in sandy soils, or on the red sand- store formation, light applications of lime are usually found very beneficial ; but more than all, the beech re- quires moisture, and if not j^hmted in a moist soil the surface over the roots should be kept constantly covered with some kind of mulch. 48 THE NUT CULTURIST. Species and Varieties of the Beech. — In the Dictionary of Gardening, edited by Greorge Nicholson, of the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, the fol- lowing species of Fagns are briefly described, viz : F. antarctica. — Leaves ovate, blunt, glabrous, atten- uated at the base, doubly dentate, alternate, petiolate, one and a half inches long. A small deciduous tree or shrub, with rugged, tortuous branches. Xative of Tierra del Fuego, S. A. F. lehiloides (birch-like). Evergreen beech. — Leaves ovate, ellijotic, obtuse crenulate, leathery, shining glabrous, round at the base or short footstalks. An evergreen tree, native of Tierra del Fuego, S. A. F. ferruginea (rusty). American beech. — Leaves ovate, acuminate, thickly toothed, downy beneath, cili- ate on the margin. A large deciduous tree, very closely resembling the common European species, from which it is distinguished by its longer, thinner and less shin- ing leaves, F. ohliqna (oblique). Chile beech. — Leaves ovate, oblong, oblique, somewhat rhomboid, blunt, doubly ser- rated, entire at the base, attenuated into the petiole, and somewhat downy. A hardy deciduous tree, native of the cooler elevated regions of Chile, S. A. F. sylvatica (sylvan). European beech. — Leaves ob- long, ovate, obscurely toothed ; margin ciliate. A well- known large deciduous tree, widely distributed in Europe from N'orway southward to Asia Minor. From this spe- cies a large number of ornamental varieties have been produced, many of them merely accidental variations of the wild forms of the forests, while others have origi- nated in the seedbeds of nurserymen. But so far as I am aware, no variety has ever been introduced bearing su^Derior or improved forms of nuts. Our American beech {F. ferruginea) is a widely distributed tree, extending from Nova Scotia in the THE BEECHNUT. 49 north, south to Florida, and westward to Wisconsin and Missouri. Formerly it was exceedingly abundant, but like many other of our most valuable forest trees, it is disappearing before the axe of the woodman, who has always found a ready sale for beech timber. It is used in the manufacture of plane stocks, shoe lasts, handles for paring chisels, and hundreds of similar articles. Beech wood is hard, firm, and takes a good polish, but is not very flexible. It makes excellent fuel, and ranks next in value to hard maple and hickory for this purpose. In the more northern States and where the beech grows to its largest size, the heartwood is usually of a reddish color; but here in New Jersey and farther south, the wood is usually white almost to the center of the tree, no matter how large it may be. The color of the wood, however, does not in any way detract from its value, for fuel and many other j)urposes, although some European dendrologists have been deceived into supposing that the white beech was almost or quite worthless. Loudon, in Arljoretum et Friiticetum Britannicum, Vol. Ill, in re- ferring to our beech, says: ''The wood of the white beech is little valued in America, even for fuel ; and the bark is used for tanning, but is little esteemed," etc. But if any one, in these later years, has had occasion to purchase beech timber for any j)urpose, he has probably learned, from the price charged, that it is esteemed, even for such base purposes as firewood. I am not, however, attempting to extol the Ameri- can beech as a timber tree, but ask that it be given a place among the select ornamental nut-bearing kinds. And I think every farmer who has a pasture lot could afford a place for at least one beech tree, and if there is a low, moist spot in the field, or a stony corner, this will be a suitable place for such a tree ; and the horses, cattle or sheep out in j^asture during hot days in sum- mer will be very grateful for the shade which a wide- 4 50 THE i^UT CULTUBIST. spreading specimen will give them. It may be that the owner of said pasture may recall the lines of Garcilaso : " But in calm idlesse laid, Supine in the cool shade Of oak or ilex, beech or pendant pine, Sees his flocks feeding stray. Whitening a length of way. Or numbers up his homeward-tending kine." He may be sure of one thing, and that is, the beech- nuts produced by one or many trees will always be ac- cei^table to the children, and of these hungry mortals there is likely to be a few, at least, roaming about in ages to come, as in times past. The beech is not really a desirable tree to plant on a lawn or near one's dwelling, because of its persistent foliage, which clings to the twigs yery late in winter, and the rustling of the wind through the dry leaves is not soothing to one's neryes, although not quite as dis- mal as the moaning pines. In summer, and until late in autumn, the American beech is a noble and graceful tree, — and if I may be allowed the expression, one of the cleanest of trees; its large, thin, bright-green and glossy leaves retain none of the dust and cast-off mate- rial of other trees which may be floating through the air, but are ever bright and pure. The tree has natu- rally wide-spreading and somewhat drooping branches, and should be given plenty of room for development when planted for the nuts or as an ornamental tree. Its leaves and the small slender branchlets (Fig. 9) are eaten with avidity by all kinds of farm animals ; consequently, protection may be required until the trees have reached a hight to be safe from such depredators. Beech seedlings do not. usually come into bearing in less than twenty to thirty years, but as no one in this country has ever attempted to cultivate this tree for its THE BEECHKUT. 51 nuts, or search onr forests for precocious and superior varieties, we have to admit that the field remains unex- plored, and as barren of results as it was when our an- cestors first discovered America. Every hunt- er, woodman, farmer and botanist who has roamed through for- ests where the beech trees grow, is well aware of the fact that distinct varieties are not at all rare, some having nuts twice the size of others in the same woods or groves, and it is possible and probable that some nut culturist in the near future will find time to select these choice wild varieties for cultivation and propagation. It would not, in my opin- ion, be beneath the dignity of our national department of agricul- ture, or some of its numerous costly an- nexes, to occasionally take into considera- tion the natural prod- ucts of this great pig. 9. beechnut leap, bur and nut. country, and determine, by a series of experiments^ whether or no they were not worthy of attention. 52 THE I^UT CULTUEIST. Insects Injurious to the Beech. — No' disease has, as yet, been known to seriously affect the beech, and as for insect enemies, it probably has a less number than any other denizen of our forests. It is true that transplanted trees, and those left exposed by cutting away protecting neighbors, are sometimes attacked by borers in the stem, branches and twigs, but these ene- mies naturally follow in the train of debility, it being , one of the immutable economic laws of nature to hasten the demise and decomposition of the half-starved or otherwise enfeebled members of both the animal and vegetable kingdom. Isolated beech trees growing by the roadsides in parks and fields are occasionally attacked by a large grayish, long-horn beetle, the Goes j^i^^'^^erule/ita. It is about one inch long, and a rather sturdy beetle of a light grajdsh color, and usually infests the branches, but may occasionally attack the main stem. It is not abundant, and has seldom been found infesting the beech. There are also two or three borers of the Bu- prestis family of beetles which occasionally attack beech trees. They are distinguished by the broad heads and flattened bodies of the grubs, and they work just beneath the bark in the sapwood, causing dead patches, mainly on the south side of the stem and larger branches. If the dead bark is removed and the wounds painted they will soon heal over, unless the tree is suffering for mois- ture and nutrients at the roots. A few twig borers, with an occasional colony of caterpillars on the leaves, embody about all the insect enemies of the beech calling for any special attention, but there are a host of different species and kinds ever ready to pounce upon a sickly or dead tree, whether found in the field or forest. Properties and Uses. — The beechnut has been so long and favorably known that very little need be said here in regard to its properties and uses. In the forests THE BEECHKUTo 53. it affords food for many kinds of birds, such as the wild turkey, partridge or grouse, and especially the pigeon, and immense flocks of these collect in the beech forests in autumn to feed upon the nuts. Deer are very fond of these nuts, and so are all of the squirrel family, and the little ground squirrel or chipmunk, Tamias striattis, of our Northern States, gives us a good practical lesson in the way of preserving the nuts over winter. These little rodents jDack away the nuts in small pockets in their burrows and from two to three feet below the sur- face, where they are protected from excessive moisture and any considerable change of temperature. The chip- munk always stores the nuts in the ground, and not in hollow logs, as is sometimes asserted. The deer-mouse {Hesperomys leucopus), however, does select such places for putting away his winter's supply, but more fre- quently he chooses a hollow in the stem of some old tree, and several feet from the ground. Unlike the chip- munk, this mouse cleans the shells from the kernels, storing only the latter, and I have often found a quart or more wnen cutting down trees in winter. These ker- nels are usually so clean, bright, and free from odor, that it is to be feared the finder always confiscates them for his own use. As the beechnut contains considerable oil, many schemes have been set on foot, in European countries, for its extraction and use as a salad oil. Early in the last century (1721) Aaron Hill, an English poet, pro- posed to pay off the national debt from the profits to be derived from the manufacture of beechnut oil ; but his scheme fell through, like many others of its kind. It is also stated that Henry Fielding, so well known by his delightful stories of English society, once speculated rather largely on the manufacture of beechnut oil. In France, however, beechnut oil was formerly made in considerable quantities, and used in cooking fish and as 54 THE NUT CULTURIST. a salad oil. In Silesia it is used by the country people instead of butter, and the cakes which remain from the pressure are given to fatten swine, oxen and poultry. The forests of Eu and of Crecy, in the department of the Oise, it is stated by Duhamel du Monceau, have yielded, in a single season, more than 2,000,000 bushels of mast, but probably this referred to all kinds of nuts, and not beechnuts alone. Years later, or in 1779, Michaux states that the forests of Compiegne, near the Yerberie department of the Somme, afforded oil enough to supply the wants of the district for more than half a century. In some parts of France beechnuts are roasted and served as a substitute for coffee. Many of these old forests have disappeared, but other kinds of nut trees are still being planted in France, and the product is simply enormous, and a source of wealth to the j)easant, as well as the owners of extensive forests and orchards. The beechnut has never been an article of commerce in this country, and it is rarely seen on sale in either country villages or our larger cities, not because of its scarcity or want of demand, but all that the country boys and girls find time to gather are wanted for their own pleasure and use. Picking up beechnuts among the leaves in a forest, or even after raking off the leaves and then whipj^ing the trees, is, at best, slow and rather tedious work, as I know full well from experience, and only once do I remember of having secured a rounded half bushel as the sum total of many raids on the beech trees in the neighborhood. But as the beechnut is the diamond among the larger and less precious gems of our forests, we should set a higher value upon it because small and rather difficult to obtain. CHAPTER lY. CASTANOPSIS. California chestnut. Western chinquapin. Evergreen chestnut. Oastanopsis, Spacli. Name derived from Castanea, the chestnut. Order, Cu])ulifer(B. A genus of ever- green shrubs and trees, intermediate between the oaks {Quercus) and the chestnuts {Castanea). There are about a dozen species indigenous to Eastern Asia and the adjacent islands. Blume, in "Flora Javae," Vol. II, 1828-36, describes three species under Castanea, ^vhich he found in the mountains and more elevated regions of the Javanese islands. Very little, however, is known of these oriental evergreen chestnuts outside of the herba- rium.s of professional botanists, and they are rarely re- ferred to, even in standard botanical dictionaries, or dictionaries of gardening, and when mentioned they are usually placed in the genus Castanea. Edouard Spach, a half-century or more ago, gave a synopsis of the genus, for which he pi^oposed the name of Castano2)sis, and although nofc recognized -by botanists in general for a number of years, it is now accepted by botanical author- ities everywhere. We have but one indigenous species, and this on the Pacific coast, viz : Castanopsis chrysophylla, A. de Candolle. Casta- nea clirysophylla, Douglas. Castanea semper vir ens, Kellogg. "Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, lanceolate or oblong, one to four inches long, acuminate or only acutish (Fig. 10), cuneate at base and shortly petioled, entire green and glabrous above or somewhat scurfy, densely scurfy 55 56 THE KUT CULTUKIST. beneath, with none or few yellow scales ; male aments one to three inches long, densely pubescent ; styles three, stout, glabrous, divergent; fruiting involucre with stout divergent spines (Fig. 11) one-half to one inch long. FIG. 10. LEAVES AND NUT OF CASTANOPSIS CHKYSOPHYLLA. subverticillately many branched ; nut usually solitary, obversely triangular, six lines long." — '' Geological Survey of California," Botany, Vol. II, p. 100. *^This handsome broad-leaved evergreen tree is in- digenous to the elevated regions, from Monterey, Califor- nia, northward to the Columbia river in Oregon. It is also common in the Sierra Nevadas at elevations of six CASTA NOPSIS. 57 thousand feet, but in its southern limits rarely below ten thousand feet elevation." — 0. S. Sargent (^MVoods of the United States"). In the warmer and drier regions of California it is a mere shrub two to six feet high, and these dwarf forms have, in some instances, been described as varieties. As, for instance, Castanea chryso]jhylla, var. minor, Bentham ; C. cliryso]i)Jiylla, var. mino?% A. de Candolle ; and C. cJirysophylla, var. pumila, Vasey. But north- ward, where the cli- . \\i mate is more moist, it becomes a large tree fifty to one hundred and twenty feet high, with a stem two to three feet in diameter. In its wide variation in habit of growth, this western chinqua- pin is similar to our Eastern dwarf chest- nut, which is mainly a low shrub in the more Southern States, but becomes a fair-sized tree in the Middle States, or near its northern limits. I have introduced the AYestern chinquapin here among the nut-bearing trees, not with the idea that it will ever be extensively cultivated for its edible nuts, but because it is a beautiful broad-leaved evergreen tree, and of which we have far too few kinds in cultivation to give warmth and a cheerful aspect to our gardens and pleasure grounds in winter. It is true that, so far as can be learned at this time, no extended experiments have ever been made to introduce or cultivate the Casta- nopsis in the Atlantic States, consequently nothing pos- FIG. 11. CASTANOPSIS BUR. oS THE NUT CULTURIST. itive is known as to whether it will succeed here or not. In its northernmost range it thrives in forests among many kinds of trees and shrubs that are abeady common in our gardens, and this leads me to think that speci- mens or seeds of this tree procured from the mountains of northern Oregon will withstand the rigors of our climate. Mr. S. B. Parsons writes me that he first saw Cas- tanopsis chrysophylla ni Kew Gardens (Eng.) thirty-fiye years ago, and procured specimens, which were planted in his gardens at Flushing, N. Y., but they failed, pre- sumably because not hardy. It may be that his speci- mens were raised from nuts procured in the warmer part of California, and, as with many other Pacific coast plants, proved to be tender, while later introductions of the same species collected in colder- localities have proved hardy here. In my experience I have found a great dif- ference in the hardiness of trees and plants obtained from the higher and lower levels of the mountains from Colorado westward to the Coast range, for in those re- gions acclimation extending over thousands of years has developed and fixed certain physiological attributes, which enables them to readily adapt themselves to simi- lar conditions elsewhere, especially in the line of tem- perature. It may make no difference to those who want plants for warm climates, whether they are obtained from mountain or valley, but it certainly does to those who value hardiness above all other merits. In horticultural matters we are supposed to confine ourselves within certain natural lines in making experi- ments, but if we fail in one, or one hundred, it proves little beyond the bare fact that we have not been suc- cessful. I have experimented enough to have become somewhat wary of deciding that a thing cannot be done, or is impossible, because of my own and others' failures. Every practical horticulturist can call to mind many CASTANOPSIS. 59 productions which had evaded the pursuit of experi- menters for decades and even centuries. For specimens of the nuts, burs and plants of this handsome nut-bearing tree I am nidebted to Mr. J. J. Harden, of Stayton, Oregon, who informs me that it grows in the mountains near by to a very large size, and among such well-known kinds of shrubs and trees as Rhamniis Purshianus, Cornus NuttalU, Corylusrostrata, and various species of conifers which are now more or less common in our Eastern gardens and parks. The twigs and leaves are shown in Fig. 10, and below a nut, and in Fig. 11 a bur, all of natural size. The small con- ical nut is slightly triangular, with a rather firm, brittle shell, not fibrous as in the acorn and chestnut. The burs are produced singly, but sometimes several on a twig, and when mature, instead of opening by valves, as in the true chestnut, they break up irregularly. The kernels are sweet and excellent flavored, and are sought for by yarious kinds of birds, as well as by all the squirrel tribe, and for this reason it is very difficult to procure specimens, unless gathered before they are fully ripe. The nuts do not mature the first season, but pass the winter in a partly developed stage, usually ripening the second year about midsummer or, in northern Oregon, in July. It is quite probable that this Oastanopsis, when planted in the Atlantic States, will require a little shade or protection, like the American holly and similar broad- leaved evergreens, and while it may not thrive anywhere north of Delaware and Maryland, it is worth trying, as the sole native representative of a genus containing sev- eral species of noble evergreen trees. CHAPTER V. THE CHESTXUT. Castanea, Tournefort. The ancient classical name derived either from Castanis, a town in Thessaly, or one in Pontius, as historians disagree in regard to its deriva- tion. The genus belongs to the order Ciij)idiferm. Male flowers irregularly clustered in long, naked, cylindrical catkins from the axils of the leaves and on the new shoots of the season. Calyx five or six ^Darted ; stamens or pollen-bearing organs seven to fifteen ; an- ther two-celled. On old, mature trees, the male catkins are usually crowded near the end of the short new twigs, as shown in Fig. 12, the terminal one productive ; but on young thrifty trees, wide apart. Female flowers always on and near the base of a late-developed male catkin, sometimes two or three together, — or even six or eight on the chinquapins, — oval or ovoid, scaly, prickly, two- to four-valved involucre or bur ; calyx usually with a four- to six-lobed border crowning the three- to seven- celled ovary ; stigmas bristle-shaped, and as many in number as there are cells in the ovary. Shell of the nut leathery,' not brittle, ovoid, two or more together in the larger species, in others solitary, or only one in a bur. Kernel very thick, fleshy, and somewhat plaited, sweet and edible. Both male and female flowers appear late in spring, the males usually exceedingly so, exhaling a slightly nau- seating odor. The productive male catkins appear the latest, their base becoming the rachis or stalk support- ing the burs, this rather anomalous arrangement appear- 60 THE CHESTNUT. 61 FIG. 12. CHESTNUT FLOWERS. 62 THE NUT CULTURTST. ing to be a natural j)rovisioii to secure fertilization in case the earlier catkins failed. The genus Castanea, as now restricted, contains shrubs and large trees, with simple, alternate deciduous leaves, coarsely serrate, with pointed spiny teeth. In- digenous, and widely distributed oyer northern Africa, southern Europe, Asia and the eastern half of the United States. The common English name of this nut is supposed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon cystel, chestnut, and cysi-heam or ciden-beam, chestnut tree ; Old Eng- lish, cliastein or cliesten ; Old German, chestinna or Icestinna; Modern German, hestene or kastanie ; French, castaigne or chataigne; Provencal, castanlia; Spanish, castana; Italian, castagna, from the Latin castanea. History of the Chestnut. — The so-called Euro- pean chestnut is supposed to be indigenous to Asia Minor, Armenia, Caucasus and northern Africa, and from these countries it was introduced and became nat- uralized throughout the greater part of temperate Eu- rope, where it has been cultivated from time immemo- rial. The Eomans are supposed to have distributed it northward through France and Great Britain, and in the latter country there were trees centuries ago -of such large size that many of the early English authors claimed this tree was indigenous. But in the absence of any natural forests of chestnut, the claim had to be aban- doned. In parts of France, Italy and Spain, the chest- nut has become thoroughly naturalized and, as we may say, run wild, but as one of the early investigators says, in speaking of the abundance of old chestnut trees on the Apennines, they are generally scattered over the surface like trees on a well-arranged lawn, and not crowded and massed, as they would be in a state of nature or in a forest. On the south side of the Alps the trees grow up to an altitude of twenty-five hundred feet. THE CHEST]S"UT. 63 and on the Pyrenees some two or three linndred feet higher. There are old trees of immense size almost every- where in the milder regions of Europe, and the cele- brated monarchs of Etna have been many times de- scribed by travelers. The largest measure one hundred and eighty feet in circumference near the root. All the early Roman writers who have anything to say about rural affairs, mention the chestnut as one of their val- uable trees, producing nuts used for various purposes. Pliny enumerates eight varieties, but Columella appears to place more value upon the timber, especially the sprouts, for stakes, than he does on the nuts. But long before the Eomans began to cultivate the chestnut, the Greeks held it in high esteem under the name of Sarcli- mios Balanos or Sardis nut, and still later it was called Dios Balanos Lopimon, The European chestnut has been so frequently and extensively referred to by ancient and modern authors that it would not be at all difficult to fill a large volume with brief extracts from their works, but my aim is not so much to show what has been done with this nut in other countries as what we may do with it here. All nations who have any experience with it admit its value as food for many wild and domesticated animals, as well as for the human race, and we know, from our long experience with the native species, that it is highly esteemed wherever known, although it must be admitted that our sparse population and the abundance of other kinds of food, have tended to make us careless and neglectful of the indigenous chestnut. It may be well, before dismissing this brief history of the chestnut, to add that while nearly all the ancient authors, in referring to it, employed its present scien- tific name of Castaoiea, still, when botanists first at- tempted what has since been recognized as the scientific 64 THE JSUT CULTUKIST. classification of plants, many of them placed the chest- nut in the same genus as the beech, retaining the gen- eric name of Fagus for both. Linnaeus, in his Sy sterna Naturce, 1766, Vol. II, p. 630, describes two species of the chestnut and one of beech in the genus Fagus, although Tournefort, in his ^'History of Plants Growing About Paris," published seventy years before that of Linnaeus, had recognized the distinctive characteristics of these two groups of nut trees, and he adopted the present name of Castanea for the generic name of the chestnut, and Fagus for that of the beech. But nearly all of the English and earlier American botanists adopted and followed Linn^us in his classification, ignoring the works of the earlier as well as contemporaneous continental botanists. I merely refer to this matter of botanical nomenclature because some of my readers may have occasion to consult the earlier authors who describe American plants, as, for instance, such works as John Clayton's ^^ Flora of Vir- ginia," 1739, Thomas Walter's ^' Flora Oaroliniana," 1787, or Humphrey Marshall's ^'American Grove," 1785. In all of these, and others, the chestnut is described as a species of beech {Fagus). Propagation of the Chestnut. — The usual mode of propagating the chestnut is from seed, when trees are wanted for general j)lanting or for stocks upon which to graft improved and rare varieties. Under some con- ditions and circumstances, ifc is best to plant the nuts soon after they are ripe in autumn, and this appears to be the most natural method; in fact, it is the way in which forests have been produced and are constantly renewed and perpetuated, when man does not interfere to prevent it. But nature is in no hurry in such mat- ters, while man always is, because his time is limited ; consequently, in our attempts at the multiplication and cultivation of plants we aim to save both time and mate- THE CHESTNUT. 65 rial, therefore cannot aiford to adopt nature's slow and wasteful processes. The principal objection to planting chestnuts in the fall is the danger of having them destroyed by vermin, which abound almost everywhere. There is also danger of the nuts sprouting prematurely in the autumn, and of the young growth being killed by cold or by excessive moisture during late fall rains. But these natural enemies and obstacles prevent an excess in number and the overcrowding of trees in our forests. It is, no doubt, possible and practicable to smear the nuts with poison- ous substances, or those sufficiently offensive to prevent ther depredations of vermin, but taking all things into consideration, I am decidedly in favor of preserving the nuts in bulk and in a dormant state until the season arrives for insuring a rapid and continuous growth, and then planting them. To do this in our cold northern climate, as well as in the South, requires more care and attention with chestnuts than with the harder-slielled kinds, like the walnut and hickory nut. As a rule, it may be said that all the hardy kinds of nuts sprout at a rather low temperature and a few degrees above the freezing point, and for this reason it is well to select as cool a spot in the open ground as possible for their winter quarters, and then examine them as early as can be done conveniently in the spring. In this matter of manipulating and preserving chestnuts for jDlanting, as well as what follows in regard to transplanting, pruning and grafting, I shall give my own practice, with results ; and while it may differ from that of other propagators, it is one evolved from long experience, many successes, and a few failures. Gathering and Assorting Nuts. — When the nuts begin to ripen and fall, gather as soon as possible, and if the trees are on your own grounds and will admit of such an operation, thrash them and secure the entire 5 Q6 THE i?UT CULTURIST. crop at once. The object of this early gathering is to collect the false and weeyil-infested specimens and de- stroy them. Bnt in whatever way the nuts are collected, they should be stored in the shade and in shallow boxes, or spread out on a tight floor ; but the better way w^onld be on screens over a floor, and then when the grubs worked their way downward through the nuts and screen, they would fall upon the floor, from which they could be taken up and burned or otherwise destroyed. The nuts, while on the screen or other receptacle, should be stirred over daily for two or three weeks, and by that time they will be in good condition for either planting or 23acking away for the winter. But before finally dis- |)osing of the nuts in either way, they should be carefully looked over, and every shrunken specimen, as well as all with punctured shells from which the grubs have es- caped, removed from among the sound stock, because these damaged nuts are not only useless, but are very likely to decay and affect all with which they come in contact. It is not to be expected that by such means or handling we can get rid of all the grubs enclosed in the nuts when gathered, for there will always be a few not more than half grown at the time, and these will remain hidden in the nuts until midwinter, or later, but the greater part of the brood will reach maturity within two or three weeks after the nuts are ripe. Of course, what is said here about chestnut weevils is only applicable to chestnuts grown in this country, but all species and vari- eties, when planted here, are subject to the attacks of this pest — at least, everywhere in the Eastern and Southern States. Having assorted the nuts carefully, the sound ones should be reserved for planting ; these should be mixed with or stratified with moist, sharp sand, and stored in boxes of convenient size for handling and examination, whenever this is required. In preparing the boxes, bore THE CHESTNUT. G7 a number of small holes through the bottom, and over each of these lay a piece of a broken flower-pot, brick or stone, then cover the bottom one inch deep with the moist sand, and on this place a single layer of nuts, then fill in all interstices with sand, and also use enough more to fairly cover the layer ; and proceed in this way until all the nuts are disposed of or the box is full, covering the top layer one or two inches deep, because the sand will settle some after the work seems complete. The boxes may be covered with fine wire netting or with nar- row strips of boards, fitting these so that mice cannot get in, but should not be air-tight. They may then be buried in the open ground, selecting some knoll or dry spot for this pnrpose, for the nuts should not be placed where they will be submerged, or even be watersoaked, at any time during the fall, winter or early spring. If no such spot is conveniently near, tlien set the boxes on the top of the ground, and on the north side of some building or in the shade of an evergreen tree, and bank over with soil, covering the boxes a foot deep. If the spot selected is under the eaves of a building, |)lace boards over the heap of 'soil, to carry off the water, for the object is to keep the nuts moderately moist, cool, and where they will not be subjected to frequent changes of temperature. In our JSTorthern States the nuts, under such conditions, usually become frozen during the coldest weather, but this does not injure them if the sand is moist and they remain frozen, as there will be no danger of germination ; while if kept too warm, they may start to grow before the seedbed is ready, in spring, for their reception. I have tried keeping the nuts mixed with sand in a cool cellar, also in outbuildings, but have not found any other place so certain as pits in the open ground. Seedbed and Soil. — It is well to have the seedbed prepared the previous autumn, but it is not absolutely 68 THE KUT CULTUEIST. necessary. The soil for the bed should be light, either sandy or loamy, and if not rich, made so by adding very old and fine stable manure, or leaf mold from the forest — I prefer the latter, as it is the most natural for all kinds of seedling nut trees. Whatever fertilizing mate- rials are used, they should be placed on or near tiae sur- face, and never worked in deeply, for our aim should be the production of side or lateral fibers, and not coarse perpendicular roots. Furthermore, seedling nut trees grown on light, sandy soils or in pure leaf mold, produce a far greater number of small fibrous roots than on heavy soils, and this is a decided advantage with those which are to be transplanted. Planting the Nuts. — When the time arrives for planting, take the nuts from their winter quarters, and after sifting out the sand, sow or drop them in drills, covering about two inches deej) with fine soil. With the small native varieties my practice has been to sow in wide drills ; that is, those made with the blade of a common garden hoe, and of the same width, the nuts being scattered along the bottom two to three inches apart. The soil is then drawn in over them and pressed down with the back of the hoe, or by passing a light garden roller over the surface. If the size of the seed- bed is not limited, or only a small quantity of nuts are to be sown, then the single row would be preferable, because less hand weeding will be needed to subdue the weeds, and for all the larger varieties I should certainly recommend it, because they are of a more stocky growth. The distance allowed between the drills will depend somewhat ui^on the implements to be employed in culti- vation, as well as how long the seedlings are to remain in the seedbed before transplanting, but from two to three feet will be found convenient for the ordinary modes of cultivation. THE CHESTNUT. G9 If the seedlings make a fair average growth the first season they will be from one to three feet high in the autumn, and as soon as the leaves have fallen they may be taken up, or allowed to remain until the following spring and then lifted. But if, from any cause, they have made a feeble growth, it is better to let them re- main in the seedbed another year. Where large quanti- ties of seedlings are raised they are usually taken up with a tree-digger drawn by a span of horses or mules, but with only a few hundred or a thousand to dig, a common spade will answer every purpose ; and if, when removed from the seedbed, they are found to have pro- duced long perpendicular taproots, these should be shortened to about one-half their original length. For instance, if these taproots are taken up entire and are eighteen to twenty inches long, cut away the lower half, whether it consists of one or more long perpendicular roots, as this pruning will force the plants to produce a greater number of lateral roots, and it is upon these we depend mainly for keeping our trees alive and vigorous if transplanted when larger and older. All side branches should be pruned off close to the main stem, for we aim to favor the latter in its growth upward until it reaches the required hight for either grafting or forming the future head of the tree. In taking up seedlings, it is not safe to leave them for any considerable time exposed to the sun and drying- winds, and they should be carried either to a shed or other building while being pruned, and also covered with blankets in the field, except during moist, cloudy days. A very little drying of the small fibers on such plants is always more or less injurious. Planting in Nursery Rows. — After the seedlings have been taken from the seedbed and pruned, they should be set out in nursery rows, four feet apart, and the plants about eighteen inches in the row. Trenches 70 THE NUT CULTUKIST. should be oi^ened for the reception of the plants, and wide enough to allow all the roots to be spread out in a natural position ; and it is well to set a little deeper than the seedlings were in the seedbed, because newly plowed ground will settle some after the planting is finished, although the soil should always be packed firmly about the stems of newly set trees, whether large or small. The more frequent and thorough the cultivation during the ensuing summer, the more rapid will be the growth of the trees. If the transplanted seedlings have produced any considerable number of side branches, — and especially, low down, — these may be pruned off at any time during the summer, for our object is usually to secure straight, upright stems for grafting the following spring, if they are large and tall enough ; if not, we may delay this oper- ation for another year. Of course, small chestnut stocks may be grafted close to the ground, but there is nothing really gained by this, for a good strong stock will push a cion forward more in one season than a weak stock in two or three seasons. . But when the stocks have reached a diameter of from three-eighths to one-half an inch three or four feet from the ground, they may be grafted, but I would prefer to have them a httle over than under these sizes. Stocks From the Forests. — It is not necessary for a man who may need a few chestnut stocks for ex- perimental or other purposes, to wait until they can be grown from the nut, because these can always be pur- chased at the nurseries ; but if one does not wish to incur even this small outlay, it may be avoided by ob- taining a supply from the forests, provided there are any in the neighborhood where chestnut seedlings are to be found, and the owner will 23ermit their removal. The best wild stocks are usually to be found in recent clear- ings, or where the larger trees have been cut off for tiin- THE CHESTNUT. 71 ber, and the underbrusli, composed of seedlings and sprouts, is left to grow up again into a forest. There are many thousands of acres in New Jersey, New York, and other Eastern States, from which the timber is cut every twenty or thirty years, and no further attention paid to the land or what it produces. Wherever such clearings are found containing chestnut trees, good stocks can usually be procured by selecting those varying from one to two inches in diameter at the ground, and if the soil in which they are growing is rather poor and stony they will usually have pretty good roots, if care- fully taken up. They should be pruned to a single stem, and this cut off at a hight of from five to six feet or less, then planted where they are to remain perma- nently. Such stocks, if carefully taken up and planted, will throw out numerous sprouts from their stems dur- ing the summer, but all should be rubbed off while small and tender, except three or four at the top, and the fol- lowing spring, if wanted for this purpose, fchey may be grafted in the same way as the young stocks growing in the nursery, thereby saving three or four years of time in securing bearing trees. Having often employed such wildings for stocks with just as good results as with those raised from the nuts in nursery rows, I am inclined to recommend them, where obtainable, knowing that there are thousands of farmers and owners of small places in the country who can do likewise, but may have never thought it practicable to transplant nut trees from the forest, although well aware of the fact that elms, maples, and similar kinds were obtained there, and in immense numbers, for planting in the streets of villages and alongside country highways. The Season for Grafting. — The proi:>er time for grafting the chestnut is in early spring, just as the buds .begin to swell, but not until all danger of freezing weather is past, although light frosts will not seriously 72 THE N"UT CULTURIST. injure newly set cions. The grafting may be continued while the leaves are unfolding, provided the cions were cut early and stored in a cool place, where they remain in a dormant state until used. I usually cut the shoots wanted for this purpose during the late fall or winter, and then pack them away in a cool cellar between layers of damp moss {sjoliagiium) to be obtained in almost any swamp. Cions may be taken from the tree on the same day that they are used, but there is some risk in this, because we cannot control the weather, and a week of warm rain in spring may delay us in grafting, while it is pushing our stocks into leaf; and then, our dormant cions are available, while those on the trees are not, ow- ing to their expanded and tender buds. The shoots used for cions are those of the previous season's growth, or as usually termed, one-year-old wood ; and in selecting these, endeavor to get such as are plump, well ripened and firm. If taken from young and very thrifty chestnut trees, there is likely to be a considerable portion of the upper end of the shoot that is rather soft, sjDongy and immature, and this should be discarded, as it would be a waste of time to use it. Of course, I am supposing that the grafter is so fortunate as to be able to make his own selection of the wood de- sired ; if not, then he may be comj)elled to do the best he can with that obtained elsewhere. Grafting Materials. — The really essential materi- als and implements required in grafting nut trees are few in number. Grafting wax must be provided, and while there are many different compositions used for this purpose, I much prefer, for ordinary w^or^ in the open air, a wax made after the old formula, and as fol- lows : Take one pound of common rosin, one-half pound of beeswax, and one-quarter of a pound of beef tallow ; melt together and stir enough to insure the thorough intermingling of the ingredients, and then set away to THE CHESTNUT. 73 cool, or pour into cold water and work up into cakes or rolls and wrap in paper until wanted for use. Larg^er quantities may be made if required, preserving the same proportions of the materials used. If to be used imme- diately in grafting chestnuts and similar trees, then pro- cure some sheets of tough manilla paper of only moder- ate thickness, and cut this up into sheets about six inches wdde and a foot long. While the fresh-made w^ax is melted, take an old and rather stiff paint brush, dip it into the hot wax and coat the joapers thinly with it, and then spread them out on shelves or else- where to cool, and let them remain undisturbed until wanted for use. Any thin kind of cloth may be used instead of paper, but I prefer the latter because it will yield to the pressure of the enlarging stock and cion when growth begins, and it will not be necessary to ex- amine the grafted stock so frequently during the sum- mer to prevent girdling, as is usually the case w^hen a tougher material is employed for wrappers. Before these waxed sheets are taken into the field for use, lay each one separately on a piece of board with the waxed side up, and with the point of a sharj) knife cut them cross- ways into narrow strips of from one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide. But for convenience in handling, insert the point of the knife a half -inch from one edge, but cut the other clean through, so that the whole sheet of strips can be lifted together. In early spring there is usually more or less windy weather, and if waxed sheets of paper are taken out into the field unprotected they are very likely to become tan- gled up and useless. To prevent this, procure a number of large but very shallow paper boxes, such as can usu- ally be had at the stores and groceries of almost any vil- lage, and in these place a single layer of the cut waxed sheets, where they will be protected from wind and' dust until removed for immediate use. 'J'4: THE NUT CULTUEIST. Other kinds of grafting wax can, of course, be used, I and are usually procurable at the seed stores or made at ' home, and I have given their composition and the formu- las for their manufacture in my work, " The Propagation of Plants ;" but, as I haye already said, this old standard kind of wax is just as good as any other, although a little more troublesome to use on account of its sticky consist- ency. Eaflfia or bass may be employed as ligatures for holding the cions in place, then covered with Leport's or other kinds of liquid grafting wax ; but when these are employed it will be necessary to examine the grafted trees frequently, in order to cut the ligatures to prevent girdling. The best implement for grafting is a common broad- blade pocket knife. One with a blade three to three and a half inches long and three-fourths of an inch wide, is a handy size. « It should be of the best material for grafting chestnuts, because the wood of this tree is coarse-grained, and so filled with siliceous matter that it soon dulls the keenest blade, and the grafter will, of necessity, have to use his whetstone frequently. In grinding the knife-blade have the sides a true level, from the back to the edge, especially the underside when to be held in the right hand with the edge towards the body. The importance of having a blade of this form will soon become apparent when the grafter attempts to make a true sloping cut on either stock or cion, and it would be well for the novice to practice for an hour or two in splicing some worthless twigs before commencing upon more valuable material, for even an expert workman is very likely to make some awkward dissections and joints when out of practice. The professional propagator of plants may think such details are unimportant, but I wish to impress upon the amateur that in grafting nut trees we are dealing with kinds that will not respond satisfactorily to such free manipulations as the apple THE CHESTNUT. 75 and pear; consequently, better and more careful lian- dling is required to insure success. When ready to begin operations in the field, take out a quantity of the shoots to be used for cions, and keep them wrapped in damj) cloth or packed in a box, basket or other recep- tacle with wet moss, to prevent drying. If any considerable number of stocks are to be grafted, then an assistant or two will be required, for the grafter cannot be alternately handling the knife and cions and wax, and do good work, but if he only inserts the cions and his as- sistant applies the waxed lig- atures, the operation will pro- ceed more rajjidly and satis- factorily. Modes of Grafting. — The only two modes of graft- ing that I shall recommend for the chestnut are the splice or whip graft, and the cleft or wedge graft. In the splice graft, the cion and stock should be of about the same FIG. 13.- diameter, but if there is any SPLICE GRAFT, differcuce let it be in favor of the stock, and this the largest. In this mode of grafting, the stock is cut off with an upward slope, exposing two or three fig. i4. splice inches of wood ; and about midway on graft inserted. this slope a small cleft or incision is made, forming what is called a ^'tongue." The cion is then cut in the same way from the upper end downward, with a corre- sponding incision, as seen in Fig. 13. Then the two are 76 THE NUT CULTUllIST. neatly fitted together, the tongue on one entering the cleft on the other, making a close joint, as shown in Fig. 14. The bark of the cion and stock should be exactly even on one side at least ; and if they are of the same size, so much the better, for then they will be even on both sides ; but we cannot expect to secure such perfect joints on every stock, or any considerable number, although we aim to do so as frequently as possible. When the cion is fitted, the Avaxed paper is applied by placing one end of the strip at or near the base of the splice, then wind it spirally and firmly upward until the entire wound is covered. If one of the waxed strips is not enough use another, for it will do no harm if they are double on a part or all over the joint. The cion should not be much over four inches long, and a less length is preferable, but not so convenient for handling. One good prom- inent bud on each cion is sufficient, and this left near the upper end, but on short-jointed wood we may use cions with two or more buds without greatly increasing their length. After the cion is in place and every part of the splice is carefully sealed with the waxed paper, place a small j^iece or a little wax on the upper end of the cion, just enough to cover the exposed wound and prevent evaporation of the natural moisture or sap in the wood. I have found, in practice, that this sealing the end of the cion is time well spent ; in fact, to leave any of the wood cells exposed to the air endangers the success of the operation. Young shoots from a quarter of an inch in diame- ter up to five-eighths may be used for cions, in splice grafting ; and with a little care in the selection of stocks, or by cutting them off a few inches higher or lower, we may readily manage to have them nearly of the same diameter to match our cions, whether they are large or small, and such unions will soon heal over, leaving no scar at the point where the two have been joined. THE CHESTNUT. 77 If the new growth or shoot to be employed as a cion is slender and feeble, then the base of the cion may be of two-year-old wood, leaving just a bud or two on the upper end of the one-year shoot. But it will seldom be necessary to employ such cions in grafting the chestnut, although it may occur when seeking to secure wood for propagation, from very old trees which have made only a feeble annual growth. Cleft Grafting. — This method is employed princi- pally upon stocks or branches of trees too large for splic- ing. The stock is first cut off at the point where it is desirable to insert the cion; then split with a knife, being careful to divide it, so that the edges will be kept smooth, and not rough and ragged (Fig. 15). When the knife blade is withdrawn, the cleft may be kept open with a hard wood wedge, if the stock is too lare^e to admit of opening it with the point of the knife cion. when ready to insert the cion. The cion may be three or four inches long, containing two or more buds ; the lower end is cut wedge-shape, as shown in Fig. 16, and slightly the thickest on the side to be set against the bark of the stock. In stocks of an inch or more in diameter, two cions, one on each side, may be inserted (Fig. 17), and if both grow one should be cut away, else the tree, in later years, will be very likely to divide or break apart at this point. In stocks of an inch or less in di- ameter, one cion is sufficient, the top of the stock to be cut off with an upward slope, as shown in Fig. 18. After the cions are inserted, the entire exposed surface of the wood must be covered with grafting wax or waxed paper, and usually both may FIG. 15. STOCK. 78 THE is^UT CULTURIST. be employed with benefito All the yarious forms of grafting in the oj^en air, as described in my work on the '^Propagation of Plants," may be employed on the chestnut, but the two here giyen will probably answer just as well as others for those who may have occasion to propagate this tree. Success in Grafting. — The question has been asked many times, and will, no doubt, be frequently repeated, ''What percentage of cions should one accus- tomed to grafting make grow ?" As there are no statis- tics upon which to base an answer to the question, I can only give my own personal ex|)erience, and this leads me to say that seventy-five per cent may be considered an excellent, if not a high ayerage. In some seasons this has been exceeded by at least ten per cent, while in others it has fallen as much or more below, with no apparent reason for the difference. Ninety-five per cent of the cions may push their buds, or even make a growth of several inches, then begin to die off; consequently, the time to count your successfully grafted trees is in the autumn, and not in spring or midsummer, as it is to be feared some are in the habit of doing when making a report upon what they call success in grafting nut trees. Growth of Cions. — Cions set in strong stocks usually make a very rapid and vigorous growth, and if left unchecked, there is danger of loss by being broken or blown off by strong winds during the summer and autumn. To prevent this as much as possible, it has been my practice to pinch off the ends of the young shoots when they are about two ^feet long. Lateral shoots will then push out freely, and in some seasons it may be necessary to check their growth in the same way later. On feeble stocks, or those quite small, and with the less yigorous growing varieties, no summer pinching or pruning will be required. My experimental grounds are well protected upon the north and west, not only by THE CHESTKUT. 79 rising ground, but by Norway spruce and American arbor vit88 hedges twice as high as the grafted chestnut trees in the nursery rows, and yet almost every season some of the stronger-growing grafts are blown out or broken off by the wind. After the first season there is little danger of injury, probably because the unio«i be- tween cion and stock has become stronger. Grafting Chestnut Sprouts. — In grafting the vigorous sprouts that always spring up from the stumps of old trees that have been recently cut down, we may reasonably expect a prodigious growth of the cion the first season, as well as in succeeding ones, and if all goes well with them we will secure large bearing trees in' a very few years, but such stocks are only available where old trees are sacrificed for their timber or other purposes. Having a few such sprouts on my place, they have been utilized from time to time in testing some of the newer varieties. In one instance I allowed the cion, set on a sprout about one inch in diameter, six feet from the base, to grow unchecked throughout the season, as it was in a protected position, and in the fall the entire length of the main stem and lateral branches was sixty- five feet, and all from one bud on a cion set early in the spring. The third year this tree bore about a peck of very large nuts, to which I shall have occasion to refer again under "Injurious Insects." Grafting Large Trees. — Grafting large chestnut trees with stems of six inches or more in diameter, and with large spreading heads, is possible, but far from being economical or practicable, especially if the trees stand out where they will get the full sweep of prevail- ing winds. By cutting off and grafting a few of the branches at a time for several seasons in succession, one may, in a few years, succeed in getting the entire head grafted, but there is constant danger of some of the cions being broken out if they make a vigorous growth, leav- 80 THE ISTUT CULTUEIST. ing a distorted and ill-shapen tree. Having experi- mented somewhat in this line with variable success, I am not inclined to recommend it, because ten trees can be raised to a bearing age on moderate-sized stocks with less labor, and the results will be more satisfactory. pudding Chestnuts. — I have frequently tried budding chestnut stocks as described for the almond, and extensively employed with other kinds of fruit trees. But the results of my experiments have been unsatisfac- tory, although buds were set from very early in summer until late in the fall, also on young and old wood ; but so few have taken and remained alive over winter that my personal experience in this mode of propagation will not justify its recommendation to others. Perhaps there is some secret connected with the operation that I have not yet discovered, but which is known to other propa- gators. Of course, budding with semi-dormant wood and buds in spring, as soon as the bark will peel from the wood, is practicable, but there is really nothing to be gained by this mode of ^propagation over that of grafting. Transplanting and Pruning. — There is no tree that will bear or withstand more severe pruning than the chestnut. If trees of one or five hundred years of age are cut down, the stumps are sure to throw up an immense number of sprouts from adventitious buds, as these are readily produced at almost any point on the sapwood or alburnum under the bark ; and yet, with this inherent vitality and faculty of recuperation, the chest- nut tree does not naturally, like many other deciduous kinds, throw up suckers from the roots. Keepmg this peculiarity in mind, the cultivator has only to use his pruning knife freely upon the trees to secure almost any form desired. But after the trees have become well established, very little pruning will be required, except to occasionally thin out or remove a rambling branch, to secure a well-balanced and shapely head to the tree. THE CHESTNLT. 81 In transplanting from the nursery rows, after graft- ing, and especially if the trees are of some considerable size and large enough to set where they are to remain permanently, there is sure to be a loss of roots, and those that are preserved are likely to remain for a short time inactive and inca]3able of absorbing nutrients from the soil to which they are transferred, or until new root- lets are produced. Under these conditions we aim to favor the roots by removing or cutting back the greater part of the branches. No matter how carefully such trees are lifted and their roots protected during the operation of transplanting, it will check the growth, and the best and most practical restorative is severe pruning of the top, and every young shoot of the previ- ous season's growth should be cut back to within three or four inches of its base. I am presuming that the trees have been grafted only one year, but if older, and the cions were set high enough to begin the formation of the head of the tree, then the entire young growth may be cut away and some of the older wood, but of course not below the graft. All broken roots must be cut off ; and the ends of the larger ones, roughly severed with the spade or other implements employed in digging, should have their wounds smoothed with a sharp knife. Frequent transplanting and root-pruning young nursery stock tends to keep up a proper root system, and an abundance of small fibrous roots near the main stem, and trees so treated are worth much more, if to be transplanted later, than those left undisturbed ; but while the latter may be twice the size of the former when of the same age, they are not worth half as much to the purchaser, or for transplanting in our own grounds. Staking Transplanted Trees. — This is always necessary for recently planted trees, if they are of any considerable size, or from six feet high and upwards. 6 82. THE i^UT CULTUEIST. It not supported by stakes they are sure to be swayed about, if not thrown oyer, by strong winds in summer. A strong stake, two or three inches in diameter, would better be set at the time of planting the tree, thereby avoiding breaking off or crushing the roots, as frequently happens when stakes are driven down among them later in the season. Set the stakes or drive into the subsoil six inches from the stem, then use strips of cloth, sacks, carpet, or some similar material, for tying, because liard cord or twine will be very likely to cut through the ten- der bark from the constant swaying about of the stems. AVind the strips around the stem, and then cross between it and the stake once or twice, to p)revent the tree from pressing against or coming in contact with the stake. Eenew the stakes and tying materials, if necessary, until the trees become firmly established, and provided with lateral roots large enough to keep them in an upright position. Mulching. — Placing a few forkfuls of coarse stable manure, half -rotted straw, leaves, or any similar mate- rial, on the surface about the stems of recently planted trees, will prove very beneficial, in not only keeping- down the weeds, but aiding greatly in retaining mois- ture in the soil about the roots. The application of some such material as a mulch is all the more important with the chestnut, because these trees are always to be planted in a naturally dry and well drained soil. Distance Between Trees. — How far apart chest- nut trees should be planted will depend very much uj^on the species and varieties, some growing to immense trees, while others are only fair-sized shrubs at maturity. But for the larger-growing varieties, forty to fifty feet between the trees is none too much space, when planted for their nuts and not for timber. If set in a single row along the public highways, farm lanes or around the outbuildings, to serve as shade or ornament, and for their THE CHESTNUT. 83 nuts, then about forty feet will answer very well for the larger- growing species ; and I will arid that, in my opin- ion, all the larger kinds of nut trees will give better returns if placed in such positions, than when set in orchards or in compact masses. When set in single rows or widely scattered, they are less liable to be at- tacked by insects and diseases, while they will still serve the double purpose of being both ornamental and useful. I must admit, however, that in my experimental grounds, the trees are planted only twenty feet apart, but with the expectation of soon cutting out every alternate specimen. Soil and Climate. — The chestnut thrives best in light, well-drained soils, and those containing a large proportion of sand or decomposed quartz, slate, or vol- canic scoria ; but it is rarely found, nor does4t succeed, in heavy clays, limestone soils, or on the rich western prairies, where we might think it would grow most lux- uriantly. That limestone soils are inimical to the chest- nut has often been disputed, but my own observations, which have been somewhat extensive in years and range of country, rather confirm the impression that this tree avoids land containing any considerable percentage of lime. It is true that chestnut groves, and sometimes extensive forests, are found on hills and ridges overlying limestone, but a careful examination of the soil among the trees will show that it is a drift deposit containing little or no lime. Such groves can be found in all the southern tier of counties of New York, also among the hills of northern and western parts of New Jersey, and thence west and south along the Blue Eidge and Alle- ghany mountains to the Carolinas, and westward in Tennessee and Kentucky. The chestnut is sometimes found in New Jersey and other northern Atlantic States growing in considerable abundance near streams only a few feet above sea level, but when found in such 84 THE NUT CULTURIST. situations the subsoil is invariably sand, gravel or porous shale. The range of climate in which the native sweet chestnut thrives is quite extensive, as it is found spar- ingly in Maine in latitude 44°, extending westward, — but not very abundant on this line, — through New Eng- land and New York^ crossing the Niagara river, skirting the north shore of Lake Erie in Canada, and thence into southern Michigan, but does not reach Illinois. Erom this line southward it increases in abundance in Vir- ginia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. But in following this tree southward we meet another indigenous species, widely known as the chinquapin {CoMa7iea piLmila). This species is indig- enous to southern New Jersey, and sparingly in parts of Pennsylvania, becoming more plentiful as we proceed southward, the two species named overlapping and in part occcupying the same region ; but the chinquapin extends further south, and also to the westward, near its northern limits crossing the Mississippi into southern Missouri, then extends south again, becoming quite abundant in Arkansas. The European chestnut, in its' many varieties, ex- tends over about the same number of degrees of latitude in Europe as our species do here, although reaching a higher latit-ude in countries bordering on the Atlantic, as shown in the old chestnut trees of England. The Oriental chestnut has also a very wide range, but the limits are not so well known as those of the Eurojoean and American species ; but a study of its geographical distribution is of considerable importance, now that we are importing these nuts for cultivation. The same is also true of the European varieties, and the cultivator who neglects to take this matter into consideration will fail to secure whatever advantages may have accrued from acclimation, an agency which, undoubtedly, has THE CHESTN'UT. 85 been active and continuous in modifying and changing the primary characteristics of these plants during un- known ages. To more fully impress upon the reader the impor- tance of care in the selection of materials to be employed in any pursuit with which he is not perfectly familiar, I am prompted to relate the story of my first personal experience in chestnut culture, as it may serve as a warn- ing to others who may attem2:)t to raise these nuts in a cold climate. At the time of purchasing the farm which has been my home for the past thirty years, nut trees of various kinds were on my list of things wanted, and the chest- nut occupied a leading position, probably because there were already many old and large native trees on the place. My first planting consisted of a number of im- ported seedlings, obtained from a well-known French nursery. The trees were three or four years old, very stocky and vigorous, and they made a good growth the first season ; but the following winter the young shoots were all frozen down to old wood, with the exception of one tree, and thinking "that this might prove hardy, cions were taken from it and set in thrifty sprouts grow- ing in a grove near by. The cions made rajoid growth, and from one of these I soon had a large tree, which re- mained in good health for twenty years, but during all that time it produced but one bur, containing two half- developed nuts. Why it was unfruitful I do not pretend to know, but it was certainly not for want of comiDany, for it had large native chestnut trees all about it, and these bearing heavy crops. The seedling trees i)lanted in the orchard also failed to be fruitful, and were finally dug up and burned. Thus ended my first experiment in the cultivation of the European chestnut. Had my location been farther south and in a milder climate, the experi- ment might have ended differently, but I am relating ex- ,86 THE i^UT CULTURIST. perience, and not attempting to guess what might have been the results under more favorable conditions. In the meantime, however, I had seen a few trees of the Japan chestnut bearing on Long Island, and had re- ceived sj^ecimens of the Numbo and Paragon, two now well-known and superior varieties of the European spe- cies, although raised in this country. These varieties were sec«ured, and succeeded so well that I have contin- ued to add others from time to time, or as soon as trees or cions were obtainable. The success which appears to have attended the propagation and dissemination of these two varieties of European parentage has awakened considerable interest in chestnut culture, besides attracting the attention of those interested in such matters to the fact that there are many old trees of the same or similar origin scattered about the country, awaiting the coming nut culturist to propagate them and make known their merits. It may be well, before leaving this subject, to re- mind the novice in chestnut culture that seedlings of these hardy and productive descendants of the European species will not come true from the nut or seed, and while it will be admitted that the chances are somewhat better for procuring a hardy variety from such nuts than from those imported, still, there is no certainty of any considerable number being equal in hardiness or other respects to the parent tree. There is an inherent tendency, in tree seedlings of all kinds, to revert to the wild form or type, and the chestnut is no exception to this rule. Species of Chestnut. — What is called a "species," among plants, is a particular form or type supposed to have descended from one original stock, whether this was composed of one or more individuals. But varia- tions doubtless occurred at the first inception or multi- plication of the original, but so long as the offsprings do THE CHESTNUT. 87 not differ so widely as to be untraceable to the proemial types, they are held to be varieties of one species. Whether all the chestnuts found in the various countries of the world are descendants of one original o tree or group of trees is now beyond our ability to deter- mine ; consequently, what are now termed species rests very much upon the opinions of botanists, as may read- ily be demonstrated by consulting the works of hundreds of authors who have essayed to describe and classify the plants of any locality or country, and this, too, without reaching an absolute finality acceptable to their contempo- raries, or at all likely to share a better fate with posterity. For many years after botany began to be recognized as a science, the common American sweet chestnut was considered a distinct species, but in recent years it has been relegated to the position of a widely distributed variety of the European chestnut, and it is so described and classified in most of the botanical works of the pres- ent time, and under such names as Castanea vesca, vari- ety Americana; Castanea sativa, variety Americana; Castanea vulgaris, variety A7nerica7ia, etc. The Asiatic species or varieties — under whichever cognomen we may find them described in botanical works — have fared little better than our American kinds, for some botanists have described the Japan chestnut as a distinct species, while others only as a widely diver- gent variety of the common European chestnut. I regret that there should be any need of giving so much space to this matter of species and varieties, yet presuming that far the larger number of my readers will not be professional botanists, nor persons with a botan- ical library at hand to consult for unfamiliar terms, I have thought this explanation in regard to classification might assist them in making clear the apparent confu- sion of names which, in the main, are only synonyms. Furthermore, I purpose retaining some of the older spe- 88 THE NUT CULTUEIST. cific names of the distinct groups of varieties, whether it be strictly in accord with the ideas of eminent author- ities or otherwise, because it will be more convenient to do so, and certain phases will thus be made clearer to the practical cultivators of nut trees, for whom this work is written. My wish is to assist those who do not know, but want to learn how to obtain, plant and i^iake nut trees grow and bear remunerative crops. Castakea America is" a (American siueet chestnut). — Leaves oblong-lanceolate, ser- rate, with rather coarse teeth, each terminated with a feeble prickle or spine ; smooth on both sides (Fig. 19). Burs thickly covered with sharp, branching spines a half inch long or less, from a fleshy green envelope, becoming hard and somewhat woody; opening by four valves or di- visions Avhen mature. Usu- ally three nuts in each bur, the center one flattened by compression, the two outer ones plano-convex. Shell LEAF. tough and leathery, dark brown, smooth, or more or less inverted, with a silvery pubescence from the point downward ; variable in size from five-eighths to an inch in diameter. Kernel sweet and fine-grained. A very large and common tree in the Middle and JSTorthern States, living to a great age. I FIG. 19. AMEKICAX CHESTNUT THE CHESTisUT, 89 FIG. 20. SPIKE OF BUKS OF BUSH CHIXQUAPIX. C nandt 90 THE l^VT CULTUETST. Castas EA naxa {biif^h cliinq^iapin). — Leaves oyal- lanceolate, serrate, with feeble prickles on teeth and often wanting; pale green above and white tomentose underneath. Burs in racemes, small; husk thin, oj^ening by two divisions or lobes, instead of four, as in the last species; spines short, somewhat scat- tering, sessile or very short-stalk- ed ; nuts small, pointed, brown, smooth, tliin- shelled, solitary or only one in a our. Kernel fine-grained, sweet and deli- cious. Common from J^ortli Car- olina southward to Florida, in dry soils and barrens. A me- SPIKE OF CHINQUAPIN CHESTNUT BUK. dlUm-SlZed c. -pumiia. shrub or low- spreading bush, rarely reaching a hight of ten feet, the slender twigs usually tomentose. A spike of burs and leaves of this species are seen in Fig. 20. '/1l\\ff FIG. 21. THE CHESTNUT. 91 Castakea pumtla (chinquapin chestnut). — Leaves oblong-lanceolate, short or acu'.ely pointed, coarsely serrate, with in- curved pointed teeth, green above, tomentose under- neath. Burs in ra- cemes (Fig. 21), two-yalved. Some- times the burs are single, as shown in Fig. 22. Spines branching from a short stalk ; nuts solitary, oyoid, pointed, with dark- brown polished shell. Kernel fine- grained, sweet and excellent. A medi- um-sized tree twenty to forty feet high ; in rich, soils from New Jersey, South- e r n Pennsylvania and southward, to Georgia, and spar- ingly westward to Arkansas. Oastais'ea sa- tiya oe v e s c a {European chest- nut). — Leaves ob- long -lanceolate, chinquapin chestnut. C. jnimlla. pointed, coarsely serrate, with rather long incurved spines on the teeth; smooth on both sides, but glossy FIG. 22. SINGLE BUR, NUT AND LEAF OF 92 THE NUT CULTURIST. FIG. 23. JAPAN CHESTKUT LEAFo THE CHESTNUT. 9? and dark green above ; thicker and of more substance than in any other species. Burs very large, with thick husk, and long, stout, branching spines, from a woody stem at the base ; shell of nut thick, tough and leathery, of a dark mahogany brown ; kernel enclosed in a rather tough but thin skin that is usually intensely bitter, a characteristic that readily distinguishes this from any of our species. Trees of large size, rather stocky ; young shoots coarse, with smooth bark; buds prominent, glossy, and of a light yellowish-brow^n color. Castakea Japokica {Japa7i chestnut). — Leaves lanceolate-oblong (Fig. 23), finely serrate, indentations shallow, and the teeth slender pointed ; pale green above and silvery or rusty white -underneath. Burs with a very thin husk ; spines short, widely branching from a short stem. Nuts large to very large, usually three in a bur ; shell thin, and of a light brown color ; the inner skin thin, fibrous, but not as bitter as in the European varieties, and the kernel somewhat finer grained and sweeter. Trees of moderate growth and are said to rarely exceed fifty feet high in Japan. The growth is slender in comparison with the European or American chestnut, and the habit is decidedly bnshy, tlie new growth of the season nsually producing a number of lateral twigs late in summer. The leaves here seem to be more persistent, probably because the season is not long enough to insure thorough ripening. The reader will please bear in mind that this de- scription of the Japan chestnut is drawn from the intro- duced varieties or those raised from the imported nuts, and not from the trees growing in their native habitats. All the varieties that I have seen appear to belong to one type or species, and they come from the warmer parts of that country ; but Prof. Sargent, in his *^ Forest Flora of Japan," says that while the largest nuts appear in the markets of Kobe and Osaka, from whence they 94 THE iq^UT CULTURIST. come to this country, there are varieties offered for sale in tlie markets of Aomori, which is much further north, and these, he thinks, would produce a more hardy race of varieties than those we have already received from that country. As a race, all the Japan chestnuts are very precocious, the trees coming into bearing early whether raised from the nut or propagated by grafting. Native Varieties. (Group One). — While it is well known that our American sweet chestnut varies widely in the size, flavor, form, color and general appearance of the nuts, no special effort has been made to select and perpetuate the most distinct and valuable varieties. This is to be regretted, inasmuch as the opportunities for making such selections, and preserving and ^^ropa- gating those most worthy of it, are rapidly passing away with the destruction of our chestnut forests ; but there is still time to do something in this direction, and per- haps save a few varieties as valuable as those already destroyed. It is to be hoped that every man who knows of a large variety, will either propagate it himself, or point it out to some one who is sufficiently interested to do so. If proper attention was given to the raising of seedlings, we might soon secure many improved native varieties, and I would urge this mode of propagation upon all whose circumstances and surroundings will ad- mit of it, and especially upon the young men who j)Os- sess the talent and inclination to make such experiments ; for there is a wide and fertile field open to them, ana they can scarcely fail to reap a rich reward for their labors, if applied with earnestness and a moderate amount of intelligence. BuELESS CHESTi^ruT. — This is a peculiar variety or freak, in which the burs are merely shallow cups ujpon which the nuts rest, and at no stage of their growth are they enclosed in a husk or bur. The nuts are small and usually perfect, but being unprotected they are preyed THE CHESTNUT. 95 ui^on by birds and squirrels as soon as the kernels are well formed, few escaping to reach maturity, This chestnut is of no economic value, but is worth preserv- ing as an illustration of extremes in variation. The original tree was found in the forest near Freehold, Green Co., N. Y., by Mr. Harry Bagley, to whom I am indebted for cions sent me in the spring of 1885. Another and very similar variety was found about the same time on Staten Island, N. Y., and this also has been propagated, to a limited extent, as a curiosity. Hathaway. — A very large and handsome native variety, and one of the very best. A strong and vigorous grower, and productive. Raised by Mr. B. Hathaway, the veteran and widely known pomologist of Little Prairie Ronde, Mich. Some thirty years ago Mr. Hath- away purchased a half bushel of native chestnuts of a dealer in Ohio, and from these raised a large number of trees for sale ; but a few were reserved for planting out on his own grounds, and when these came into bearing the one named here was selected for propagation, because of its large size and productiveness. Phillips. — A large and handsome variety of excel- lent flavor, with a very smooth, dark-brown shell. Grafted trees exceedingly vigorous, upright growth, as well as precocious and productive. The original tree is growing in the grounds of the late Whitman Phillips, at Ridgewood, N. J. Several years ago my attention was called to a number of large varieties of the chestnut growing in and near the village, and from these I ob- tained cions for propagation ; but I name only one at this time, reserving the others until more fully tested. This is rather an insignificant number of varieties to be named among the many hundreds that are to be found in almost every town or neighborhood whei'e the chestnut is a native, and yet I have been able to find only one named in nurserymen's catalogues as being 96 THE iJ^UT CULTUEIST. propagated by grafting. It is true that nearly all deal- ers in trees offer seedling American chestnuts, which may mean good, bad or indifferent yarieties when the trees come into bearing. Among all of the many thou- sands that have been raised and i^lanted in the East and West, beyond the natural range of the chestnut, as, for instance, in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, there must be some distinct and valuable varieties worthy of names and propagation. There are not only distinct varieties to be found in every forest, but in some instances the entire product of an extended area of country are dis- tinct in their color, size, and general appearance of the nuts produced ; as, for instance, in the woolly chestnuts of the Piedmont district of Virginia, these being so nearly cover-ed with a white down that they remind one of popcorn. Hundreds of bushels of these woolly chest- nuts come to our markets, and among them I have often found very large specimens, but so far as known, no effort has been made to 23erj)etuate them. So far as can now be determined, the wild or orig- inal European chestnut was much inferior in its flavor, and little, if any, larger than our American sweet chest- nut ; but by continued selections of the largest for plant- ing, and propagation by grafting, it has attained to its present size and excellence ; but this system of improv- ing our native varieties has scarcely, as yet, been at- tempted, a fact which does not, in the least, redound to our credit. Bush CHiKQUAPii^ {C. nana. Muhlenberg). — Of this I do not know of any named varieties in cultivation. Plants are occasionally seen in cultivated grounds, and I have one in my garden growing in a sheltered position, where it has fruited for several years. It is a pretty, round-headed, silvery -leaved bush, about six feet high; ornamental, if not specially valuable for other purposes, although the little sweet nuts are always acceptable. As THE CHESTNUT. 97 a rule, the seedlings of this sj^ecies are not hardy in the Northern States, but an occasional one will survive if planted in a light, porous soil and a protected situation. Common" chinquapin {C. Jy?^m^7«. Miller). — This is a small tree, sometimes thirty to forty feet high ; found sparingly as far north as central New Jersey, and on Long Island. It is more common in cultivation than the bush chinquapin, probably because more hardy and better known, but I do not know of any improved varie- ties that have been disseminated under distinct names except the one hereinafter described. Among many seedlings raised, of this species, I have selected one which good judges of such things have thought worthy of propagation, and as I do not raise plants for sale, no one will be likely to accuse me of having any selfish motives, further than a pardonable pride in producing something worthy of perpetuation. Furthermore, a s an earnest of my confidence in its merits, I have dis- tributed it under my own name. Fuller's chinquapin. — Leaves large, broadly oval, pointed, coarsely serrate, pale green above, clear silvery white below. Bark on main stem ; branches and twigs smooth, light gray, with numerous white dots. The young twigs thick and stocky, cylindrical, 7 FIG. 24. BUKS OF FULLER^S CHIXQUAPIN-. OlSE-HALF NATURAL SIZE. 98 THE NUT CULTURIST. with moderately i^rominent, grayish buds. Burs in long racemes (Fig. 24), very large for this species ; spines long, strong, branching and sharp. Nuts only one in each bur, rather short, broad, top-shaped, with blunt point; shell very smooth, glossy, almost black; kernel fine-grained and sweet. Eipens early, or with the earli- est of the native sweet chestnuts. The original tree is FIG. 25. rULLEK'S CHINQUAPIN. FIVE YEARS OLD FROM NUT. only six years old, twice transj^lanted, and is now ten feet high, with a head fully as broad, and as shown in Fig. 25. Although growing in a rather exjDosed j^osi- tion, it has never been injured by lov>r temperature in winter or a high one in summer. It has thus far been the most rapid-growing chestnut tree in my grounds, although given no sjDecial care. Whether it will eventu- ally become a large tree, or soon cease to extend, is^ of THE CHESTN-UT. 99 course, a question to be answered at some future time, but from jDresent indications this tree will be well worthy of cultivation as an ornamental shade tree, even if we leave out of the account its rapid growth, productive- ness, and delicious little nuts, which will be very accept- able for home use, if not possessing any great commer- cial value. European Varieties. — In the use of this term I wish it understood that the varieties named and described in this group are all of American origin ; that is, raised in this country from seed. At the same time they are descendants of the European species. They are, in other words, "Survivals of the Attests," the few that have survived the many being raised from imported nuts (per- haps one out of a thousand) that tests and time have shown were adapted to our climate. There may be many other varieties scattered about the country which are worthy of a name and' of propagation, but I can speak only of those I have been able to procure, or that have been brought to my notice. In describing the following varieties, and in seeking to get at the facts relating to their origin, name and history, the reader will please bear in mind that there has been no previous attempt to arrange or classify these semi-American varieties. Furthermore, there is much confusion in regard to the true names of a number of them, and the most I can say is that I have endeavored, under the circumstances, to get as near the truth as jdos- sible. Could I defer writing this chapter ten years, some moot points might be cleared up, but as this is out of the question I must follow the light already in my possession. To Mr. John R. Parry, of Parry, N. J., I am greatly indebted, not only for specimens of new and rare varie- ties, but also notes relating to the history of several of the older ones.. 100 THE KUT CULTURIST. Comfort. — Burs very large, broad, somewhat flat- tened; spines yery strong and long, branching; nuts very broad, with short point, and shell covered from base to point with scattering silky hairs, thicker at upper end. In quality, about the same as in the ordinary vari- eties of the species, but to some persons' taste it is bet- ter, having less astringency in the skin surrounding the kernel. Origin uncertain, but said to have been grown for many years at Germantown, a suburb of Philadel23hia, Pa., where the Paragon chestnut w^as discovered. The Comfort certainly closely resembles the Paragon, but 1 have not had an o23portunity of fruiting trees under the two names side by side, as would be necessary to deter- mine their identity or difference, if they are really distinct. CooPEK. — A very large variety; has been in cultiva- tion for several years in Camden Co., N. J., but up to the present time the trees have not been propagated for sale, although I am informed by Mr. John E. Parry that there are a large number under cultivation. The tree is described as of a broad spreading habit, with enormously large leaves, and immensely j^roductive. Nuts very large, smooth and glossy, with little fuzz near the top. In quality they may be considered excel- lent for a variety of this class. The burs are very large, and this is its greatest or only fault ; for when nearly mature they absorb and retain such a quantity of water during heavy rains, in addition to the original weight and the enclosed nuts, that the trees are liable to be broken down by strong winds. Corson. — Burs of immense size ; spines an inch or more in length, from a stout, woody, irregularly branch- ing stem, resting on the moderately thin husk. K'uts extra large, usually three in a bur ; shell dark brown, somewhat ridged ; the upper end or point of the shell densely covered with a white, almost woolly, pubescence. THE CHESTI^UT. 101 or fuzz as it is usually termed. This is a remarkably large and fine variety and of good quality. Originated with Mr. Walter H. Corson, Plymouth Meeting, Mont- gomery Co., Pa. Dager.-^A large variety originated near Wyoming, Delaware, from seed of the Ridgely. My specimen trees are good vigorous growers, and hardy, but have not, as BUR OF NUMBO CHESTNUT. yet, produced fruit. It is said that the nuts are of fair quality, but not as good as the best of its class. Moiq-CUR. — Another seedling of the Ridgely, raised on the farm of Mr. Frank "Monciir, near Dover, Del. The original tree is about thirty years old. Described as smaller than its parent, but of better quality. 102 THE .NUT CULTURIST. •-hJ>^' NuMBO. — Burs medium, and distinctly long pointed before opening, as shown in Fig. -26, the four divisions of the burs extending an inch or more beyond the nut as they open. This is an excej)tioDal form of the bur, and will ena- ble almost any person to recognize the yari- ety with bearing trees. Spines only medium m length (Fig. 27), FIG. 27. SPINES OF NUMBo CHESTNUT, aud uot as stroug as in most other varieties of this species. ISTuts very large (Fig. 28), smooth, decidedly pointed, light brown when first mature, and of good fla- vor. Tree hardy and a vig- orous, free grower, and is very productive even when young. The original tree is now some forty years old, and is one of a large number raised from imported nuts, by the late Mahlon Moon, of Morrisville, Pa. Miller's Dupont. — Burs large, spines long and fig. 28. numbo chestnut. strong but not as stout .as in some of the closely related varieties. Nut medium, and kernel of fair quality. A promising variety. Origin unknown. Eeceived from Jos. Evans, Delaware Co., Pa. Paragon". — Burs of immense size, often five inches and more in lateral diameter ; distinctly flattened on the top, or cushion shape (Fig. 29) ; spines an inch in length, widely and irregularly branching from a stout stem springing from a thick, fleshy husk, as shown in Fig. 30, the whole making an involucre or bur out of THE CHESTI^UT. 103 proportion to the nuts within. !N^uts of large size, slightly depressed at the top (Fig. 31), and they are FIG. 29. PARAGON CHESTNUT BUR. {One-half natural size.) usually broader than long ; shell very dark brown, slightly ridged, and covered with a fine but not very FIG. 30. SPINES OF PARAGON CHESTNUT BUR. conspicuous pubescence. Kernel sweet, fine-grained, and of superior flavor for one of this species. Tree hardy. 104 THE KUT CULTURIST. exceedingly precocious and productive when grafted on strong, healthy stock. A four-year-old tree on my grounds is shown in Fig. 32. It was loaded with nuts in the fall of 1894. This is one of the best of its class. Origin somewhat in doubt, but it is claimed that the late W. L. Shaffer, of Philadelphia, raised it from a for- eign nut planted in his garden, and who, some eighteen years or more ago, gave cions to W. H. Engle, of ^^ Marietta, Pa. Mr. Engle has since propagated and disseminated this variety quite extensively under its present name, but should further investigation prove it to be distinct and that it was raised by Mr. Shaf- fer, then it should certain- — ^^^ ^y^^=^ 1y bear his name, and Par- "^ ~~^ agon become a synonym. FIG. 31. PARAGON CHESTNUT, ^q ^orc appropriate mon- ument could possibly be erected in honor of a distin- guished horticulturist like the late Mr. Shaffer, than a chestnut tree, nor could his memory be perpetuated under more pleasant and agreeable surroundings than to have his name linked inseparably with such an excel- lent and valuable variety. RiDGELT. — Burs large, with dense spines, but not as long as those of the Paragon. Nuts . large, pointed ; shell dark brown, with very little pubescence, and this mainly at the point (Fig. 33). In quality this variety ranks very near, if not the equal of, the best of its class, and it has been highly commended, by those who have been acquainted with it, for many years. The origin of the Ridgely, as recorded, leaves the question of name a debatable one. Some sixty years ago a Mr. Dupont, of Wilmington, Del., gave or sent to THE CIlESTi^UT. 105 Mr. D. M. Ridgely, of Dover, Del., a sprouted chest- nut, and this was planted and became the original tree of the yariety under consideration. It has been called Diipont, because he raised the nut and kept it over win- ter and until it sprouted ; then it passed into the care of FIG. 32. FOUR YEAll OLD PAKAGOjSr CHESTNUT TREE. Mr. Eidgely, who thenceforward gave it his attention. The tree is now of immense size, and some seasons has produced more than five bushels of nuts, selling at eleven dollars per busheL It is quite probable that the Dupont 106 THE NUT CULTUKIST. family were the first to raise European chestnut trees to a bearing size in this country, for some of its members were settled in Delaware before the war of the Eevolu- tion. Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, during the French ministry of Vergennes, was employed in form- ing the treaty of 1783, in which the independence of the United States was formally recognized by England. In FIG. 33. OPEN BUK OF THE EIDGELY CHESTNUT. 1795 (Am. encyclopedia) he came to this country and joined his sons, who had become successful manufactur- ers of gunpowder at or near Wilmington, Del., where their descendants, or at least some of them, are still en- gaged in the same business. If any of the old and orig- inal chestnut trees have escaped the numerous "jDowder THE CHESTNUT. 107 mill explosions" which hayo frequently occurred in that neighborhood, they are probably much older than the Eidgely. I am also inclined to believe that a very large majority of all the hardy chestnut trees of the European species scattered about the country are the direct de- scendants of the old Dupont stock. Scott. — Burs large, with long branching spines. Nuts from the original tree, as received the past season, are only of medium size, but said to be much larger on younger trees. Shell dark brown, smooth, with a little fuzz around the point. As my specimen tree has not, as yet, fruited, I am unable to say anything of its pro- ductiveness from personal experience, but in a note from Mr. William Parry, under date of Oct. 15, 1894, he says : '^I send specimens of the Scott chestnuts, grown by Judge Scott, of Burlington, N. J. The crop is about gone and it was with difficulty I could get these, which are about the average size ; earlier in the season many are larger. Judge Scott has grown these nuts for mar- ket several years. The original tree was bought by his father many years ago from the nursery of Thomas Hancock. He bought three trees for Spanish chest- nuts, planted them in a row about thirty feet apart, and the one from which these nuts were obtained happened to be in the middle. It is now a large tree, the trunk about five feet in diameter. It is a regular and heavy bearer. Judge Scott has propagated and planted an orchard from this variety, and claims among its impor- tant features, large size and early bearing, — two-year grafts generally produce nuts ; immense productiveness and good quality; beautiful, glossy, mahogany color; free- dom from fuzz, and an almost entire exemption from the attacks of the chestnut weevil. While the crop of two trees standing on either side of the Scott is badly dam- aged by worms, it is the exception to find a wormy nut among the Scott. 108 THE XUT CULTUEIST. "The crop sells readily at ten to twelve dollars per bushel. This year (1894) some sold as low as eight dol- lars, the lowest ever known for this variety." Styee. — Burs large, round ; spines long, branching, but not as coarse as those of Comfort. Nuts medium to large, decidedly pointed, and the point fuzzy. Shell dark brown, with a few longitudinal stripes, but not ridged. A handsome nut of good quality. This variety has been distributed under the name of Hannum. The original tree, which is a mammoth in size, is still stand- ing on the farm of a Mr. Hannum, near Ooncordville, Delaware Co., Penii. But Mr. T. Walter Styer, of the same place, is propagating and introducing it as the Styer. Some of the varieties in this group may not prove to be distinct, and later they will be relegated to their proper place as synonyms, but 1 have thought it best to record them by the names under which they have been received. In writing these descriptions I have had the nuts and leaves before me, but there may be characters overlooked which will become more conspicuous as the grafted trees become older and more mature. The Dager chestnut, from Delaware, is a proDiising variety, disseminated through the Department of Agriculture, but as I have not seen the nuts at this writing, a descrip- tion is necessarily omitted. Among the French varieties of this species which are said to succeed admirably in California, a large j)ro- portion would probably do equally well in Delaware and further south. Among those worthy of trial I may name the Avant Chataigne, Comale^ Exalade, Green of Lemou$i7i, Grosse Precoce, Jaime Rousse, Lyons, Merle, Nouzillard, Quercy, etc. I have tried some of these, but with such indifferent results that they were abandoned. Cultivators of nut trees located in a milder climate, should take advantage of whatever improve- THE CHESTNUT. 109 ments there have been made in Europe, by importing grafted trees or cions. There are a few ornamental vari- eties of the European chestnut, but none worthy of any special attention. Japait chestkuts. — The first authentic account I •have been able to find of the introduction of the Japan chestnut into this country, is of a number of trees re- ceived by S. B. Parsons & Co., Flushing, N. Y., 1876, from the late Thos. Hogg, who, as is well known to all horticulturists, spent several years in Japan collecting many rare kinds of trees and shrubs, which were shipped direct to Parsons & Co. The chestnut trees received in 1876 fruited two years later, or in 1878, and soon attracted attention, on account of the large size and excellent quality of the nuts and the precocious habits of the trees. The success of this typical variety of the Japanese species, as I have assumed to designate it, proved that there were oriental chestnuts — heretofore untested in this country — that were certainly worthy of an attempt to obtain. This variety, introduced by the Messrs. Parsons & Co., does not appear to have been dissemi- nated under any distinct varietal name, but merely bears the rather meaningless one of Japan chestnut, and for the jDiirpose of giving it a position where it may be recognized — by name at least — from other varieties more recently introduced, I shall take the liberty of calling it ' ^ Parsons' Japan. " Soon after it became known that the oriental chest- nuts would succeed in this country, the fruit growers and nurserymen of California began to import and plant these nuts, shipping an occasional lot to their customers in the Eastern States, and from these hundreds of seed- lings have been raised and distributed, under the gen- eral name of Japan chestnut. Among the nuts imported there are some of extraordinary size, even larger than anything of the kind obtained from Europe, as shown 110 THE NUT CULTURIST. ill Fig. 34, natural size, and from a specimen received direct from Japan. Some of the nurserymen who have secured these very large nuts for planting, offer the seedlings raised therefrom under such names as' Mammoth and Giant Japan, but_ as there is no certainty, and scarcely a prob- ability, that such seedlings v^ i 1 1 produce nuts as large as those FIG. 34. JAPAN GIANT CHESTNUT. p 1 a U t C d , tllC names are rather misleading, although proper enough if given to grafted varieties of large size. When an extra- fine variety is produced from the nut, it should, of course, be preserved and propagated in the usual way. The late ^Ym. Parry, of Parry, IST. J., was one of the first nurserymen to attempt to produce new varieties of the Japan chestnut in this country, and his sons have continued his experi- ments in this direction. Others may have been equally successful, but I have been unable to ob- tain any satisfactory re- ports from those to whom I have applied for ^ig. 35. spines of japan chestnut. information ; consequently, I can only say that the fol- lowing, with few exceptions, originated at the Wm. Parry nurseries : Advance (Parry). — Burs medium, slightly flattened on top; spines medium, short, almost sessile, as shown THE CHESTNUT. Ill in Fig. 35, and this is a characteristic of all the Japan chestnuts; branching and widely separated on a very thin husk. Nuts very large ; shell a light yellowish brown, with a few slight darker streaks from base to apex. Quality excellent for one of this species. Ripens early, and long before touched by frost. Alpha (Parry). — Very similar to the last, but ripens earlier, which would be an advantage in some localities. Tree vigorous and productive. Beta (Parry). — Bur medium; sj^ines rather long and thin for one of this group, set on a thin husk. Nut large ; shell light brown, smooth, with a slight trace of pubescence near the tip. The leaves are shallow and coarsely serrate, and on some the teeth or serratures are entirely wanting. Ripens a little later than the Alpha, or about the first of October in northern JSTew Jersey. Eaelt Reliance (Parry). — Burs medium, with short, almost deflexed spines, on an exceedingly thin husk. Nuts large, more pointed than in the last, and of a lighter color the past season, but tliis may not be constant, and may be due to the long and severe drouth of the summer of 1894. Usually three nuts in a bur, and sometimes four or five, but I do not consider this in- crease in number a merit in any variety, for where there are more than three they are likely to be of small size and very much deformed. The original tree of the Re- liance is enormously productive, and a regular bearer. Feltok. — A seedling of the common Japanese chestnut, raised by J. W. Killen, of Felton, Delaware. Giant Japan (Parry). — Burs large to extra large for a variety of this species, with medium low branching spines on a very thin, parchment-like husk. Nuts extra large, usually only two in a bur, often only one, and about two inches broad, much depressed at the to]), with a short point set in an irregular depression or basin. Shell dark mahogany color, more or less ribbed ; kernel 112 THE l^UT CULTUEIST. coarse grained, as is usual in the extra large varieties of nearly all species of the chestnut. This is probably the largest variety of the Japanese chestnut raised in this country, of which grafted trees are obtainable at this time. There may be others equally as large, but if so they are unknown to the writer. KiLLEN". — Of the Japan species, and described as very large, the nuts over two inches in diameter and of fair quality. Eaised by J. W. Killen, of Felton, Del. Paesoks' Japak. — Burs medium, with rather thick- set and long spines. Nuts large, one inch and a half broad, curving regularly to a point; shell smooth, almost glossy, brown, with faint stripes of a darker shade extending from base to ajiex. In quality the kernel is far better than most of the European varieties, being finer grained and sweeter. When grafted on strong stocks the trees come into bearing early, or in two or three years. This is the best known, and probably the most widely distributed variety, of the Japanese species in this country* having been introduced, as I have stated elsewhere, in 1876. Paery's Superb (Parry). — Burs broad, cushion- shaped, or much flattened on top, with extra long, widely branching sj)ines from single or multiple stems, very much as in the European varieties. But the thin husk, the nuts, and the growth of tree, wood and leaves, stamp it as a pure Japanese variety. Nuts large, broader than long, with a decided sharjD woody j)oint; almost entirely destitute of even a sign of pubescence. A very promising and distinct variety. Success (Parry). — Burs very large, broad, with only a few short, scattering, branching spines on the toji, thicker toward the base ; on a thin, parchment-like husk, and this is so thin that it sometimes cracks ojDcn and exposes the nuts within before they are fully ripe. Nuts extra large, nearly equal to the Giant, but of a THE CHESTNUT. 113 more regular and symmetrical form, being nearly as long as broad, tapering to a point. Shell smooth, dark brown, with a slight pubescence about the point. Usu- ally three nuts in a bur ; an ideal variety in every respect. There is a variety of the Japan chestnut recently much lauded under the name of Mammoth or Burbank, which is said to be of immense size, and as sweet as the common American chestnut. Injurious Insects. — The chestnut tree is rarely attacked by insects. It is true that grubs may occasion- ally be found boring into the wood or cutting sinuous burrows under the bark, but this is mainly in trees weak- ened by exposure, in removing protecting companions, as when removing forests, or by plowing up and destroy- ing the roots, in cultivating the land about them ; but the attacks of insects upon such specimens is nature's way of getting rid of the feeble and least valuable, mak- ing room for the healthy and strong. But my thirty years' residence in a chestnut grove leads me to think that this nut ti-ee is exceedingly free from wood borers of any kind. Entomologists, however, have noted several instances of insect depredations upon individual trees, by a few species of the longhorn beetles, three or four in all, but these occur so rarely that they are scarcely worthy of notice as pests of the chestnut. There are also several species of caterpillars occasionally found feeding on the leaves of this tree, also some sucking bugs or tree hop- ]3ers, and two or three kinds of plant lice, but none of these have, as yet, become at all formidable enemies, or likely to become so later. But the chestnut has one enemy which is so abundant and destructive to the nuts as to call for an extended notice. I refer to the common native chestnut weevil {Balaninus car y tripes, Boheman). The little fat, white, round, legless grubs, nearly or quite a half-inch long, must be familiar to every person who 8 114 THE NUT CULTUEIST. has handled or eaten chestnuts raised in this countryy whether of the exotic or native varieties. The parents of this grub are oval-shaped beetles about one-half inch, long or less ; wing covers, body and legs densely covered with a short yellow down, and from the front or thorax there extends a long, slightly curved, slender snout (Fig. 36), sometimes nearly an inch in length in the females, but usually less in the males. The mouth parts are at the extreme end of this snout or proboscis, and the fe- male, with her mandibles, it is claimed, reaches down among the chestnut spines and gnaws a hole in the husk, into which she drops an egg ; and when this hatches, the minute grub cuts its way through the green husk and into the nut, the hole made in its progress closing up behind, leaving no mark or scar. Al- though I have taken hundreds of these wee- vils on chestnut trees, I never have been so FIG 36 CHEST- ^*^^'^^^^^^® ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^® ^^ ^^^® ^^^ ^^ ^^^' NUT WEEVIL, positing, but have come so near it as to find the ovipositor still extended as the insect crawled out from among the spineSo The chestnut weevil usually appears in great num- bers soon after the trees bloom in spring, but they con- tinue to come out all through the summer ; I have occasionally found them late in September, which prob- ably accounts for finding small and half-grown grubs in the nuts as they ripen and fall from the trees. These late grubs often remain in the nuts all winter, but the greater part escape earlier, or very soon after the crop is ripe. The grubs crawl out of the nuts and work their way into the ground to a depth of from a few inches to two feet, much depending upon the nature of the soil. Having very powerful jaws, they readily cut through a layer of leaves or soft wood, and I have known them to cut holes in sheets of dry cork. These grubs remain in THE CHESTNUT. 115 the ground until the following season, then come fortli in their winged or weevil stage, except the belated broods, or those that have not reached full size in the autumn ; these remain in the ground the entire summer, coming out late in the fall, or pass over until the second year, as I have proved by burying the grubs in a barrel sunk in the ground, covering the top with fine wire net- ting, to prevent the escape of the weevils as they emerged from time to time during the season. As a rule, we find only one grub in a nut, of the American sweet chestnut, but in the larger varieties of the European and Japanese, two or more is not unusual, which rather favors the idea that the female weevil does possess something akin to reason, which guides her in locating stores of food available for her progeny. I have never observed that the weevils had any choice among varieties, all being subject to their attacks alike, pro- vided all were growing in equally favorable positions. But if the trees are of different sizes, some tall and others short, some exposed to the winds and others pro- tected, then the ravages of this pest will, no doubt, be as variable as the surrounding conditions. As the weevils emerge from the ground in spring or early sum- mer, they will naturally seek the nuts most convenient and on the small trees, then those on the lower branches of the larger ones, while those on the upper part of the tree, where they are fully exposed to the winds, may wholly escape the attacks of these pests. This leads me to think that whoever attempts to cut off native chest- nut forests, with the expectation of renewal with the larger varieties, by grafting the sprouts, will find the chestnut weevil a rather formidable enemy. I have found it so on a limited number of trees in my own grounds, that are grown from grafted sprouts near large native specimens, the weevils destroying nearly every nut ; but ont in the field, away from the woods, and 116 THE NUT CULTURIST. where the young trees are scattered and exjoosed to the full sweep of the winds, the nuts are sound and free from insect enemies. The only remedy is to collect and destroy the weevils, which is not a serious matter where only the larger varieties are cultivated. Diseases of the Chestnut. — I have never noticed any special disease among chestnuts, neither do I find any mentioned in European works on forestry. The nearest apj)roach to any such malady being recorded as having appeared in this country, is found in a paragraph in Hough's ^'Keport on Forestry," 1877, p. 470, where the author coj^ies from Prof. W. C. Kerr, State Geologist, ]^orth Carolina, as follows: '^The chestnut was for- merly abundant in the Piedmont region, down to the country between the Catawba and Yadkin rivers, but within the last thirty years they have mostly perished. They are now found east of the Blue Eidge only, on higher ridges and spurs of the mountains. They have suffered injury here, and are dying out both here and beyond the Blue Eidge. They are much less fruitful than they were a generation ago, and the crop is much more uncertain." While there is nothing said about any chestnut dis- ease in the jDaragraph quoted, we only infer that the author intended to convey the idea that the trees were suffering from some endemic malady, although it may have been due to long drouths, insect depredators, or other causes. A few years later Mr. Hough, in his ''Elements of Forestry," refers to the subject again, and admits that ''the cause of the malady is unknown." But as chestnuts continue to come to our markets in vast quantities from the Piedmont regions, there must be a goodly number of healthy trees remaining. Uses. — The economic value of the chestnut, as food for mankind and the lower animals, has been, and is still, so well known, that no extended dissertation or THE CHESTNUT. 117 compilation of historic instances of its usefulness are required here. For almost two thousand years it has been an important article of food throughout southern Europe, and in some of the mountainous districts it is almost the "staff of life" among the poorer people, who not only use these nuts in their raw state, but roasted, boiled, stewed, and even dried 'and ground into flour, from which a coarse but nutritious kind of cake or bread is made. These nuts are also used in the same way by the poorer classes of China and Japan, and probably in other oriental countries. In France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, the chestnut crop is of immense importance, not only for domestic use, but commercially, because all surplus is wanted by other nations, who are ever ready to take a share, and pay a good round price for the same. In this country chestnuts are mainly used as a lux- ury or a kind of ]30cket lunch for the children, as they are rarely brought to the table, and it is very doubtful if the American housewife, or our cooks, — unless foreign born and bred, — know anything about preparing these delicious nuts for comestible purposes. Cereals, meats, fruits and vegetables have always been so abundant and cheap in this country, that the poorest of the poor could indulge in them without stint or limit ; but all this will change sooner or later, and when our population has doubled or trebled, the edible nuts must become of much more importance than now, and a roast turkey stuffed with chestnuts may figure as the ideal of gastronomic art. As our native chestnuts are now annually consumed by the thousands of bushels, and the imported varieties by millions of pounds, and all as a mere luxury, — not a necessity nor an article which we could not dispense with without any serious inconvenience, — we may well consider what the future demand must be, and make haste to meet it with an abundant supply. CHAPTER YI. FILBEKT OR HAZELIS'UT. Coryliis, Tournefort. Name from horys, a hood, helmet or bonnet, in reference to the form of the calyx or husk enclosing the nnt. Order, Corylacem. Decid- uous trees or low shrubs. Male flowers appearing in the autumn in pendulous cylindrical catkins two inches or more in length, with a two-cleft calyx partly united with the bracts or scales. These catkins remain on the plants all winter, becoming fully developed, and shed- ding their pollen early the following spring. Female flowers minute, entirely hidden within the buds during the winter, but early in spring their bright red, thread- like stigmas push out from the tips of the lateral or ter- minal buds. Ovary two-celled, with one ovule in each. Nut globular, ovoid or oblong, often in clusters, but each enclosed in a leafy, two- or three-valved husk, fringed or deeply notched at the upper end. Leaves broadly heart-shajDcd, serrate, with sturdy, short leaf- stalks. The filbert and hazel always bloom before the leaves appear in spring, and the male catkins usually open and begin to scatter their pollen in this latitude during warm days in March, the females soon following, their bright-red stigmas pushing out from the ends of the buds , but as soon as fertilization has been consum- mated they shrivel and disappear. The trees may then remain leafless for weeks following, and yet produce a heavy crop of fruit. The common English name, filbert, is from '' full- beard." All the varieties with husks extending beyond the nut, and with fringed edges, are filberts (Fig. 37) ; 118 FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 119 while those with husks shorter than the nuts (Fig. 38) are hazels, from the old Anglo-Saxon word, hcBsel^ a hood or bonnet. The parentage, size, form or quality of the nut, is not to be considered in this classification, for when the nuts are ripe and fallen from the husks. FIG. 37. LARGE FILBERT. there is nothing left to distinguish the hazelnuts from filberts, unless a person is sufficiently familiar with a variety to know to which group it belongs. In France these nuts are known under the general name of Xoysette; while in Germany it is Haselmiss ; in Holland Hazel- 120 THE i;rUT CULTUEIST. noot ; and in Italy Avellana, from Ayellana, a city of Naples, near which there is a valley where these nuts have been extensively cultivated for many centuries. History of the Filbert. — It is claimed that the filbert was first known to the Eomans as Nux Pontica, because introduced from Pontus ; but it must have be- come naturalized throughout southern Europe in very early times. But the Italian name of Avellana appears to have been applied to the wild hazel of Britain, long before Linnaeus adopted it as the specific name of the FIG. 38. LARGE SEEDLIKG HAZELNUT. indigenous species. John Evelyn, one of the most care- ful and learned of English arboriculturists of his time, in referring to these nuts, in his ^^Sylva," 1664, says : ^'^I do not confound the filbert Pontic, distinguished by its beard, with our foresters or bald hazelnuts, which, doubtless, we had from abroad, bearing the names of Avelan or Avelin, as I find in some ancient records and deeds in my custody, where my ancestors' names were written Avelan, alias Evelin." FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 121 The filbert has been celebrated in prose and poetry from ancient times, as we may infer from a remark of Virgil, who says that it has been more honored "than the vine, the myrtle, or even the bay itself" (Eclogue vii). The supposed occult power of a forked twig of the hazel as a divining-rod {virgula divinatoria) for finding hidden treasures, veins of metals, subterranean streams of water, and even pointing out criminals, is, of course, purely mythical, although so solemnly attested by many learned men in the past ; and I would not consider this myth worthy of a notice here were it not for the fact that it was early imported into this country, and is still firmly believed by many persons among our rural popu- lation. It is true that the supposed attributes of the European hazel have been transferred to different plants in this country, mainly to the peach and our indigenous witch-hazel {Hamamelis Virgima?ia), but the myth still lives, a legitimate descendant of an Old World nut tree. There is little to be said in regard to the history of the filbert and hazelnut in this country, but it is quite likely that both of the European species, and many vari- eties, were brought here and planted by the early settlers in the Eastern States, and bushes of the same could have been seen in many gardens a hundred years ago ; but I have been unable to find any account of extensive plant- ings of these nuts, although nurserymen, all along, have been offering choice varieties to their customers. In the main, our pomologists have either remained silent in regard to these nuts, or, at most, referred to them very briefly in their published works. William Prince, of Flushing, N". Y.,in a "Short Treatise on Horticulture," published in 1828, refers to the filbert as follows : "This shrub or, in some cases, tree, accommodates itself to every exposition, and to every variety of soil, but prefers a moist loam on a sandy 122 THE KUT CULTURIST. bottom, witli a northern exposure. It is easily multi- plied by seeds, layers or inoculation. In fact, these nuts, which are vended in large quantities in our mar- kets, grow as well in our climate as the common hazel- nut, and produce very abundantly. Such being the case, it is hoj^ed, ere long, sufficient will be produced from our soil to supersede the necessity of importation, as plantations of this tree would amply remunerate the possessor; or if planted as a hedge, would be found to be very productive. A single bush of the Spanish filbert in my garden Las produced a half -bushel annually." Mr. Prince then names a few of the best varieties, which are about the same as those recommended at the present time, and he was, no doubt, honest in recom- mending filbert culture to his countrymen, for his own limited experience proved that the trees would grow here and fruit abundantly. A. J. Downing, in the first edition of his '^' Fruits and Fruit Trees of America," 1845, says : ^^The Span- ish filbert, common in many of our gardens, is a worth- less, nearly barren variety ; but we have found the better English sorts productive and excellent in this climate (l^ewburg, N. Y.), and at least a few plants of these should have a place in all our gardens." If a few plants will succeed in a garden, then we might reasonably sup- pose that the number might be safely increased, and this was the idea of Mr. Prince, and many other writers on the subject since his time, but I fail to find any rec- ord of extended experiments with these nuts in this country, and as there must be some good reason for this neglect, perhaps my own experience in the cultivation of the filbert and hazel, to be given in succeeding pages, may throw some fight on this question. Propagation. — Filberts are readily propagated by almost all the modes employed in the multiplication of ordinary fruit trees and shrubs. The nuts are not at all FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 123 delicate, and may be planted in the fall, or stored in a cool place, mixed with sand or sphagnum, and then put out in spring, always selecting a rather light and rich soil for a seed bed, and in such beds plants from one to three feet high may be obtained the first season. The seedlings produce such a mass of fine roots that they are readily transplanted without danger of loss. Varieties are perpetuated and multiplied by budding, grafting, suckers, layers, and some grow quite readily from cut- tings made of the young, vigorous shoots, cut wp into l^roper lengths in the fall, and then buried in the ground until the following spring, then planted out in trenches, as usually practiced with currants, grapes and similar plants. The method of proj)agation most generally practiced in Europe and this country is by suckers, and as the cultivated varieties of the filbert usually produce these from the base of their stems in profusion, there is no lack of material ; besides, they make as strong, healthy and productive plants as can be procured in any other way. To secure an extra number of roots on these suckers, they should be banked up with a few inches in depth of good rich soil, or old manure, about midsum- mer, and then late in the autumn dig down to the base and remove with knife or chisel, after which they may be headed down to about fifteen or eighteen inches, and heeled-in for the winter, to be planted out in nursery rows early in spring. If a greater number of sprouts are wanted than the plants naturally produce, the main stem may be cut down ; but this will seldom be necessary, because the young transplanted suckers will usually pro- duce more or less new ones the first season, all of which can be utilized for multiplying the stock if they are wanted. Soil, Location and Climate. — European varieties of the filbert thrive best in what may be termed a rich loam, with a dry subsoil. If the soil is too moist, the 124: THE NUT CULTURIST. trees are inclined to run too much to wood, producing less fruit. In the famous nnt orchards of Kent, Eng- land, the soil is loam upon a dry, sandy rock. The trees in these orchards are manured at least once in two years, especially after they reach the full bearing age. Almost any good soil that is rich enough to produce a good crop of corn, and is not submerged in winter, will answer for the filbert in this country. In selecting a location for a filbert orchard, an open, airy one would j)TObably be preferable to a spot so shel- tered as to cause the flowers to appear so early as to be injured by frosts. Furthermore, I would warn culti- vators to keep as far away as possible from any hedge- rows or plantation of the wild native hazel bushes, for these are always loaded with disease germs that are fatal to the foreign species. We might reasonably suppose that filberts would succeed better in the Southern than in the Northern States, but if the experience of those who have tried them there count for anything, then these nuts are not adapted to the South, owing to the fact that the flowers almost invariably push out during warm days in winter, and these are destroyed later by frosts. In the more elevated regions of the northern border of the Southern, and in similar locations in the Middle States, these nuts will doubtless thrive, or at least the climate will prove congenial. The more equa- ble the climate and free from extremes in temperature, the better ; but the most important element in this country is moisture, especially in summer, when the nuts are filling out ; and the best way to supply this, where irrigation cannot be practiced, is to keep the ground around the trees continually covered with a mulch of leaves or other coarse vegetable matter. Planting and Pruning. — The space to be allowed between the plants, when set out for bearing, will, of course, depend very much upon the size they are ex- FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 1:^5 pected to attain. Those varieties which assume and remain in the bash form may be ])lanted very close to- gether, or not more than six to eight feet between the plants ; but those which become small trees must be given more room. The larger European sorts, which are at present the only ones worth cultivating for their nuts, should be set ten or twelve feet apart, and the rows fifteen to sixteen feet, then if properly pruned they will shade the ground and be in a convenient form for gathering the crop. The trees may be planted in the orchard when quite small, and some kind of vegetable crop grown among them for the first two or three years, but I would prefer keeping the plants in nursery rows until they were four or five feet high, and then trans- plant to the orchard, and set a short, stout stake by the side of each, to keep the main stem in an upright posi- tion until the tree is well established. The first pruning, — except removing suckers from those in the nursery rows, — will be the heading back of the main or central stem to a hight of two or three feet, for the purpose of laying the foundation, as it were, of the head of the future tree. Three or four of the larger branches, which will push out from near the top of the severed main stem, are to be selected to form the top, and all others removed. Small lateral branches or twigs will spring out from the larger or main ones, and in this way the head of a bearing tree is formed. But before attempting to prune a mature or fruitful tree, we must consider the mode of fructification, for the filbert does not bear nuts on the young growth of the season, as in the chestnut, but on the small branch- lets or spur-like twigs of the preceding season, or, as we may say, on the one-year-old twigs. The small fruiting twigs are seldom more than four to six inches long, and sometimes almost every well-developed bud on these con- tain pistillate flowers and embryo nuts, either singly or 126 THE NUT CULTUKIST. in clusters. In pruning the bearing trees, the main point to be observed is to head back the strong leading shoots, to prevent the trees growing too tall, as well as to force out the side or lateral twigs as fruiting wood for the ensuing year. If the heads of the trees become too much crowded to admit light and air to the center, some of the larger branches must be removed entire. The best time to prune is in early spring, when the trees are in bloom, for at this season we can readily determine the injured from the sound male catkins, and preserve enough of these to insure perfect fertilization. It is not necessary, however, that there should be healthy pollen- bearing catkins on every tree in an orchard, for if one in a dozen is well supplied, there will be sufficient to fer- tilize the flowers of all growing near by. It often hap- pens, in our rather severe climate, that the catkins of some trees or varieties are winterkilled, while the pistil- late flowers enclosed in the buds escape injury, and when this occurs it is well to have some hardy variety at hand, from which pollen can be obtained when needed. The inferior varieties are usually the most hardy, and the wild European hazel or our northern beaked hazel, will usually escape injury where all the large improved sorts fail, and it requires but a few minutes' labor to cut branches bearing sound catkins, and scatter these about through the heads of trees requiring such assistance to make them fruitful. SPECIES OF AMERICAN HAZELS. CoEYLUs Americana (Walters). Common hazel bush. — Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, coarsely serrate ; husk somewhat downy, with a wide, flattened, fringed border extending beyond the roundish nut. Shell rather thick and brittle ; kernel sweet and good, but the nut is too small to be considered of much value. A. low shrub, with many stems springing from the roots. FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 127 Young shoots and twigs downy and glaiidiilar-bairv. Common in woods and old fields from Canada to Florida. CoKYLUS ROSTEATA (Aiton). Beaked hazel. — Leaves ovate or oblong, somewhat heart-shaped, pointed, doubly serrate ; husk extending an inch or more beyond the round or ovoid nut, forming before it opens a long tubu- lar beak, hence the name. The husk is densely covered with nettle-like bristles, which are quite irritating to tender hands. The nuts are small, usually growing in clusters at the ends of the twigs, only a few coming to maturity. A low shrub or small tree, usaally growing in a dense clump, not spreading from subterranean stems, as in the last species. Common on rather firm and rich soil along the borders of streams, in the northern border States, and southward on the Alle- ghanies, but most abundant in the north through Can- ada, and westward to the Pacific in Washington and. Oregon, where, in the mountains, it often assumes the tree form, growing to a hight of twenty-five to thirty feet, with a stem from four to six inches in diameter. The wood is light, soft, and very white to the center. It also extends southward to central California, but here it is only a small bush, this form having been de- scribed under the name of Coryliis rostrata, var. Cali- fornica, A. de C. This species probably reaches its high- est development in the Cascade range, in northern Ore- gon. The same or a closely allied species of the hazel extends far into northern Asia. There are no improved varieties of either of our native species of the hazel in cultivation. EUEOPEAN SPECIES OF CORYLUS. CoRYLUS AvELLAi^A (Linn.). Common hazelnut. — Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, coarsely and un- evenly serrate ; husk bell-shaped, spreading, with a fringed or deeply cut margin. The original form of this 128 THE NJJT CULTUEIST. nut is snp]30sed to have been oyate or oral, but with a plant indigenous to such a wide range of climate and country, and one that has been so long under cultiyation, — running wild in many localities where it is not a native, — it would be very difficult at this time to determine its primary botanical characters. A common shrub or small tree throughout the greater part of Europe and Asia. CoRTLUS OolurjS'A (Liuu.). — Cons tan tinoi3le ha- zel. Leaves roundish ovate, heart-shaped ; husk double, the inner one divided into three deeply cleft divisions, the outer with many long, slender, curved segments, giving to the calyx or husk a fringed appearance, but leaving the end of the nut fully exposed (Fig. 39). 'Nuts small, and for this reason rarely cultivated. Native of Asia Minor, where the tree attains a hight of from fifty to sixty feet. It is, however, hardy in France and Eng- land, and was introduced into the latter country some three hundred years ago, j)robably by Olusius, who re- ceived either nuts or plants from Constantinople, hence its present name. There are several other hazels and filberts, so distinct from the two common European types that botanists have, in a few instances, been inclined to elevate them to the rank of sj^ecies, and among these I may name Corylus heterophylla, or various-leaved filbert, from east- ern Asia, also the Corylus ferox, or spiny filbert, which has a long and deeply cut or fringed husk. It is a na- tive of the Sheopur mountain in Nepaul. But from the two common European species, C. Avellana and C. Co- lurna, and their hybrids, many hundreds of varieties have been raised, and from among these we may readily select a dozen possessing all the distinct and estimable properties to be found in this genus of nut-bearing plants ; to "multiply names without securing anything of intrinsic value, is but a waste of time and labor on the part of the cultivator. FILBEKT OE HAZELNUT. 129 As we have no popular varieties of American origin, I am compelled to consult European catalogues in mak- ing a selection of those most promising for cultivation here, and this is, perhaps, an advantage, inasmuch as our transatlantic cousins have had a long experience and CONSTANTINOPLE HAZEL. abundant opportunities for determining the merits of the varieties they recommend. If hardiness and adap- tation to our soil and climate are to be taken into ac- count, in making a selection, then we may fail for the want of experienced guides, as it is undeniable that very 9 130 THE .:N"UT cultueist. few persons in this country have ever attempted to con- duct extended experiments in the cultivation of either the native or European species and varieties of the hazel. Taking this view of the situation, I shall avail my- self of the small but select list of varieties given in that standard work, "The Dictionary of Grardening," edited by Mr. George Mcnolson, of the Eoyal Gardens, KeWj England. SELECT LIST OE VARIETIES. Alba, or White eilbert. — Considered in Eng- land one of the best varieties in cultivation. Erom the peculiar structure of the husk, which contracts rather than opens at the outer edge, this filbert can be kept longer in its cover than most others. As fashion demands that fresh filberts must be brought to the table in their husks, this variety deserves special atten- tion. It is also known as Avelinier Blanche, Wrotham Park, etc. CosEOED, OE Miss You^-g's Thii^-Shelled. — Nut oblong, of excellent quality; husk hairy, deeply cut, about as long as the nut. Highly valued on ac- count of the thinness of the shell. Ceispa, or Feizzled eilbeet. — Shell thin, some- what flattened ; husk richly and curiously frizzled throughout, open wide at the mouth, and hanging about as long again as the nut. Eipens late, and one of the most productive. Dowi^TOK Laege Squaee. — Nut very large; shell thick and well-filled ; hnsk smooth, shorter than the nut. A peculiarly formed semi-square nut, of the best quality. Lambeet's EILBEET {Covylus tubidoso). — Nut large, oblong ; shell thick and strong, the kernel being covered with a red skin ; husk long, rather smooth, ser- rated at the edges, longer than the nut. A fine, strong- FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 131 growing, free-fruiting variety, it is quite popular in California, where it lias been in cultivation for twenty years or more under the name of Eed Aveline. Speci- mens I have received from there were not as large as those raised in England, but; this can be accounted for by the diiference in climate. This variety is cultivated in Europe under various local names, as, for instance, Great Cob, Kentish Cob, Filbert Cob, and Large Bond Cob. Grakdis, or Roukd cobn"ut. — Nut large, short, slightly compressed, very thick and hard ; husk shorter than the fruit, much frizzled and hairy. This is sup- posed to be the true Barcelona nut of commerce, and is one of the finest grown. This is the largo round hazel or filbert so largely imported for the trade in this coun- try. It has many synonyms, and among them we may record Downton, Dwarf Prolific, Great Cob and Round Cob. Purple-Leaved filbert. — Usually cultivated as an ornamental shrub in this countr3^, but under proper treatment it is one of the most valuable for its fruit. Leaves very large, and of a deep purple color. N"uts and husk of the same color, which they retain until cut by frosts. Nuts large, an inch in length ; husks much longer than the nut, and slightly hairy. The catkins are tender and become winterkilled in our Northern States, but if the pistillate flowers are fertilized by pol- len from some more hardy plant, this purple-leaved filbert is exceedingly prolific. I have gathered eighty nuts from a small bush in my garden, the flowers of which had been fertilized from another variety in early spring. Red filbert. Red Hazel, Avelinier Rouge. — Xut medium ovate, not long as in the tubulosa, or Lambert's filbert ; shell thick ; husk long and hispid. A very productive variety of good quality. 132 THE KUT CULTUEIST. Spais^ish filbert. — Nut yery large, oblong ; shell thick ; husk smooth, longer than the nut. A very large variety, sometimes confounded with the Round cobnut and its synonyms. PEESONAL EXPERIENCE WITH FILBERTS. Believing that our failures are often of far more value, in the line of education, than our successes, I shall not hesitate to place my own on record as guide- posts to those who may be seeking the most direct road to success in nut culture. Having had a rather extended and expensive experience in the cultivation of filberts, I purpose giving a brief account of it here, with the hope that it may save some other enthusiast from losing time and money. My attention was first specially drawn to these nuts in 1858, — Y>diile a resident of the city of Brooklyn, IST. Y., — by a neighbor who had a moderately large garden, on three sides of which he had j^lanted a row of English filberts. These trees, at the tim.e, had attained a hight of about fifteen feet, with broad, open heads, and they rarely failed to produce a heavy crop of nuts, which sold readily at very remunerative j^ rices, for as they were always gathered in the husks and sold by the pound, the amount obtained from these few trees seemed to be enormous, considering the small space they occupied in this garden. The owner of these filbert trees, being an Englishman by birth, never tired of shoAving his Eng- lish filberts to visitors, and of descanting upon their value, as well as upon the stupid indifference of the Yankees in neglecting the cultivation of these valuable nuts. I imbibed enough of my neighbor's enthusiasm to secure a good stock of his plants, a few years later, for cultiva- tion in my grounds here. The third year after planting, quite a number of the bushes produced a fair crop of nuts, but I noticed that an occasional shoot was affected riLBEMT OR HAZELNUT. 133 with blight, and these were immediately cut out and burned. The next season more of the branches were affected, and from these the blight extended downward on the main stems, and when these were cut away the sprouts from below made a very vigorous and apparently healthy growth, some reaching a hight of six feet the first season, but a year or two later these were also at- tacked and destroyed by blight. Finding that the filberts in my grounds were doomed, I visited my old neighbor in Brooklyn, hoping to learn something of the origin or cause of the disease ; but the blight had invaded his garden, and not a tree remained. On my return from this visit I had every filbert and hazel plant on my place dug up and burned, thinking by such means to stamp out the disease. After waiting ten years, I thought it time to try filberts again, and to be certain of securing pure and healthy plants, I con- cluded to raise them from the nuts, and sent an order for a few pounds of the largest and best variety to be found in the celebrated filbert orchards of Kent, Eng. In due time the nuts arrived, and they were very large, and all of one variety, as ordered. They w^ere mixed with sand and buried in the garden until the following- spring, then sown thinly in shallow drills and covered with about two inches of rich soil. At the close of the first season the plants were from one to two feet high and quite stocky, with a mass of small fibrous roots. The next spring they were trans- planted into nursery rows, and set about one foot apart. The third spring I laid out about one acre for a speci- men filbert orchard, and after the ground had been thor- oughly prepared, the plants were set ten feet apart in the row, and twelve between the rows. No crop was planted among the trees, but the ground was kept clean and free from weeds during the summer, with cultivator and harrow. All suckers springing from the base of the 134 THE NUT CULTURIST. FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 135 stems were removed as soon as they appeared, and under such treatment the plants made a vigorous growth. Two years later quite a number of the trees came into bear- ing, these showing that I was likely to have nearly as many varieties in my orchard as there were trees. Some of the varieties might be better than the parent, but the greater part were certain to be inferior in size. The fourth year after planting in the orchard the trees gave me a heavy crop of nuts, and they made a fine appear- FIG. 41. VARIETIES OF FILBERTS AND HAZEL SEEDLINGS. ance as one looked down between the long rows, as shown in Fig. 40. But this season my old enemy, the filbert blight, appeared again, and branches and main stems began to blacken and the leaves to wither. But I had bushels of nuts and in great variety, and by send- ing specimen baskets of the long-husk varieties to deal- ers in New York, learned that there was an almost unlimited demand for such nuts, at prices ranging from 136 THE KUT CULTUEIST. FIG. 42. EXTRA LARGE HAZEL SEEDLING OR ROUND ENGLISH FILBERT. FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 137 138 THE NUT CULTURIST. thirty to seyenty-five cents per pound, if sent to market in their fresh, half-ripened husk; but later on, when the nuts have fallen out and become thoroughly ripened, as when imported, ten cents a j)ound may be considered an average price for the larger varieties. Several of these are shown in Fig. 41, of natural size and form. Another extra-large hazel is shown in Fig. 42. The fifth year after planting, my specimen filbert orchard had suffered so much from blight that it appeared as shown in Fig. 43 ; but a few dozen trees have been re- served, the rest being removed and reduced to ashes. Name and Nature of the Filbert Blight. — The reader must not suppose that one who has spent as much time and money as the writer in experimenting with these nuts, would make no effort to discover the origin and name of such a virulent disease, and means of de- stroying it if these were known. For many years I had been well aware of its presence in nearly all of the nur- series of the older States, as well as in the public parks and private gardens. In the meantime I had diligently examined the reports of the Division of Vegetable Pa- thology of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the hundreds of bulletins of the various State experi- ment stations, treating of the fungous diseases of plants, all without finding a hint or reference to this widely distributed and destructive blight of the filbert. I also sent many specimens of the diseased twigs and branches to professional mycologists, with no better results. With the nature of the disease, its mode of multi- IDlication and distribution, I had become somewhat fa- miliar, but the information sought was : Had it ever been described and given a scientific name, and if so, wdiere, and by whom ? This much of its history had somehow escaped me, and, as it would appear from the following correspondence, the chances were none too good of finding it. FILBERT OR HxVZELNUT. 139 In reply to an inquiry directed to the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, Division of Vegetable Pathology, I received the following : Washington, D. C, Aug. 4. 1894, Dear Sir: Your letter of Aug. 2, relating to the disease of the filbert, is at hand. In reply I have to say that we have not investi- gated this trouble, and are therefore unable to furnish you with any definite information upon it. Specimens of the dis- ease, as you describe it, have never been, so far as I know, re- ferred to the Division, nor am I able to find any record of any such disease in foreign or domestic literature. If you will send us specimens we shall be pleased to examine them and furnish you a report. We should also be pleased to have any information from you in regard to the manner in which the disease works. Very truly, B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Division. The specimens requested were forwarded promptly by mail, and in the absence of the Chief of Division, they fell into the hands of one of his assistants, who re- ported as follows : Washington, D. C, Aug. 14, 1894. Dear Sir: Your letter of Aug. 7 is received, together with^the speci- mens. The stems of the Corylus are affected with one of the Pyrenomycetes. Cryptospora anomala, Pk. The fungus is described in " North American Pyrenomycetes," by Ellis and Everhart, p. 531. It attacks Corylus Americana, but appears to be worst on the European varieties, as you say. The pus- tules appear first on the young branches, and later on the older ones and on the trunk. The roots are not killed. The only remedy known is to cut out and burn the dis- eased stems. Whether Bordeaux mixture or any other copper solution will protect the shrub from attack, is not known. So far as I know, it has not been tried. It is probable, however, that if the stems were thoroughly sprayed with the Bordeaux mixture they would be protected from attack. The mycelium of the fungus grows into the cambium and practically girdles the stems. The black pustules contain the spores. Very truly yours, ALBERT F. WOObs, Acting Chief. 140 THE KUT CULTUKIST. On tlie receipt of this note of Prof. Woods, I looked up Ellis and E^erhart's work, a voluminous one of over 800 octavo pages, published by the authors at Newfield, N. Jo This filbert blight is briefly described under the scientific name of Gryj)tospora anomala, Pk., but Pi'of. Peck writes me that ^'the description was made from specimens discovered near Albany, N. Y., in May, 1874. In 1882 this description was republished by Saccardo, in his '^Syllage Fungorum," Vol. I, p. 470, under the name of Cryjjtosjjorella anomala. The original name in Ee- port 28, p. 72, was Diatrype anomala. In 1892 Ellis and Everhart, in '^Pyrenomycetesof North America," j)- 531, changed the name again, making it Cryptosi^ora ano- mala J^ So at present we have the names of this fungus in the following order : Diatrypes anomaly Peck, 1876. CryptosporeUa anomala, Sacc, 1882. Cryptospora anomala, E. and E., 1892. Ellis and Everhart, after giving scientific descrip- tion, add, '' On living stems of Corylus Americana, Albany, ]^. Y. (Peck), Iowa (Holoway), on Corylus Avel- lana, J^ewfield, N. J. The pustules appear first on the smaller branches, and are serrately arranged along one side of the branch ; afterwards they appear also on the larger branches and on the trunk itself, and in the course of two or three years the |)art of tree above ground is entirely killed. The roots, however, still retain their vitality, and continue to send up each year a luxuriant growth of new shoots, destined to be de- stroyed the succeeding year by the inexorable pest. The imported trees seem to be more injuriously affected than the native species." The observations of Ellis and Everhart and Prof. Woods accord with my own, but I may say that the in- fested branches often show the presence of the mycelium in the bark and alburnum, — by a slight shrinking, — FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. Ui i\ weeks or months before the pnstnles appear, for tliese are merely indications of the last stage in the life of the fungus, and with the throwing off the spores from these pustules the old parasite perishes. The pustules, when fully open, are from one-six- teenth to one-eighth of an inch in diam.- eter, usually round, but sometimes slightly oyal in form, and placed mainly in almost straight rows lengthways of the branch, as shown in Fig. 44. These pustules appear on wood of all ages, from two years upward, and in what may be termed patches, rang- ing from a few inches to a foot or more in length, and more frequently on the upper side than the underside of the branches. This fungus is undoubtedly indige- nous, and its host plant is the common American hazel (C. Americana). From a very careful search, I have not been able to find any clump of these bushes of any con- siderable size that v/as entirely free from pustulous stems. But on these wild j^lants it seems to do but little harm, for if a stem is killed, another soon springs u|) from the roots to take its place ; but when this fun- gus invades our orchards and gardens and attacks filbert trees, we recognize it as an implacable enemy. How far the sjjores^of this fungus are likely to be carried by the wind, transported on the clothes of a per- son, or the hair of domestic animals, I do not knolv, but it certainly is not safe to plant the susceptible species and varieties hazel fungus. within a mile of the wild hazel bushes, unless the planter is prepared to use fungicides freely on his trees. There are certain phases of this filbert blight that are rather * FIG. 44. 142 THE isTT CULTURIST. obscure and scarcely exjDlainable ; as, for instance, its virulence among some species and varieties, and almost if not total absence among others. So far as my obser- vation extends, I have never found it attacking the na- tive beaked hazel {Corylus rostrata), and my correspond- ents in the Northwest and in the Pacific States assure me that no blight on the hazel has, as yet, been found there, and its absence is probably due to the fact that the common hazel {G. Americana) is not an inhabitant of these regions. In a neighbor's garden just across the highway from my own, there are, at this time, four old Euroj^ean hazelnut trees, fully twenty feet high and as man 3^ years old. They are of two varieties : one a small round nut, the other a long, slender nut, but neither of much value, because of their small size. The trees, however, are perfectly healthy, never having suffered from the blight, although these four are all that remain of a long row of choice European varieties all planted at the same time. Blight destroyed the better varieties, while these inferior ones continue to thrive and are exceedingly productive. This native fungus that causes blight in the hazels is but one of a large number of similar maladies which have appeared and often worsted the horticulturist, in his endeavor to introduce and cultivate foreign sj)ecie3 and varieties of plants, and like the tropical fevers, they may pass unnoticed among the natives, but are terribly fatal to immigrants from cooler climates. The disease so well known as the black knot {OWiia morhosa, Schu.), and widely destructive to the European varieties of the plum, and Morello cherries, has existed for ages among our native plums and black cherries, doing compara- tively little harm ; but it seems to protest, by its viru- lence, against the introduction of some foreign species. The same is true with various blights and rusts which FILBERT OR IIAZEL:&;rUT. 1-13 attack the exotic pear, a2:)ple, quince, peach, and other of the larger fruits, and we have only to ascend the scale a few degrees from the microscopic fungi to the microscopic insects, to meet on the yery threshold of this realm the minute but unconquerable grape louse (Phylloxera vastatrix), which for more than two centu- ries has prevented the successful cultivation of the Euro- pean varieties of the grape in the open air everywhere east of the Rocky mountains in JSTorth America; although this minute insect has ever been present and a constant parasite of the indigenous species of the grape, but scarcely affecting the health of its host. The plum cur- culio, chestnut and hickory weevils, bean weevil, and many other similar species of insects appear to be ever |)rotesting against the introduction of exotic j)lants, as well as the improvement of our indigenous kinds. It is this blight, and nothing else, that has pre- vented the extensive cultivation of the improved varie- ties of the European filbert and hazelnut in this coun- try, and not the uncongenial soil and climate, as has been so often ^^ officially" proclaimed by men whose the- ories are far greater than their practical knowledge of such subjects. Men whose experience with these nuts has been limited to a few isolated bushes or trees in gar- dens or nurseries, where they were protected, or beyond the reach of the spores of the blight fungus, as has already been noted in the experience of Prince, Downing, Barry, and my neighbor Butler, of Brooklyn, could scarcely understand why others should remain so indif- ferent to such a promising industry, or why the demand for the trees remained so limited, with scarcely an attempt to plant filbert orchards anywhere in this coun- try. ]N"urserymen have continued to offer the choice varieties at low prices per plant, and to advise their cus- tomers to cultivate filberts extensively, even to setting them in hedgerows ; and yet home-grown filberts remain 144 THE KUT CULTUEIST. as rare in our markets as they were a hundred years a^o, and all due to the simple reason that the insidious filbert blight still scatters its spores unrestrained. With the present almost universal employment of various fungicides for the destruction of blights, mil- dews and rusts on cultivated fruits and vegetables, we may confidently assert that the diseases of the filbert may be readily controlled by the same means. The spraying of the trees with Bordeaux mixture and other copper solutions will certainly destroy the f nngus spores, and with these out of the way filbert culture may be- come of as much importance and as popular here as it is in certain countries of Europe. In my own experience I have found no other nut tree (barring alwaj^s the blight) that has been more satisfactory. The plants come forward rapidly, fruiting freely and abundantly when young, and if properly trained, the crop can be gathered with little labor, and as it is ready for use a month or more in advance of the arrival of fresh nuts from abroad, the home market during the time is at oar command. The number of applications of the fungicides that will be necessary during the season to rid the trees of blight, or the strength of the copper solution used, will depend somewhat upon circumstances and the condition of the subjects operated upon. If the trees are growing near hedges of wild hazels, where there is a constant or annual influx of the fungus spores, then greater care will be required to suppress them than if the trees are some distance from such sources of contagion ; and it may be well for those contemplating j)lanting filbert orchards, to examine their surroundings carefully in ad- vance, in order to avoid local blight-breeding plants, and have these destroyed if any are found. I would also warn the cultivator against collecting branches of the wild hazel in the spring, carrying pollen-bearing catkins FILBERT OR HAZELNUT. 145 to be employed in fertilizing the pistillate flowers of the cultivated varieties, for by such means blight spores may be readily introduced into orchard and garden. It will seldom be necessary to practice artificial fer- tilization, where any considerable number of trees are grown near together, because if ninety per cent, of the male catkins are winterkilled, the few remaining will be sufficient to supply pollen for the j)istillate flowers. In my grounds filberts have never failed to produce an- nual crops after reaching a bearing age, although they have been subjected to great extremes of temperature in winter. One year the trees were in full bloom the last week in February, and although cold weather followed, the protected pistillate flowers were not injured. The winters of 1894 and 1895 were among the severest, in the way of continuous low temperature, I have ever experienced here, and while the filberts did not bloom until the first week in April, the crop proved to be abundant. Insects Injurious to Filberts. — My personal ob- servations lead me to believe that the filberts and hazels are, in this country, remarkably free from the depreda- tions of noxious insects. Two species of nut weevils have been reported as breeding in the wild hazelnuts, viz., Balaninus oUusus, and B. nasicns, but among the many bushels of the European varieties of the filbert produced in my grounds I have never found one infested by a weevil or other insect. In Europe a nut weevil {B. 7iucum) is said to be very destructive to the wild hazel, often invading the filbert orchards, and this we can readily believe, because they are not at all un- common in the imported nuts, but fortunately have not, as yet, become naturalized in this country. The great hazel-leaf beetle, or as more generally known, elm-leaf beetle {MoJiocesta coryli), lias been known in a few instances to attack and defoliate large 10 146 THE NUT CULTURIST. patches of the wild hazel bushes, but this insect seems to prefer the elm, hence is rarely found on the hazels. But should it ever invade our filbert orchards, it can be readily destroyed by dusting or spraying the trees with Paris green, London purple, or other well-known in- secticides. There may be an occasional invasion of cat- erpillars, like the tent worms, spanworms, leaf rollers of various species, and what are called leaf miners, but as these infest almost all kinds of deciduous trees and shrubs, we cannot consider them specially injurious to the filberts and hazels. CHAPTER vrr. HICKORY KUTS. Hicoria, Rafinesque. Name probably fleriyecl from the aboriginal or Indian word hickery, or hickory, the common name for these nuts among the tribes formerly inhabiting the Middle and Southern Atlantic States. /^ Order, JuglandacecB (Walnut family). — Native de- ciduous trees of large size, with compound serrate leaves with an odd number of leaflets, varying from five to fif- teen in the different species, the three terminal ones usually much the largest, the lower ones on opposite sides of the rather stout leafstalk. Male catkins slen- der, cylindrical, pendulous, two to six inches long, three in a cluster, on a naked peduncle or stalk (Fig. 46) springing from the base of the terminal buds of the pre- vious season's twigs, and just below the first set of new leaves in spring ; calyx unequally three-parted ; stamens three to eight. Female fiowers two or more in a cluster, from the end of the new growth of the season, which becomes the common peduncle or fruit-stalk of a single nut or cluster of nuts. The flowers are destitute of petals ; stigma short, broad, and four-lobed ; husk fleshy or leathery, smooth, very thick in some species and thin in others, partly or wholly four-lobed, opening in some, allowing the nut to drop out at maturity, in others adhering, falhng off entire when ripe. Nuts with hard, bone-like shell, round or oblong, smooth or deeply four to six angled, somewhat flattened or compressed in most of the species ; kernel two-lobed, oily, sweet and deli- cious, as in the common shellbark hickory, or extremely bitter, as in the bitter nut. 147 148 THE K-UT CULTUEIST. -^ History.— The early white settlers of the Atlantic States found the hickory nut in common use among the Indians, who gathered and stored them in large quanti- ties in the fall, for food during the winter months, and while our ancestors who sought to make homes in the western wilderness may haye appreciated these luxuries, they needed land for cultiyation, and to secure it the forests were destroyed, with no thought of preserving trees that would yield food for themselves or succeeding generations. Not only were the forests cleared away, as things to be banished from sight and mind, but as the hickories yielded superior timber for various agricultural and other implements, as well as for fuel, they were often sought for and utilized in advance of the general clearing of wood lands, and the first to feel the wood- man's axe. William Bartram, in the account of his travels through the Southern Atlantic States, from 1773 to 1778, and published in Philadelphia in 1791, says, in referring to these nuts, that they are held '^^in great estimation with the present generation of Indians, par- ticularly Juglans exaltata, commonly called shellbarked hickory ; the Creeks store up the latter in their towns. I have seen above an hundred bushels of these nuts be- longing to one family. They pound them to pieces, and then cast them into boiling water, which, after passing through fine strainers, preserves the most oily part of the liquid ; this they call by a name which signifies 'hickory milk;' it is as sweet and rich as fresh cream, and is an ingredient in most of their cookery, especially in hominy and corn cakes." AYe can readily imagine what a delicious liquid hickory milk must be in which to cook hominy, rice, and similar kinds of grain ; and there would be no dan- ger from tuberculosis in this natural jDroduct of the veg- etable kingdom. Perhaps at some future day, when HICKORY NUTS. 149 milch cows are as rare in this country as they have been for ages in China and Japan, hickory milk will come into vogue again and be more highly valued by our peo- ple than it ever was by the aborigines. While we have no romantic tales to repeat in which either hickory trees or the nuts have played an important part, yet we can well imagine that such delicious food must, in ages past, as well as in our own times, have been a coveted luxury, enjoyed at many a social gathering of friends and neighbors. Many a country boy and girl has welcomed the early autumn frosts, because they an- nounced the opening of the nutting season, reminding them of the long winter evenings near at han4, and that the industrious and nimble squirrel was a sharp com- petitor in the nutting field ; consequently, no time could be wasted if a store of such luxuries was to be gathered for home use, or to be sent to city or village market for the benefit of less fortunate consumers. It is to be hoped that this source of pleasure and profit may con- tinue long after the original forests of our country have disappeared, and through the preservation and planting of the noble food-bearing hickories by the roadsides, in orchards, also for shelter, shade and ornament. Valua- ble as hickory timber and hickory nuts have always been to the inhabitants of this country, we might reasonably suppose that there would be many thousands of these trees planted every year, in order to keep up a supply and make good the annual loss sustained in the destruc- tion constantly going on in our forests. But no such plantings appear to have been undertaken in our North- ern States, and only quite recently in the Southern, where the pecan nut is attracting considerable attention, on account of the increase in demand, and the advance in price obtained for them in the markets. Furthermore, with the many millions of dollars expended by the gen- eral government to encourage the planting, preservation 150 THE I^UT CULTUKIST. and cultivation of forest trees, no special encouragement has been extended to the nut-bearing kinds, and the man who plants a cottonwood or worthless willow is given as much credit as though he planted and reared a tree a thousaud times more yaluable to himself and the country at large. This may not be a very creditable phase of nut cul- ture in the United States, but it is history, nevertheless, and to attempt to suppress it would merely be encour- aging negligence, which has already become so general that the inferior varieties of hickory nuts command a much higher price in our markets than the very choicest did a few years ago. The nomenclature of the walnut family has been subjected to various revisions by botanists, during the present century, and there are probably others yet to follow in the near or distant future. In all other stand- ard botanical works published prior to 1817-1818, the hickories were classed with the butternut, black walnut and Persian walnut, and under the generic name of J^tgJans. But in the year 1818 Mr. Thomas Nuttall, an eminent English botanist, who had given years to wan- dering through our forests and studying American plants, separated the hickories from the older genus of Jtiglans, placing them in a new one, to which he gave the name of Carya, from an ancient Greek name of the w^alnut tree. This classification of Nuttalk's was imme- diately adopted by the botanists of his time, and has been observed, scarcely without question, by the authors of all the numerous botanical works published in Amer- ica and Europe during the past seventy-five years. But now we are informed by some of our noted botanists that, in deference to the law of priority dominant in matters scientific, IVuttall's name for this genus must be abandoned, inasmuch as Mr. C. S. Eafinesque, an erratic Frenchman possessing considerable ability HICKORY NUTS. 151 for botanical research, and who came to this country several years before Nuttall, — as some recent investiga- tions appear to prove, ^defined the distinct character- istics of the hickories, and not only pro2:)osed, but pub- lished the name Hicoria for this genus in 1817, while Kuttall's Gary a did not appear until one year later, viz. : 1818. For these dates I am mainly indebted to Dr. N. L. Britton, who appears to have been delving among ''^ first editions" of the works of the authors named (Bulletin, Torrey Botanical Club, 1888). It seems strange, however, at this late date, that such eminent botanists as the late Dr. John Torrey and Dr. Asa Gray, who were both intimately acquainted with, in fact associates of, Eafinesque, should have ig- nored his rights in regard to the name of Hicoria, if he was really entitled to the honor of founding this genus and separating the hickories from the Juglmis. But for some good reason they left the matter in abeyance, for their successors to settle. Dr. Torrey does, in a way, recognize Eafinesque, in his '^Catalogue of Plants With- in Thirty Miles of the City of N"ew York," published in 1819, but in a manner which shows that he had no con- fidence in Eafinesque's claim, but did approve of K"ut- talFs classifications and name of Carya, for on page 74 he refers to the hickories as follows : '" Carya, K"uttall ; Hichoria, Eafinesque." From this it appears that Dr. Torrey did not adopt Hicoria as the proper mode of spelling this word, but retained the letter k in giving it a Latin form. This is not strange, inasmuch as Eafinesque had no settled form of his own, and varied the spelling at different times ; as, for instance. Scoria, Hicoria, HicTcorius and Hi- corias. It is but reasonable to suppose that Dr. Torrey was familiar with Eafinesque's earlier writings, and also whether his proposed generic name of Scoria, in 1808, was legitimate, or a misspelling of Hicoria, as suggested 152 THE XUT CULTCKIST. by Dr. Britton. Bnt of one thing we may rest assured, and that is. Dr. Torrey would not knowingly detract from, nor fail to give every man full credit for his labors in any branch of natural history or elsewhere, and he certainly must have known Eafiuesque in all his eccen- tricities and moods, for when in New York city he was usually the guest of Dr. Torrey, and these relations con- tinued for many years. A few of our leading botanists, haying recently de- cided that Eafinesque's name of Hicoria must be re- stored, in deference to the laws of priority, and IS'uttairs Carya be relegated to the position of a synonym, I have concluded to adopt it in this work, although 1 am well aware that a large majority of our botanists have pro- tested against this change, probably because of the con- fusion it is likely to cause in the botanical literature of our times. My own reason for adopting Hicoria is not so much from any special reverence to the laws of prior- ity, but because it is derived from an old American In- dian name, and for all such I have a profound regard, and would retain and adopt them whenever and wher- ever they are at all appropriate to products indigenous to this country. The hickories being purely American, and unknown to Greece or Gr reeks, a semi-native name is all the more acceptable. It is not to be expected that botanical quibbles are of any special interest to the prac- tical nut culturist, for a pecan or a shellbark hickory will taste just as sweet and command as high a j)rice in market under one scientific name as another; but the cultivator may have occasion to look up the botanical name of his trees in some school botany, or other botan- ical work, and fail to find it, in the absence of some guide to the various changes that have been made in the name of the genus, as well as in the name of the synonyms of the different species. Then, again, propagators and dealers in trees are prone to employ unfamiliar names. HICKORY XUTS. 153 whether they are old or new, this adding to the confu- sion, without benefit to either purchaser or cultivator. To assist those who may have occasion to consult these pages for either the common or botanical names of the different species of the hickory, I shall endeavor to give the greater part of those compiled by Prof. C. S. Sargent (Tenth Census), Dr. Britton, and other emi- nent authorities whose works I have had occasion to consult ill writing this treatise. It is not certain, how- ever, that these revisions and readjustments of the sci- entific names of this genus of trees will remain undis- turbed for any considerable number of years, for we have ^^ many men of many minds" at work in the line of botanical research, and it can scarcely be exjDected that all will reach the same conclusion, either in fact or fancy; besides, it is often difficult, if not wholly impos- sible, to determine a species from the description given by the earlier botanists, for they are generally very brief and vague, and will often apply equally well to two or more species of the same genus. In some instances not a word is given in the way of description, merely a name, as in "Bartram's Travels" (1791), where he speaks of Juglans exaltata, a tall-growing hickory found in the region through which he was traveling, and we now know that it may have been any one of two or three spe- cies indigenous to the Southern States. Under such confusing circumstances I shall make no claim of infallibility in applying names to species, but attempt no more than my predecessors have in the same direction, and my contemporaries are now attempt- ing, i. e., make as close a guess as possible as to the spe- cies or variety of hickory which the earlier authors in- tended to name and briefly describe. The date of pub- lication of some of the earlier works consulted are given, as an earnest of my desire to assent to the law of priority in such matters. 154 THE KUT CULTURIST. FIG. 45. FoUiiTEEK YEAKS OLD PECAjV TKEE IN MISSISSIPPI. HICKORY I^UTS. 155 Pecan" kut, Illin-qis nut [Hicoria Pecan. Mar- shall). — Leaves with thirteen to fifteen leaflets, oblong- lanceolate, serrate, pointed; nuts mostly oblong, smooth; husk thin, somewhat four-angled and four-valved, these at maturity shrinking, and falling apart when dropping to the ground. Shell of nut generally thin, smooth or slightly corrugated, yaryihg widely in both form and size from less than one inch in length to nearly or quite two inches, abruptly blunt, or long and sharp pointed ; the two-lobed cotyledon or kernel oily, sweet and deli- cious. A large, tall, but usually slender tree, with smooth or sHghtly furrowed bark, as seen in Fig. 45. Mainly indigenous to river bottoms in the Southern and Southwestern States, extending northward to Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Southern Iowa. Synonyms and their authors : Juglans Pecan, Marshall, Arboretum Americanum, 1785. Juglans Pecan, Walter, 1787. Juglans olivmformis, Willdenow, 1809. Carya o/^Vq/brm^5, Nuttali, 1818. Jiiglans Illinoiensis, Wangenheim, 1787. Juglans angustifolia, Alton, Hortus Kewensis. Juglans ruhra, Gaertner. Juglans cylindrical Lamarck. Shellbark or shagbark hickory {Hicoria alha. Clayton). — Leaflets mostly five, occasionally seven, the three upper ones obovate-lanceolate, the lower pair much smaller and oblong-lanceolate, as shown in Fig. 46, all taper-pointed, finely serrate, and slightly downy under- neath. Terminal buds large and scaly. Fruit globose, somewhat depressed; husk smooth, very thick, firm, scarcely shrinking at maturity, but opening and falling with the nuts when ripe, l^uts variable in size, mainly thin-shelled, white, compressed or flattened, four-angled, with deep corrugations, blunt, rarely sharp-pointed; 156 THE XUr CULTUKIST. FIG. 4G. I.EAF AXD STERILE CATKINS OF SHELLBARK HICKORY. HICKORY NUTS. 157 kernel large, sweet and excellent. One of the most common and popular of the indigenous edible nuts, col- lected in large quantities as they ripen in autumn, for home use and for sale, as the demand for this excellent nut is almost unlimited. A large tree, fifty to eighty feet high, and stem one to three feet in diameter, with a shaggy or scaly bark, which on old trees may be read- ily pulled off in long, shell-like plates. Timber Avell known as valuable for many purposes. This species has a very wide range, or from Maine to Florida in the East- ern States, and westward to Minnesota, thence south- ward through eastern Kansas, Missouri, Indian Territory and eastern Texas. Synonyms : Juglans cdha, Clayton, Flora Virginica, 1739. Juglans alba ovata, Miller, Gard. Diet., 1754. Juglans alba, Linn., Spec, pi., 1754. Juglans alba ovata, Marshall, 1785. Juglans compressa {?), Willdenow, 1809. Juglans exalt ata (?), Bartram, 1791, Juglans alba, Nnttall, 1818. Juglans yar. microcarpa, Nuttall. Juglans sqiiamosa {?), Lamarck. Jugla7is ovalis {?), Wangenheim. Although Clayton, as with most of the earlier bota- nists, fails to giye any description of the foliage of the hickories he mentions, and all have the affix alba (white), yet his reference to the form of the nut and the scaly bark of the tree is sufficient to enable ns to identify the species as that of our common shellbark hickory of the Atlantic States, which extends through the regions where he gathered his botanical specimens. Big shellbakk, thick or Western shellbark, ETC. {Hicoria laciniosa. Michaux). — Leaflets seven to nine, obovate-oblong, finely serrate, roughish-downy or pubescent beneath. Buds large, composed of rather 158 THE KUT CULTURIST. FIG. 47. WESTERN SHELLBAEK. loose grayish scales ; the young twigs stout, with a gray bark, most noticeable in winter. Fruit large, oval to oblong, usually four-ribbed above the middle, with de- pressions between ; husk thick, somewhat spongy, shrinking at maturiLy, and splitting open from uop down- ward. Nut large, with prom- inent ridges, and strongly pointed, but slightly com- pressed at the sides, as seen in Fig. 47 ; shell thick and of a dull yellowish color ; kernel moderately large, as shown across section of nut in Fig. 48, but much smaller in pro- portion to the size of the nut than in the two preceding species, but ic is sweet, w^ell flavored, and easily removed from ihe shell when cracked. The very large size of these nuts makes them a favorite, especially where the 23ecan and the true shellbarks are not plentiful. These nuts were formerly known as the Springfield or Gloucester nut. A very large tree, sixty to eignty feet high, and two to four feet in diameter, with thick, scaly bark, the scales some- what thicker than in tne common shellbark hickory of the Atlantic States. A rare tree, except in the valleys west of the Alleghanies, ^^^ ^3^ section west- although it is reported to have ern shellbark. been found in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and thence west to southern Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, eastern Kansas, and the Indian Territory. Plentiful in the HICKORY HUTS. 159 bottom lands along the Ohio, Mississippi and lower Mis- souri. Elliott, in '^Botany of South Carolina and Georgia" (1824), says it is rare in the low country of Carolina, but he does not say that it is found plen- tiful anywhere in the South. That he was sometimes in doubt in regard to the identification of this and other sjDecies may be inferred from his remark, namely : " The greater part of our hickories resemble each other so closely in their leaves and yary so much in their fruit that it is very difficult to discriminate the species." It is this difficulty of identification which has led to so much confusion in the api^lication of the specific names, for the earlier botanists rarely had an opportu- nity of a close and careful examination of the trees or other j^lants which they attempted to describe. In rela- tion to the species under consideration, we find that the specific name of sulcata, so long in use, was adoj^ted by Nuttall, from some earlier or contemporaneous author, — a system he followed with all the different species of the hickory, but without, in some instances, any dis- crimination or regard to their adaptation or validity. If there was anything to show that Willdenow (1796) had this Western shellbark in mind, or that he or his correspondents in this country had ever seen or collected it, then we might adopt the name of sulcata as the orig- inal and true one ; but in the absence of such informa- tion, with a full and accurate description of the species and its habitats by Michaux, under the name of laciniosa, I think, in common justice to one of the most eminent dendrologists who ever visited this country, the name given should stand as the true one for this species. See Michaux, '^ North American Sylva," Vol. I, p. 128. Synonyms : Juglans sulcata (?), Willdenow, 1796. Juglans laciniosa, Michaux, 1810. Carya sulcata, ISTuttall, 1818. Carya cordiformis^ Koch, Dendrologie. 160 THE K-UT CULTURIST. The three preceding s]3ecies are probably the only ones worthy of propagation for their fruit, or that have and are likely to yield yarieties of any considerable eco- nomic value ; but as it is important that the nut ciilturist should know the materials he is using, and whether they be of the best or otherwise, I shall admit all the species, without regard to their merits or value for cultivation. Mocker kut, bull kut, big-bud hickory, kii^g NUT, WHITE-HEART HICKORY, ETC. {HicoHa tomeutosa. Michaux). — Leaflets mostly seven, occasionally nine, large, oblong-obovate, rather long pointed, slightly ser- rate, smooth on both sides while young, becoming rough- ish downy underneath when fully developed in summer ; leafstalks and catkins also somewhat downy. Fruit medium to very large, round or ovoid, with a very thick woody husk, which sjplits nearly or quite down to the base, but usually falling with the enclosed nut entire, or bursting open as they strike the ground. I^ut very thick shelled, smooth, or strongly four to six angled, white at first, but becoming a dull brown when exposed to the light. The kernel is sweet, but so small and firmly imbedded in the thick shell that it is only to be removed in minute sections, but this is successfully ac- complished by the squirrels, who often throw down the entire crop from large trees before the shells harden, and then pack them away in the ground, in old logs, and under the leaves, where they Avill not dry for some weeks or months later. An exceedingly variable species, especially in the size and form of the nuts ; on some trees they are scarcely an inch in diameter, while on others they are nearly or quite two inches, but always with such a thick, hard shell as to be nearly worthless for their meats. The largest of these nuts I have ever seen grow in central and western IS'ew York, where they are called ^'^King" or "Bull" nuts,, HICKORY KUTS. 161 FIG. 49. LEAF OF PIGNUT. 11 163 THE NUT CULTUEIST. The trees grow to a very large size, or from sixty to eighty feet high, and two to three feet in diameter, with a thick, deeply furrowed bark, not scaly. The wood is white, heayy, tough, and nearly as valuable as the com- mon shellbark hickory. The terminal buds, and espe- cially those on the young seedlings and suckers spring- ing up in clearings, are very large, round, short, and covered with brownish scales, hence one of the local names of big-bud hickory. A widely distributed species, or from the valley of the St. Lawrence to Florida, and along the great lakes to Kebraska, and thence southward to Texas. Unlike most of the other hickories, this species seems to prefer thin soils, rocky sandstone ridges, and here in l^ew Jer- sey almost disappearing in the rich bottom lands along our creeks and rivers ; at least, this is its habit here in the northern j)art of the State. Synonyms : Juglans alia (?), Linn., 1754. Jiiglans tomPAiiosa, Michaux, 1810. Carya tomentosa, ^wiidiW^ 1818. Carya tomentosa var. maxima, Nuttall. Carya alba, Koch, Dendrologie. PiGJnTUT, HOGIs"UT, BROWi^ HICKORY, BLACK HICK- OEY, SWITCH-BUD HICKORY {HicoTia glabra. Mil- ler). — Leaflets five to seven, mostly seven (Fig. 49), ovate-lanceolate, serrate, smooth ; fruit pear-shaped or roundish-obovate ; husk very thin, splitting about half way down into four sections or valves, these usually re- maining attached to the nut for some time after falling, in fact, may often be found within the husk all through the winter; shell of nut moderately thin but tough) with a small, bitterish-sweet kernel. A large, rather slender tree in similar and same localities as the last, with a close bark but not so deeply furrowed as in the mocker nut {H. tomentosa). Of no special value except HICKORY NUTS. 163 FIG. 50. BITTERNUT. 164 THE NUT CULTUEIST. as a timber tree, and its slow growth makes it less de- serving of attention than those species that bear large and edible nuts. Synonyms : Juglans glabra, Miller, 1768. Juglans alba acuminata, Marshall, 1785. Juglans ohcordata, Lamarck. Juglans ijorcina, Michanx. Juglans pyriformis, Muhlenberg. Juglans p or cina, var. ohcordata, Pursh. Juglans porcina, var. pyriformis, Pursh. Carya porcina, Nuttall. Carya glabra, Torrey. Carya amara, yar. porcina, Darby. Bittern UT, swamp hickory, pignut {Hicoria minima. Marshall). — Leaflets seven to eleven, oblong- lanceolate, serrate, smooth and thin; fruit globular, with distinct ridges at the seams (Pig. 50) ; the husk very thin, and at ma- turity splitting about halfway to the base, the four divisions becoming reflexed in maturing, but not separating and falling apart as in the thicker-husk spe- cies. Nut broadest at the top, sharp- FIG.51. BiTTERNUT. pointed, obcordata (Pig. 51), slightly depressed ; shell very thin, smooth, white ; kernel in- tensely bitter when fully ripe, but greedily eaten by squirrels when fresh or in a half milky state. Usually a medium-sized, graceful tree, with smooth bark, slender twigs, and small, oblong buds covered with a dense yel- low pubescence in winter. It grows in moist soils, along streams and borders of swamps, and near springs on hillsides, from Maine to Plorida, and westward to Min- nesota, Nebraska and Kansas. Humphrey Marshall de- scribed this species so accurately in his ' 'American Grove," under the name of Juglans minima, p. 68, that HICKORY KUTS. 165 there is no good reason to doubt its identity, nor question the validity of this name, which should remain as the true and original one, and all others of later date bo placed among the synonyms. Synonyms : Juglans (alba) minima, Marshall, 1785. Jugla7is cordiformis, Wangenheim, 1787. Juglans angustifolia, Lamarck, 1791. Juglans amara, Michaux, 1810. Hiclcorius amarus, Eafinesque, 1817. Carya amara, Nuttall, 1818. JSTuTMEG HICKORY {Hicoria myri&ticceformis. Mi- chaux). — Leaflets five to seven, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, quite smooth on both sides, the terminal leaflet sessile, not stalked ; fruit oval ; husk wrinkled and rough, thick ; nut small, oval, short-pointed ; the shell furrowed and very hard, and of a brownish color marked with white lines. Michaux says : '^^The shell is so thick that it constitutes two-thirds of the volume of the nut, which, consequently, is extremely hard, and has a minute ker- nel. It is inferior to the pignut." A medium-size tree with slender branches, found in a few localities in South Carolina, near swamps and bor- ders of streams, and westward to Arkansas, where it reaches its greatest development. This hickory has been so rarely seen by botanists that Michaux's speciflc name, given it more than eighty years ago, has fared a better fate than those of our more common and abundant species ; consequently, I have only one synonym to re- cord, viz. : Carya amara, var. myristicmformis. Cooper, in Smithsonian Report, 1858. Water hickory, swamp hickory, bitter pe- CAK (Hicoria aquatica, Michaux). — Leaflets nine to thirteen, generally eleven, narrow and obliquely lanceo- late-pointed, slightly serrate, thin and smooth ; fruit globular or somewhat egg-shaped, four-ribbed ; husk 166 THE NUT CULTUKTST. thin, dividing at maturity down to the base ; nut thin- shelled, four-angled ; kernel much wrinkled and very bitter. This is closely allied to if not a more Southern form of our common bitternut. A small tree in swamps and river bottoms from North Carolina south to Florida, and west to Texas. Synonyms : Juglans aquatica, Michaux. Hicorius integrifoUa, Eafinesque. Carya aqiiatica, Nuttall. Carya integrifoUa, Sprengel. Varieties of the Hickories. — Every one who has ever had occasion to gather or examine hickory nuts in the forest, or has seen them in market, must be aware of the fact that there is an almost endless variety of each and all the different species. But as it is only the varieties of the pecan and thick- and thin-shelled shagbark hicko- ries that are likely to be of any economic value to the nut cultur- ist, all others will be omit- ted. Of the first or pecan nut the natural varieties are not only exceedingly numerous, but vary wide- ly in size, form, thickness of shell, and productive- ness of the individual trees. In some the nuts are produced singly or in pairs, and from this number up to clusters of seven or eight ; these large-clustered and extra-prolific varieties are most worthy of special attention, especially when the nuts are of good size and thin-shelled, as in the large, long pecan (Fig. 52). From this size they vary, as shown in Figs. 53, 54, 55. Some of the wild varieties have received local names, and. a FIG. 52. LAKGE, liONG PECAN NUT J"IG. 53. OVAL PECAN NUT. HICKORY NUTS. 167 very few propagated by grafting, which is probably the most practical means known of multiplying them, and at the same time preserving their varietal characteristics. Choice and extra fine ones are constantly being discov- ered and bronght to notice, and doubtless many more will follow as the old fields and forests of the South and West are explored ; besides, there are many thousands of seedling trees now under cultivation, and from these we may expect some marked vari- FiG. 54. ations from the original or wild no. 55. lit- SMAI.L OVAL, f^j^j^g^ In Bulletin 105, of the ^^^ "'^^^^^ North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station for 1894, and in Report of Assistant Pomologist of U. S. Department of Agriculture for same year, we find the following-named varieties of pecans : Alba. — Size below medium, cylindrical, with pointed apex ; cracking qualities good ; shell of medium thickness ; corky shell lining thick, adhering to the ker- nel ; kernel plump, light colored ; quality good. BiLOXi (W. R. Stuart, Ocean Springs, Miss.). — Me- dium size, cylindrical, pointed at each end; surface quite regular, light brown ; shell thin ; cracking quali- ties medium ; kernel plump, with yellowish-brown sur- face ; free from astringency, of good quality, and keeps well without becoming rancid. Introduced several years ago by ^Y. R. Stuart as Mexican Paper Shell, but the name has since been changed to Biloxi. Columbian (W. R. Stuart, Ocean Springs, Miss.). — Large, cylindrical, somewhat compressed at the mid- dle, rounding at the base ; pointed and somewhat four- sided at the crown; shell rather heavy; cracking qual- ities medium ; quality good. In size and form this nut closely resembles Mammoth, which was introduced in 1890 by Richard Frotscher, of New Orleans, La. 168 THE ifUT CULTURIST. Eaely Texai^ (Louis Biediger, Idle wild, Tex.). — Size above medium, short, cylindrical, with rounded base and blunt conical crown ; shell quite thick, shell lining thick, astringent ; cracking qualities medium ; kernel not very plump, of mild, nutty flavor; quality good. Georgia Melok. — Size above medium, short, rather blunt at apex ; cracking quality medium ; shell rather thick ; kernel plump, brown ; meat yellow, mod- erately tender, pleasant, good. Gonzales (T. V. Munson, Denison, Tex.). — Above medium size, with firm, clear shell; quality excellent. Originated in Gonzales county, Tex. Harcourt. — Size medium, short, slightly acorn- shaped ; cracking qualities medium ; shell rather thick, but very smooth inside ; kernel short, very plump ; meat yellow, very tender, rich, very good. Longfellow. — Size medium, oblong, cylindrical, somewhat irregular, enlarging from base to near crown, then sharply conical to the apex ; cracking qualities not first-class ; shell of medium thickness ; kernel plump but rather thin, light-colored; meat white, sweetish, rich, good. Primate (W. E. Stuart, Ocean Springs, Miss.) — Of medium size, slender, rather long ; shell thin ; quality good ; ripens in September, thirty days before other nuts. RiBERA. — Size above medium, oblong ovate ; crack- ing qualities good ; shell thin ; kernel plump, light brown, free from the bitter, red, corky growth which adheres to the shell ; meat yellow, tender, with rich, delicate, pleasant flavor. Faust. — A South Carolina variety of medium to large size, medium shell and good quality. Frotscher. — A Louisiana variety of large size, very thin shell, and plump kernel of good quality. HICKORY NUTS. 169 lUlt, Mis- FIG. 56. STUART. FIG. 57. VAN DEMAN. Jewett. — From Mississippi ; a large, long rather irregular ; shell medium ; quality very good. Stuart. — A large, roundish, oblong nut from sissippi (Fig. 56). Turkey Egg. — A variety from Florida ; large and thin-shelled. VAi^^ Deman. — A large variety from Mis- si ssij^pi, of oblong form and thin shell (Fig. 57). From other sources we collect other names, namely : Idlewild. — An oval shaped nut from Idle- wild, Texas. EeDort of U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1890. EisiEN". — A very broad, thick variety, about one inch in diameter, very blunt at both ends. From San Saba, Texas (Fig. 58). A |)eculiar shaped pecan nut is shown in Fig. 59, from Louisiana, sent under the name of Lady Finger. From the report of the Georgia State Horti- cultural Society, 1893, we obtain certain local names without description, as, for instance, Turkey Egg, fig. 59. Mexican, Colorado, Pride ^^^^' fingek. of the Coast, etc. Col. ^Y. E. Stuart, of Ocean Springs, Miss., who has been called the '^ father of pecan culture" FIG. 58. KISIEN. 170 THE NUT CULTUKIST. in that State, and is the author of '^The Pecan and How to Grow it/' adds two more varieties to the above list, viz. : Beauty and OoUimbia ; the latter, as figured in the book named, is a very large variety, tapering from a broad base to a sharp point. Judge Samuel Mil- ler, of Bluff ton. Mo., found some very large and fine varieties of the pecan in his neighborhood several years ago, on the farm of a man named Meyers, and he pur- chased the nuts from the tree bearing the largest in the grove and. planted them, and the seedlings have since been distributed under the name of ^'Meyers' Pecan.'" Judge Miller kindly sent me a quantity of these nuts, from which I raised some fifty or more trees, and all have thus far been uninjured by the cold of our sever- est winters. From my own experience in raising pecan trees, and I may add, that of some of my neighbors, those grown from nuts gathered in the more Southern States are almost invariably tender here in the North ; but those raised from thoroughly acclimated trees, along the northern limits of this species, will give us a hardy race, and probably allow of extending their cultivation far north of their natural range. Those who intend to try pecan culture in the Northern States should bear this in mind, and secure nuts and cions from hardy ac- climated trees. Varieties of the Shellbark. — Of this species (H. alba) there are as many distinct natural varieties as of the pecan, and while local or neighborhood names are plentiful enough, they have not, except in a very few instances, been placed on record in agricultural reports or other publications. Three small thin-shelled varieties are named in the Report of the Pomologist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1891, viz. : Milford, Shimar and Learning, but neither has been propagated, knd they are probably not worthy of it, because there HICKOEY KUTS. 171 FIG. GO. THE ORIGINAL HALES' PAPER-SHELL HICKORY TREE 172 THE l^UT CULTURIST. are plenty of larger ones with thin shells which would be far more valuable for cultivation. A careful research extending over a period of a quarter of a century yields only a solitary instance of the propagation and dissemination of a variety of the shellbark hickory, and this one is Hales^ Paper-shell, which I named, described and figured in the Rural Neiu- YorTcer, Nov. 19, 1870, p. 382, Vol. XXII. I am thus particular in regard to time and place, because years hence these facts may be of more importance than at the present day. The original tree of this remarkable variety is grow- ing upon the farm of Mr. Henry Hales, near Eidgewood, N. J., and on bottom land within a few rods of the Saddle river. The tree is probably more than a hun- dred years old, and is about seventy-five feet high, and nearly two feet in diameter at the base, and of the shajDC shown in Fig. 60, taken from a sketch made in the fall of 1894. There are a large num- ber of the shellbark hickories growing near by, and while there are several excellent and very large varieties among them, the one I have named is by far the largest and most distinct in form, and with the thinnest shell ; in fact, the shell is much thinner than in many of the pecan nuts that reach our Northern markets from the South. The size and form of these nuts is clearly shown in Fig. 61, while the thin shell and thick, plump kernel is seen in the cross-section, Fig. 62. It will be noticed that these nuts differ from the ordi- nary yarieties of this species in the absence of the sharp HICKOEY. FIG. 62. SECTION OF HALES' HICKORY. HICKORY NUTS. 173 ridges and depressions running from base to ])oint, tlie surface of the shell bein.sf broken up into irregular, wavy lines, somewhat resembling the shell of the more com- mon yarieties of the Persian walnuts. I have occasion- ally seen very similar varieties, — but of smaller size, — among the mixed lots of hickory nuts on sale in our city markets, also oblong nuts, as shown in Fig. 63, but of course there is no way of tracing these to the trees pro- ducing them. Another merit, in addition to the large size and thin shell of the Hales' Paper-shell, is its keeping qualities, the kernels rarely becoming rancid, even when two or more years old, and J, , . , -IT •! ' FIG. 63. LONG from a long acquamtance with this shkllbark hickory. nut and hundreds of other varieties gathered from all parts of the United States, I am inclined to place it at the head of the list, and as the most valuable sort as yet discovered. Ifc is true, however, that I have found in the forests, and also received, many very large and superior nuts of this species, that are well worthy of propagation and cultivation, but they have been, in the main, of the typical form, and not of so distinct a type as this Paper-shell. Judge Miller sent me a few nuts of a shellbark found in Missouri, that were even larger, and w^ith fully as thin shell as that of the Hales' (Fig. 64), but upon making further inquiries in regard to the tree that produced them, I learned that an incoming railroad line had destroyed it, and thus one more tree of inestimable FIG. 64. SHELLBAKK MISSOURI. 174 THE NUT CULTURIST. value had been sacrificed in the march of this pro- gressive age. Varieties of the Western Shellbark. — The typical form of the thick or Western shellbark [H. la- ciniosa) has already been shown on a preceding page, but some remarkable and valuable varieties have been found in the Western States, and no doubt others will be, when more attention is paid than at present to the natural food products of our forests. The tendency of this species, in its variations, is usually in the direction of an elongation of the nuts, e^ en when there is no decrease m the thickness of the shell, as shown in Fig. 65, taken from one of a number of long- varieties collected in the West- ern States ; and while they do not possess any special merit, they attract attention, owing to their unasual form. Nussbaumer's Hybrid. — Several years ago I received a specimen of a very remark- able nut from Judge Samuel Miller, of Bluffton, Mo,, un- der the name of ^^Nussbaum- er's Hybrid Pecan." Judge Miller informed me that he had received it from Mr. J. J. Nussbaumer, Mascoutah, St. Clair Co., 111., who claimed that it was a hybrid between the pecan and the large western shellbark hick- ory [H. laciiiiosa). I had an illustration made of this specimen, and it appeared, with a brief description, in the American Agriculturist for Dec, 1884, p. 546. Soon after receiving the specimen nut from Judge Miller I opened correspondence with Mr. Nussbaunler, and learned from him that only one tree bearing such nuts LONG WESTERN SHELLBARK. HICKORY NUTS. 175 FIG. 66. FRESH XUSSBAUMEK HYBKID. 176 THE NUT CULTUEIST. had ever been found, and this was of large size, six and a half feet in circumference, and about fifty feet high, the bark somewhat like that of the hickory but nearer the pecan. Mr. Nussbaumer sent me specimens of the green nuts with leaves and twigs, from the original tree. The nuts, however, of that seasou (1884), were badly infested with the "hickory-shuck worm^' {Grapliolitha caryana, Fitch), and these had so ruined the shucks, and even eaten into the shells of the nuts, that few of the specimens received were fully developed. But from two nuts I had a sketch made while they were fresh and of natural size, as shown in Fig. 66, the dark, irregular marks on the husks showing where the shuck worm had attacked them. One of these nuts is shown in Fig. 67, also natural size. I planted one of the nuts, from which I now have a tree about ten feet high, but although ten years old it has not fruited, and, so far as I can judge from its appearance, is a pure Western shellbark, with no indication of hybridity; but of course this does not prove that NussBAUMER's HYBRID, thc Original or parent tree is not a hybrid, as claimed by Mr. Nussbaumer, Judge Miller, and, if I am rightly informed, Prof. T. J. Burrill, of the University of Illinois. However widely opinions may differ in regard to the origin of this variety, it is certainly a most remark- able nut, and I regret that the exact location of the original tree has entirely escaped my most careful seek- ing ; and of late years I have been unable to learn any- thing of Mr. Nussbaumer, further than that he had moved from Mascoutah to Okawville, 111., the last letter HICKOliY NUTS. 177 received from him being dated Dec. 13, 1887. In one of his letters he said that he had raised a large num he i- of seedlings from this supposed hybrid, and if these are still alive they would be of much scientific interest, espe- cially if any of them showed the distinct characteristics of either of the supposed 2)arents. It would certainly be a pity to have such a remark- able nut lost to the world, because if propagated by grafting or by any other mode to insure perpetuating its varietal characteristics, its value could scarcely be esti- mated. The nuts are as thin-shelled as the common pecan, the kernel sweet and good, and in addition, the tree is a native of a northern State, and would, no doubt, prove as hardy as our common shellbark hickories. The Floyd pecan. — This is another supposed-to- be hybrid, and of the same species of hickory as the last ; but the one nut which I received differed from the Kussbaumer by being somewhat larger, and the shell with more prominent ridges and a little thicker. It was said to have been found somewhere in southern In- diana by a Mr. Floyd, who, believing it to be of great value, refused to give any information likely to aid any one else to locate the original tree, neither would he part with any of the nuts except the one specimen which eventually came into my hands. Of course all horticul- turists know that seedlings raised from such freaks among nut trees are far too uncertain to be of much value, but ignorance in such matters often leads the possessor of an article slightly differing from the ordi- nary to permit his imagination to warp his good sense. Cultivation of the Hickories. — The hickories have been so seldom planted in our Northern States for any purpose, that anything like a systematic cultivation of these trees is a thing almost unknown. Of course there is no good reason why the hickories should not be multiplied and cultivated as well as other kinds of trees, 12 178 THE NUT CULTURIST. but in some unknown way the idea became prevalent that these trees could not be transplanted with any as- surance of success, and this has been kept alive, either through ignorance or by those whose interest led them to encourage the planting of the rapid-growing and easily propagated kinds, instead of those which, though less profitable to the producer, would be of far greater value to the purchaser. It must be admitted, however, that the hickories are not so tenacious of life as the willows, poplars, elms and similar kinds of trees, requir- ing more care in their cultivation if they are to be trans- planted when of a proper size for setting along roadsides or elsewhere, for shade and ornament, but they are cer- tainly no more difficult to make live than the beech, oak, tulip and various species of the magnolia. The slow growth of the hickories while young is another objection often urged as a fault of these trees, but there is nothing lost but time in waiting, and this passes just as swiftly whether we plant trees that may in ten years yield a golden harvest, or nothing but leaves ; besides, the hickories respond as readily to stimulants and good care generally as the common fruit trees of our orchards. While the farmers of our Northern States are generally quite indifferent as to what becomes of their old hickory trees, and seldom attempt to preserve the wild seedlings that spring up in the fields and on the borders of forests, their fellow countrymen of the Southern States have, within the past two or three decades, discovered that they possess an inexhaustible source of wealth in their common pecan nut. Formerly these trees were sacrificed whenever a choice piece of tough timber was wanted, and often merely to secure the entire crop of nuts without waiting for nature to drop them within reach ; but the advent of many lines of railroads, steamboats, and other means of communi- cation with the great cities and their markets, has HICKORY NUTS. 179 changed this inclination to destroy into one of preserva- tion. The old pecan trees are not only appreciated as a source of income, but thousands and tens of thousands of seedlings are now annually raised and planted, to insure larger returns in the near or distant future. In fact, pecan culture has already become an important industry in several of the Southern States, although in point of age it is little more than a fledgling. We have no statistics to show what the annual crop averages in pounds or bushels, but it must be something enormous if we make our estimate from the quantities received and distributed in the Northern States. But with all the efforts put forth to secure a supply of these nuts, and the high prices they command at both wholesale and retail, the demand seems to keep well in advance of the supply, and this will, in all probability, continue as our population increases. In the way of demand, the same is true with our northern species of the shellbark hickories, which were formerly very abundant, but of late years have become rather scarce, for reasons too obvious to call for any explanation at this time. In selecting a location for planting and cultivating the hickories, including the pecan, a moist, deep soil is certainly preferable to any other, especially for the three species and their varieties most promising for this pur- pose, because we find them grov/ing wild in such situa- tions and soils. But while these naturally deep, rich and moist soils are to be joreferred, no one need hesitate to plant hickories on light, dry, and even poor soils, if they are properly enriched, or a few shovelfuls of fine old stable manure is thoroughly mixed with the earth in which the roots are set, and then a mulch applied to tlie surface to keep the soil moist. Almost any old waste fibrous material, such as leaves, straw, hay, weeds or coarse manure, will answer for mulching newly planted trees, and it should be applied to a dejith of three or 180 THE NUT CULTURIST. four inches, and renewed annually, or as often as neces- sary to prevent the growth of grass or weeds growing within three or four feet of the stem of the tree. In all dry climates and soils mulching should be considered an important operation, not to be omitted "until the trees are from six to ten years old, and it may usually be con- tinued a longer time with benefit. Propagation. — All the species of the hickory are very readily grown from nuts gathered when ripe and planted wdthin a few weeks ; or they may be mixed with or stratified between layers of sand and light soil and buried in the open ground for the winter, and the plant- ing deferred until the following spring. They are not at all delicate and will withstand considerable drying and neglect, and will grow, if stored in a cool cellar, without being packed in either soil, sand or other mate- rial. But as I haye had no occasion to determine how much neglect these nuts will withstand, nor to what extremes of adverse conditions it is safe to subject them, I shall leave investigation in this direction to others, because in general practice no valuable seed or plant grows any too readily and freely to satisfy the cultivator, and for this reason I recommend either j^lanting hickory nuts in the fall, or burying them between layers of light soil or sand, sifting out and planting early the fol- lowing spring. If any considerable quantity is to be planted they should be dropped three or four inches apart in shallow trendies and covered about two inches deep. The distance between the rows may be from two to three feet, depending u]3on the implements to be used in their cultivation. The soil for a seedbed should, of course, be made rich and deej), or the same as recommended for chest- nuts, and all the means usually employed to assist the growth of cultivated plants are applicable to nut trees. I may also add that cutworms, white grubs and other HICKORY NUTS. 181 noxious insects are enemies of nut-tree seedlings as well tis garden vegetables. The seedling hickories should be treated as advised for cliestnuts ; that is, dug up when one or, at the latest, two years old, and their central or taproot shortened to at least one-half their original length, and then reset in nursery rows, and at a distance of twelve to fifteen inches apart in the row. If grown in ordinary upland, the transplanted seedlings will make a better growth if heavily mulched than un- der the usual system of clean cultivation, and it is usu- ally less expensive ; besides, by keeping the surface of the soil cool and moist, we encourage and assist the pro- duction of fibrous lateral roots, which, as a rule, are none too abundant on seedling hickories, no matter under what conditions or system of cultivation they are raised. When the seedlings have grown in the nursery rows two or three years, they will probably be large enough for planting where they are to remain permanently ; but if, for any reason, they are not disposed of, then they should be again transplanted, — the larger roots short- ened,-^and re-set in good rich soil. The object of trans- planting is to insure the production of small fibrous roots, and a frequent renewal of the same, close to the main stem or stock, as long as the trees remain in the nursery, whether this be two or twenty years. This is somewhat of an expensive operation, but the value of stock thus handled is enhanced far more than the cost of such transplanting, and purchasers are, or at least should be, willing to pay a fair price for such trees. It is the natural habit of the hickories, as well as many other kinds of deciduous trees, to produce in their earlier stages of growth rather large, deeply penetrating, naked roots, with few small fibers, and in this condition they are not so readily and successfully transplanted as the kinds possessing a more ramified root system. This, 183 THE NUT CULTURIST. perhaps, has misled many persons to believe that certain kinds of trees, like the hickories, could not be moyed at all, or at least not with any assurance of being made to live. This idea has become so prevalent among inex- perienced cultivators, and, I regret to add, often reiter- ated by theorists, that it has discouraged many who otherwise would have raised and planted nut trees in preference to other kinds. Admitting that it is the general habit of most kinds of forest trees to produce deeply penetrating ta23roots, when grown from seed, it proves nothing more than that these parts may be of some importance to the plants while they are young, and under natural conditions, yet they are not absolutely necessary, and, at most, are only temporary organs, like the tails of tadpoles, always dis- appearing wdth maturity. Any one at all observing, and having had an oppor- tunity of examining limited or extended areas of forest trees thrown over by hurricanes, must have noticed that no tree of any considerable size and age possessed a tap- root, but had been for years kept in its upright position by lateral brace-roots, and through these it had also obtained nutriment from the surface soil. Some of my corresj^ondents in the South have ex^Dressed their sur- prise at not finding any trace of the original central roots on old pecan trees, when blown over by severe wind storms. But it is the same everywhere with forest trees and where the soil is naturally loose and moist : the principal or supporting roots si^read out widely and remain near the surface, and the central roots or taproots disappear much earlier than in dry soils. In multiplying trees under artificial conditions, we remove the taproots, not only for convenience in trans- planting, but also to hasten and increase the production of surface lateral roots, and more than this, we lessen the years of luxuriant sterility, securing earlier fruit- HICKORY NUTS. 183 ing by such operations as root pruning and frequent transplanting. Budding and Grafting. — I have never known of an instance of successful budding of the hickory, at least in the ordinary way during the summer months. What is called '^annular budding" in early spring with buds of the previous season, is said to have been successfully practiced with the pecan at the South, but this mode of propagation is more of the nature of grafting than of what is usually understood as budding. But I liave been unable to obtain any statistics in regard to the pro- portion of buds that any propagator or experimenter has made live by this or other modes of propagation. Col. Stuart says, in ''The Pecan," p. 45, ''There is a method known as 'annular budding,' which proves quite suc- cessful." He then proceeds to describe the operation, as given in all works on the propagation of trees and plants during the past hundred years or more, but not a word to indicate what he considers a "success," — wliether it be once or fifty times in a hundred, or if he ever succeeded in making an annular bud unite to the stock ; I am more inclined to think that he never did, than otherwise. In Bulletin No. 105, "Nut Culture for North Car- olina," issued from the N. C. State Experiment Station, 1894, Mr. W. A. Taylor, Assistant Pomologist U. S. DejDartment of Agriculture, in referring to budding and grafting of these trees, says: "These latter operations iire less successful with the pecan than most fruit trees, though they are by no means impossible to accomplish. On seedlings one or two years old annular budding in early summer succeeds best." But here again we are left in doubt in regard to wdiat the writer considers "a success." Then, again, the line between the "possible" and "impossible," in horticultural matters, is a rather ditiicult one to determine, and Mr. Tavlor fails to cite a 184 THE NUT CULTUEIST. single instance in which either annular or any other form of either budding or grafting had been successfully practiced. The Bulletins issued from the Division of Pomology of the Department of Agriculture, give us no information whatever on this subject of propagation of the hickories, further than to repeat the old formulas of annular, splice and cleft grafting ; but as to results they have always been provokingly silent. Having been repeatedly assured, by men who pre- sumed to know, that the pecan tree was successfully propagated in the South by grafting, and many thou- sands annually raised in this way, it seems strange that such plants are so rarely offered by nurserymen. Seed- lings of choice varieties are, of course, abundant enough, but a man might, with as much propriety, offer seedling Bartlett pears or Baldwin apples, as pecan trees, expect- ing to perpetuate varieties. In corresponding with Mr. P. J. Berckmans, of the Fruitland Nurseries of Augusta, Ga., whose experience and acquaintanoe with the fruits of the South are, without doubt, in advance of any other horticulturist of the past or even the present generation, in reply to my request for information on grafting pecans, he writes: ''For the past five or six years we have grafted various varieties of the pecan nuts. I do not know of any other nurseryman South who offers grafted trees. I presume the reason of this is, the great difficulty in having the grafts take, as we seldom have more than fifteen to twenty-five per cent grow. We usually crown graft in February, using one-year-old seedlings grown in nursery rows. Owing to the small percentage of grafts which grow, grafted trees must, necessarily, be quite expensive, and for this reason there are so few attempts made in this method of propagation." Mr. Berckmans makes no reference to annular bud- ding of the pecan, so strongly and frequently recom- mended by the several writers already quoted, although HICKORY NUTS. 185 I am certain that he is as familiar with this mode of })ropagatioii as any one else, and would have practiced it had he found it in any way superior to crown graft- ing-. From all that I have been able to learn through a rather extended correspondence, in regard to the propa- gation of the pecan nut tree in the South, I conclude that they are occasionally and sparingly grafted, but with such indifferent results that they are not at all numerous in either orchards or nurseries. From certain remarks of Col. Stuart, in his essay on ^' Pecan Culture," I infer that he has sold grafted trees, for he says: ^^ It costs no more to care for the grove of choice trees than of poor ones ; then, again, the grafted or budded ones come into profitable bearing three years earlier than seedlings. Here is a case in point : Last Noyember (1892) we paid, in cash, two hundred and forty-eight dollars for the nuts which grew upon one tree, the crop of one year. The tree is twenty inches through at its base, and forty-fiye feet high; such a size tree would grow in twenty or twenty-five years. Now small nuts from the same size tree will sell for not more than fifteen to twenty dollars. Another tree only ten years old bore thirteen and a half dollars worth. These choice nuts are such as we grow seedlings from ; we sell a great many more seedlings than we do grafted or budded trees, simply because they are so much cheaper, and people in general do not realize that such a vast difference exists between the profits of seedling and grafted or budded trees ; but such is the case, and such it w^ill always remain for aught we can see." Soon after I published the description of the Hales' Paper-shell hick- ory in 18*10, requests for cions were received from nur- serymen and many amateur horticulturists, who w^ere anxious to try their skill in grafting this excellent vari- ety. Mr. Hales generously responded, and sent cions to a large number of correspondents in variaus parts of the 186 THE NUT CULTURIST. country, because he was desirous of having the variety preserved and propagated. During the following ten years the old original tree w^as kept pretty well pruned, in filling orders for cions ; those sent to nurserymen were to be raised on shares, one-half of all the success- fully grafted trees to be returned to Mr. Hales. Being a near neighbor, my opportunities for keei^ing informed as to the result of this arrangement was all that I could desire. To one nursery firm in central New York Mr. Hales sent about one thousand cions per annum for four successive years, and in return received just four feeble grafted plants as his share of the total product of the four thousand cions. But as the four plants received soon died, he closed that account as one of total loss. Previously, however, he had sent a quantity of cions to Mr. J. R. Trumpy, of the Kissena Nurseries, Flushing, N. Y., whose skill as a propagator of ligneous j)lants is probably second to that of no man in this country ; the result proved that our faith in the man was not mis- placed, for Mr. Hales received for his share of the ex- periment something over tAvo dozen grafted trees, and most of these are now handsome specimens ten to twenty feet high. Just what percentage of the cions set were made to unite and grow I have not been informed, but the experiment was, doubtless, rather unsatisfactory as a commercial transaction. In addition to the plants sent to Mr. Hales, there have been quite a number distributed among the cus- tomers of the nurseries named ; consequently, we are pretty well assured of the perpetuation of this remark- ably fine variety, even when the original tree succumbs to old age, or should it be accidentally destroyed. I am inclined to give Mr. Trumpy credit for being the first man to graft the shell bark hickory in this or any other country, and make the cions unite and grow, for I have failed to find any instance of success in this mode HICKORY NUTS. 187 of propagating these trees, i)rior to his witli the Hales' Paper-shell. In reply to a note sent him a few months since, ask- ing : "How did or do you graft the hickories?" he replied as follows : "I put the hickory stocks in pots in the si)ring, and graft them the following S})ring, say in April, and in the house. The cions are cut during the winter, so as to keep them in good order until wanted for use. I find it is better to operate in April than earlier in the winter. I also graft them out of doors about the beginning of May, when the stocks are grow- ing. They will succeed very well out of doors, provided the stocks are large enough for the cions. Any kind of grafting will do, but crown grafting is the best. I have not done much of late in the way of grafting hickories in the nursery, not having suitable stocks ; besides, when the weather l).ecomes warm enough for outside work, veg- etation pushes far too rapidly to give a man a chance to do much of this kind of grafting." Since the above was Avi-itten and while these pages were being put in type, Mr. Jackson Dawson, of the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass., has given his method of grafting the hickories, in Garden and Forest, Feb. 19, 189G, as follows : *^My method," writes Mr. Dawson, ^Mias been to side-graft, using a cion with part of the second year's wood attached, binding it firmly and covering it with damp sphagnum until the union has been made. The best time I have found for the operation under glass has been during February, and the })lants have been kept under glass until midsummer, and wintered the first year in a cold frame. In all the genera I find certain species which may be called free stocks, — that is, stocks which take grafts more readily than others. Thus, nearly all the oaks will graft readily on Qnercus Robur ; the birches will graft more easily on Betula alba than 188 THE XUT CULTUKIST. on others ; so of the hickories, observation has led me to believe that the best stock is the bitternut, Hicoria minima. This species grows almost twice as rapidly as the common shagbark hickory, and while yonng the cambium is quite soft. I should advise anyone who v^-ishes to propagate hickories on a large scale to grow stocks of this species in boxes not more than four inches deep. In this w^ay all the roots can be saved and there will be no extreme taproot, and when shaken out of the boxes the plants are easily established in pots and ready for grafting. If taken up in the ordinary way from the woods, it requires almost two years to get them well rooted, and often the stocks die for want of roots after the grafts have really taken. If grown in rich soil, the stocks will be large enough to use in one or tw^o years. I should then pot them early in the fall, keeping them from heayy frosts, and bringing them* into the house about the first of January, and as soon as they begin to make roots. I should side-graft tliem close to the collar and plunge them in sphagnum moss, leaving the top bud of the graft out to the air. The graft ought to be well united about the last of March, when the plants should be taken from the sphagnum and set in the body of the house to finish their growth." All who have had any experience in the propagation of trees by grafting in spring, are well aware of the flight of time, in the hurry of work that must be done in a few days or not at all. It is true that the season for grafting may be ju'olonged or extended a little by cut- ting the cions in winter and storing them in a cool, moist place, where they remain dormant after vegetation has started in the open air ; but this does not affect the stocks, and these may come on slowly or rapidly, varying with the seasons, and the grafter must not only watch for opportune moments, but take his chances of striking the rio'ht time and conditions^ in order to be successful. UICKOKY NUTS. 189 With such hard wood trees as the hickories it is better to be a little ahead of time than a few days too late, for frosts, and even quite a severe freeze, will not injure a dormant cion, and under the most favorable conditions the union between stock and cion is a rather slow pro- cess. For this reason I advise giving as much time as possible, and Avhile I do not claim to having had any personal experience as a grafter, in the South, still I am inclined to think that grafting in the fall, and not later than December, would be preferable to later in winter or spring. By giving the cion and stock two or three FIG. 68. CKOWN GRAFTING ON ROOTS OF THE HICKCiRY. months in which to form granulations and cohesion, there would be more certainty of success. Of course, I now refer to what is called crown grafting on the root below the surface of the ground, and when the cion is fixed in place with the usual ligatures of waxed paper or cloth, the soil is drawn back into i3lace and the cion entirely covered with it, but very lightly over the ter- minal bud. Where small stocks are not at hand, the roots of large trees may be severed and the end partly lifted towards the surface, as shown in Fig. 68, and when 190 THE NUT CULTUEIST. grafted, allowed to remain in position until the follow- ing season, and then taken up entire or with roots enough to insure future growth. The same or a simi- lar process may be practiced to propagate a choice vari- ety of the hickory, and a mere severing of the roots will insure the production of suckers from near the severed end, as shown in Fig. 69. In grafting isolated stocks in this way, a small or large stake should be placed by the side of each^ to indi- FIG. 69. SPROUTS FROM SEVERED HICKORY ROOTS. cate their position, and also protect them from being trampled upon. I make this suggestion because, in my own experience, it has often proved successful with va- rious kinds of hard-wooded trees and shrubs that failed when grafted in the spring. Here in the North it is rather difficult, as well as expensive, to protect cions set in the open ground in the fall ; but in the South it is HICKORY XUTS. 191 different, and a handful of almost any coarse litter would be sufficient to prevent severe freezing. But grafting in the fall in the open ground is un- necessary, where small seedling stocks are used in the propagation of any kind of tree ; in fact, nurserymen do very little grafting of this kind in spring, for they learned, by long experience, that the most economical and certain method of multiplying such trees is to take up the stocks in the fall, and then graft them indoors during the winter, having stocks and cions stored in cool cellars or pits, where they will be readily accessible when wanted. Apples, pears, quinces, grapes, and many other kinds of hardy trees, shrubs and vines are now extensively propagated by grafting during the win- ter months, and I do not know of any good reason why the hickories and other closely allied nut trees should not be multiplied in this way. I have tried it, on a lim- ited scale, with the shellbark hickories, and with fair success, and in my opinion it is the only way by which the hickories, including the pecan, can be multiplied cheai)ly enough to become of commercial importance. The small stocks of one or two years old should be taken up in the fall, and then crown grafted any time from December to March in the Northern States, but the earlier the better ; then pack aw^ay the grafted stocks in moGS or soil, in a cool cellar, or heel-in elsewhere, as, for instance, in pits or frames, where they will not be frozen, and yet cool enough to prevent active growth. In the spring the grafted stocks should be planted out in nursery rows, and deep enough to have the top of the cion just level with the surface after the soil has been settled about it by a shower or heavy rains. The plants must be handled wdth care, so as not to disturb the cions. Mulching will, of course, be beneficial in dry seasons, and especially if the stocks are set in ordi- nary well-drained soils. In selecting wood for cions. 192 THE :n^ut culturist. twigs of the previous season's growth are usually pre- ferred, but it is uot necessary, nor is it advisable to dis- card all except the extreme end of the shoot or that containing a terminal bud, as some writers have advised, to prevent rapid loss of moisture by evaporation, for a drop of wax will seal the end of a cion as thoroughly and effectually as a natural bud ; besides, the lower part of the annual twigs is often more tirm and really better for grafting than the upper ^nd less sturdy wood, and the lateral buds on it will push just as readily as the terminal one. The cion maybe three or four inches long, and contain two or more buds. The sealing of the upper end of a cion that is not protected by a ter- minal bud is certainly important with all of the hick- ories, for in this genus of trees the pith is large and continuous, not intersected or out off by a thin partition of wood at the joints, as seen in many trees, shrubs and vines. This large and continuous pith in the hickories is another reason why the cions succeed best if set below the crown and in or on the fleshy roots having no j)ith. They may be set on one side, as in splice grafting, or in the center, or in a cleft made for tlieir reception with a sharp knife, then bound with waxed paper, or wrapped with bass, raffia, or other similar material, and after- wards covered with melted wax to exclude air and water from the joints and wounds. In this mode of grafting hickories it is not neces- sary to employ the entire root or stock, if it is of large size, for a single cion ; for pieces of from six to twelve inches long, containing a few lateral fibers, will answer the purpose, and it will be found, in practice, that these sections of the large fleshy roots contain so much vital- ity that, if the cions set in them fail to grow, they will throw up sprouts from adventitious buds during the ensuing summer. Almost any fair-sized piece of root left in the ground, when digging up hickory trees large HICKORY NUTS. 193 or small, is pretty certain to throw up sprouts, this not only showing their great vitality, but that propagation by root cuttings is perfectly practicable and may be util- ized whenever and wherever it may be desirable. The man who attempts to raise hickories from root cuttings must have patience, for very frequently the cuttings will remain apparently dormant in the ground one entire season before the sprouts appear above the surface. I will also add that this slow or retarded germination fre- quently occurs with the nats, esjoecially if they have become somewhat dry before planting. For commercial purposes root-grafting small stock, as described, during the fall and winter, gives promise of being the best and most practicable system of multi- plying Yarieties ; but there is much yet to be learned in regard to details, and hundreds of carefully conducted experiments may be necessary to determine the exact time, condition and mode of operation. It may be that yery early grafting is better than late, or that we haye not, as yet, found the best species for stocks, and that a half-iipened one will be preferable to one fully matured. Neither has it, as yet, been determined what kind of material is best in which to store the grafted roots : sand, soil or sphagnum (moss) from the swamps ; or whether they should be kept very moist, or comparatively dry ; very cold, or moderately warm. Here is a wide field for experiments, and a most interesting one ; for the suc- cessful propagation of the hickories by any mode that will insure the perpetuation and rapid multiplication of varieties, means millions of dollars added to the wealth of the country. Age of Fruiting. — We hear much of the preco- ciousness of pecan trees in the South, and many are reported as coming into bearing at the age of six to ten years from the time of planting the nut : but these are probably exceptional instances of early fruiting and not 13 194 THE NUT CULTURIST the rule, although in a favorable soil and climate it is to be expected that such trees will push forward more rap- idly than under less favorable conditions. Grafted trees will, of course, produce fruit in less time than seedlings, and as this mode of propagation becomes more general, and repeated in a direct ancestral line, the cions for each successive generation of trees being taken from mature or bearing specimens, the precocious and productive habit will eventually become intensified, as it has been in all of our long-cultivated fruit trees propagated by artificial methods. We have so intensified the produc- tiveness of many kinds of cultivated fruits by selection, that it has become more of a fault, than a merit to be encouraged. The nut trees are amenable to the same physiolog- ical laws as other kinds, and in their propagation by grafting with cions from bearing specimens we hasten maturity in the offspring. This has been fully demon- strated in many varieties of the Persian walnuts and European chestnuts. Here in the Northern States we have had so little experience with grafted hickories of any species, that really nothing is yet known as to how they will respond to this mode of propagation, further than that they grow raj^idly and give promise of being fruitful. Seedling trees are, as a rule, of slow growth, rarely attaining a bearing age and size under twenty years, and with the shellbarks thirty or forty years usu- ally pass before anything like a crop of nuts is gathered. Something may be gained, in the way of time, by fre- quent transplan tings and pruning, but more by grafting seedlings from old and mature trees. Two grafts of the Hales' hickory commenced bearing at the age of sixteen years. Planting for Profit. — There are, doubtless, many thousands of acres of half-denuded woodlands in almost every State in the Union, both North and South, that HICKORY NUTS. 195 could be readily utilized for growing hickory timber, and much of such lands is almost useless for other pur- poses; but timber culture and forestry is a subject which I have discussed elsewhere,* while the object of * this work is to aid my readers in j^roducing something that may be utilized as food. When the hundreds and thou- sands of miles of our public highways are shaded with hickory and other nut-bearing trees of the best species and varieties, it will be time enough to begin planting such kinds elsewhere. As roadside trees they cannot fail to be profitable, largely enhancing the value of ad- joining land ; for in addition to being equally as orna- mental as other kinds, they yield fruit always in demand at remunerative prices. The three species of the hick- ory and their varieties recommended for cultivation all thrive best in moist soils, but by occasional watering or thorough mulching they will succeed almost anywhere, especially in naturally dry locations. Insect Enemies. — The hickories, as with all other nut-bearing trees, have numerous insect enemies, but these are neither so numerous nor destructive as to seri- ously interfere with their growth in general, or with their productiveness. Insects may occasionally become exceedingly numerous in certain localities for a few years, then suddenly or slowly disappear; but this we must expect, as one of the coexisting phases of all agri- cultural pursuits. Collectively the hickories have no considerable num- ber of destructive insect enemies, but if we count all the species of the various orders that have been found occa- sionally, or otherwise, feeding on the leaves, buds, fruit, twigs, bark, or boring in the solid wood, they make a very formidable list of names, or about one hundred and seventy-five in all ; but fully ninety per cent of these ♦Practical Forestry. 196 THE is'UT CULTURIST. depredators are scarcely knoAvn, except to a few profes- sional entomologists, and unless they become more de- structive in the future than they are at present, or have been in years i^ast, nut culturists have little to fear from their depredations. Among the most common species of insects injurious to the hickory, the following may prove most annoying to the cultivator. The hickokt-twig girdleu {Oncideres cingida- tus. Say). — A small yellowish-gray beetle, a little less than an inch long, usually appearing in this latitude during August, the females depositing their eggs in the twigs of from a quarter to a half -inch in diameter. On old large trees the loss of a few or many of these is scarcely noticed ; but on young seedlings or grafted stock it is quite a different affair, for on such plants the females usually select the leader in prefer- ence to the lateral twigs in which to de- posit their eggs. The female girdles the twigs for the purpose of providing proper and acceptable food for her progeny ; that is, first the green, then the slowly drying, then the perfectly hard, seasoned hickory or Avhatever kind she may have attacked. Selecting a suitable twig, she rests upon it, usually with head downward (Fig. 70), and with her mandibles cuts out a ring of bark about one-twelfth of an inch wide, and deep enough to reach the firm wood ~""nderneath. The place selected for this annular inci- V oil may be only a few inches from the terminal bud, or :> foot below it, and in some instances she will cut two incisions on the same twig some distance apart, but usually there is only one on a twig. While cutting this incision she will sometimes rest long enough from her labors to deposit an Qgg in the bark above. The num- ber of eo:gs she deioo-sits in the twig is i^robably variable, FIG. 70. HICKORY HUTS. 197 but three full-grown grubs is the most I have ever found, and the larger proportion examined had only one. This girdling of the twig prevents the flow of sa^^*, and the leaves soon wither and drop off, and the bark and wood shrivel and become hard and dry; but in the mean- time the eggs liave hatched and the minute grubs have bored their way through the soft bark and reached the pith, feeding in this while acquiring size and strength of jaws that will enable them to consume more solid food later and during the succeeding winter, spring and summer. Some do not reach maturity until the second summer ; at least, in this latitude, as I have found after very careful observation and while collecting many hun- dreds of specimens. I will say, however, that this in- sect is usually referred to by entomologists as rather rare, and in general it is, but some years ago, in an old clearing near by where there was a great number of young hickory seedlings and sprouts, it was for a season or two very abundant ; then it suddenly disappeared, and I have not taken a half-dozen specimens since. The grubs bore out the wood in the infested twig, and in most instances so completely as to leave only a thin shell of the wood or bark, by the time they have reached ma- turity and are ready to pass into their imago or perfect- winged stage. This species of twig girdler also attacks the apple, pear, persimmon, elm, and other kinds of trees, and with those like the apple, with a soft and brittle wood, the girdled twigs are frequently broken off by the winds ; but this rarely occurs with the hickories, and we can usually find the stumps remaining on the ti-ees years after the beetles have emerged. The only way to keep this pest in check is to cut off and burn the girdled twigs any time before the larvae have reached maturity, and as the girdled dead twigs are readily seen, the gath- ering is not difficult, from medium-sized trees. 198 THE I^UT CULTURIST. The paikted hickory borer [Cyllene inctus. Drury). — This is, perhaps, one of the most common and widely distributed of all the hickory borers, but, so far as my observations have extended, it rarely attacks young or healthy trees of any age ; in fact, I have never found it in or about growing trees, but I have seen it, by the thousands, breeding in decaying specimens and in hickory cord wood cut during tlie winter months and ranked np in shady places. A hickory tree cut down in fall or winter, and left on the ground or cut up into cordwood, is pretty sure to attract this borer early in spring, the females swarming over the bark, depositing their eggs upon it, and by the ensuing autumn the wood will be fairly honeycombed if this insect is at all abun- dant. The general color of the beetle is black, and the size as shown in Fig. 71. There are three narrow, whitish bands across the top of the thorax, and one slightly broader band at the extreme point of the wing-covers ; but the next band is FIG. 71. in the form of an inverted V ; the point HICKORY BOREK. of the A tlocs not quite touch the broad lateral band, as in the closely allied species known as the locust borer {^0. roMnim), with which it is often confounded ; besides, in the latter the markings are of a deep yellow, and not white or of a faint yellowish tinge. The hickory borer always appears in spring, and the locust borer in the fall, not later than September in this part of the country. Below or behind the V-shaped band there are three others, but all broken up into mere dots, and not continuous. In the South, and especially in Texas, there is a somewhat smaller but closely allied species {Cylle7ie cri)iicornis) that attacks the pecan tree and its wood in the same way as our common hickory borer, but in the Southern or Southwestern species the bands on the HICKORY KUTS. LJU wing-coYers are all interrupted or broken up into small white spots or dots. I have no remedy to suggest, fur- ther than to cut down old, infested trees, and to haul the wood out into the sun and spread it out where it will quickly dry and become seasoned. If the felled tree and wood is stripped of its bark as soon as cut, the female beetles will not deposit their eggs uj)on it. There are other long-horned beetles {Ceraiyihycidce) that are occasionally found breeding in the hickories, and among these may be named the Belted Ohion {OJn'on ci7ictus), Tiger Goes (Goes tigrimts), Beautiful Goes {Goes pulclira), and the Orange Sawyer [Elapliidioii inerme), but they are usually qnite too rare to be con- sidered as very destructiye insects. Hickory-bark borer {Scolytus 4z-spi?iosus. Say). — Only once within my memory has this minute but destructive beetle appeared in any considerable num- bers in my neighborhood, although I have occasionally received a few specimens from correspondents in various parts of the country, even as far west as the Pacific coast in Washington. This borer is a very small, cylindrical, dark brown beetle, about one-fifth of an inch or less in length, and one-sixteenth in diameter. The hind part of the body is quite blunt (truncate), the males having four short but distinct blunt spines, two on each side, projecting from the hind part of the abdomen, hence the name "4-spinosus." In the females these s^unes are absent, otherwise they closely resemble the males. These bark borers usually appear here in the Northern States the last of June or early in July, and both sexes attack hickory trees of all species, but appear to prefer the old and nearly mature trees to the young and small with thinner bark. After boring through the bark and reaching the soft cambium layer underneath, upon which these insects feed, the female cuts a vertical chan- nel in this substance, of little over an inch in length. 200 THE is^UT CULTURIST. This burrow is a little larger than the diameter of her body, and along on both sides she deposits her eggs, to the number of ten to thirty, j^lacing about an equal number on each side. When these eggs hatch, the young larv^ begin to feed on the soft material by which they are surrounded, making minute burrows at first, and at nearly right angles with the parent one ; but as they increase in size they are forced to diverge, those above the center working upward, and those below downvvard, as shown in Fig. 72. These burrows enlarge as the grubs increase in size, as shown, most of them reaching their full devel- opment by the time cold weather sets in, but some do not cease feed- ing until spring, then pass to the pupal stage, and later to the perfect or beetle form, and from the extreme end of these burrows they bore a hole straight out to the sur- face, and are then ready to begin the cycle of life again, either on the tree from which they have emerged, or others near by. Some fifteen years ago I noticed that the leaves of some of the old hickory trees on my place were turning yellow prematurely, and upon examination I found the bark perforated with minute holes not larger than small bird shot, indicating the 23resence of the bark borer under consideration. Seven of the very largest and, presumably, the oldest, appeared to be alfected, and these were immediately cut down and stripped of their bark, exposing the little grubs to the FIG. 72. BURROWS OF HICKORY SCOLYTUS. HICKORY NUTS. 201 air and attacks of insect-eating birds. These trees ap- peared to have been infested for several years, as there was scarcely a spot on the surface of the wood that had not been scarified with this pest. Since the destruction of these trees I have not been troubled with bark borers, although there are still a number of very old and larae hickories thriving in the same grove. The only remedy I can suggest is to cut down infested trees as soon as they are discovered, and also encourage the insect-eating birds to remain in and near the nut groves. There are several other species of bark borers that occasionally attack hickories, one of these, the Chrame- sus icoricB, Leconte, infests the small twigs, while anotlier, the Sinoxylon basilar e, Say, after boring through the bark, continues its course far into the heart- w^ood, showing a preference for this kind of food instead of the living tissues. These pests, however, are rarely constant, but very erratic, in their attacks, and while they may be rather abundant on a few or many trees a season or two, they then disappear, and not one may be seen for several decades. The hickory-shuck worm ( Grajjholitlia caryana. Fitch). — The parent of this pest is a minute moth of the family Tortricidm, the small caterpillars mining and boring the green husks, and sometimes into the imma- ture shell, causing the nuts to wither and drop off pre- maturely, although an occasional one may reach matu- rity, even in its scarified condition. This insect appears to be somewhat rare in the East, but very abundant some years in the West, where it is frequently destruc- tive to the thick shellbark hickory and pecan. The first fresh specimens of the Nussbaumer Hybrid pecan nut (referred to on a preceding page) were so badly bored and scarified by this worm when received, that tliey would have been nearly or quite Avorthless for either planting or other purposes. As this insect attacks the 202 THE NUT CULTUEIST. nuts on the very largest trees in the forest and elsewhere, I cannot suggest any other remedy than to gather the immature and infested nuts as they fall, and burn them, with their contents. Among the larger Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) there are many species, the caterpillars of which occasionally feed on the leaves of the hickories, but not exclusively ; consequently, they cannot be considered as the special enemies of this genus of trees. When they do attack them, it is as much due to accident as design. This is certainly true with the great Luna moth {Attacus luna) and the American silk worm {Telea idolyijliemus), and various species of the Catocala, as well as the Tent caterpillar {Clisiocampa sylvatica). There is also a hickory-nut weevil, closely allied to the species infesting the chestnut ; and while not quite as large, its habits are similar, and its ravages may be checked by the same or similar means. The grubs bore into the green nuts, causing some to fall before half- grown ; others may remain in the nuts until they are ri^^e and gathered in the autumn ; consequently, per- forated hickory nuts are not at all rare, even on the stands of venders in our cities. Bud worms, leaf miners, leaf rollers and plant lice, — and among the latter several gall-making species, — are to be found on the hickories ; but with all these natural enemies to contend with, the hickories thrive, grow, and yield their fruits in greater or less abundance. To enu- merate, describe and illustrate all the insects known to be enemies of the hickory would require a large volume, but fortunately there are many special works published on the insects injurious to vegetation, and these are readily obtainable by all who may have occasion to con- sult their pages. CHAPTER VIII. THE WALK"UT. Juglans. The ancient Latin name, first used by Pliny, contracted from Jovis glans, the nut of Jove or Jupiter. A genus of about eight species, three or four of these indigenous to the United States. Order, Juglandacem (Walnut family). — Medium to large deciduous trees with odd-pinnate leaves ; leaflets from fifteen to twenty-one, serrate, mainly oblong and pointed. The sexes of flowers separate (monoecious) on the same tree, the males in pendulous green cylindrical catkins two to three inches long, solitary or in pairs, sessile, — not stalked, as in the hickories, — issuing from the one-year-old twig^, and at the upper edge of the scar left by the falling leaf of the previous season (Fig. 73), showing that the male organs emanate from an aggrega- tion of bud-cells in the axils of the leaves during the preceding summer and autumn. Female flowers ter- minal on the new growth in spring, also single, in clus- ters, and occasionally in long pendulous racemes with a four-cleft calyx, four minute petals and two thick curved stigmas. Fruit round or oblong (Fig. 74) ; husk thin, drying up without opening by seams, as in the hickories. Shell of nut either rough and deeply corrugated, with sharp-pointed ridges, or quite smooth, with an undulat- ing, wavy surface, very thick in some species and thin in others ; kernel two- or indistinctly four-lobed, united at the apex, fleshy, rich and oily. History. — The common walnut, so long and widely known in commerce under various names, such 203 204 THE NUT CULTURIST. as Persian, English, French, Italian and European wal- nuts, also as Madeira nut, and recently Chile walnut, are now all believed to have descended from trees native of Persia, most plentiful in the province of Ghilan on the Caspian sea, between latitude 35° and 40°, hence the if FIG. 73. PERSIAN WALNUT, SHOWING POSITION OF SEXUAL ORGANS. old Grecian name of the fruit, viz.: Persicon and Basil- icon, or Persian Eoyal nut, probably because either introduced by the Greek monarchs, or sent to ttiem by the Persian kings. Later, — according to Pliny, — the Greeks called the trees Car yon, on account of the strong THE WALJSUT. 205 FIG. 74. BEARING BRAKCH OF ENGLISH "WALNUT. 206 THE NUT CULTURIST. scent of the foliage, and from this name Nuttall coined his word, Carya, for our indigenous hickories, as ex- plained in the preceding chapter. It should also be noted here that the elder Michaux, in 1782-4, was the first modern botanist to visit the province of Ghilan, and he determined, by personal investigation, that this spe- cies of the walnut was really indigenous to that region of country, along with the peach and apricot. Earlier European authors claim that the walnut was first introduced into Italy by Vitellius (emperor) early in the first century of the Christian Era, — but this is uncertain, — the Romans giving it the name of Ju- glandes, or the nut of Jove or Jupiter, both being the same mythical personage. The nuts, at this early day, were highly prized, and also the wood of the tree, the latter being even more valuable than that of the citron (orange and lemon). Ovid wrote a poem about these nuts, entitled De Nuce, from which we learn that boys were employed to, or did of their own accord, knock off these nuts ; and that at marriages walnuts were thrown by the bride and bridegroom among the children, a ceremony which was supposed to indicate that the bridegroom had left off his boyish amusements, and that the bride was no longer a votary of Diana, and it is quite probable that the French word for nuptials, des 7i6ces, was derived from this ancient custom. The ancients also believed that walnuts possessed pow- erful medicinal properties, even to the curing of hydro- phobia; but in these latter days they have lost most of their curative virtues, in the opinion of the medical fraternity. As with the chestnut, the planting of the walnut extended northward into Gaul (France), hence the earlier name of Gaul nuts, which became corrupted into walnuts by the English-speaking people. The Italian name is Koci; in France, Noyer ; and the Germans, THE WALNUT. 207 with their usual habit of compounding names, call it 'walnuss-haum or walnut tree. Joannis De Loureiro, in his work on the plants of China, ^"^ Flora Cochinchinensis," published in 1790, claims that this Persian walnut is also a native of the northern provinces of China, with two other species which he describes (p. 573), adding, however, that one of these is cultivated in Cochin China, and the other is found wild in the mountains. The wild form of this world-wide-famous nut is,. doubtless, quite different from the varieties with which we are familiar, for two thousand years or more of con- tinuous cultivation and selections have greatly changed the character of these nuts, as well as the habit of the- trees. The nuts from the wild trees are said to have a rather thick shell, and to be much smaller than the best of the improved cultivated varieties, or very like those we now obtain in China and Japan. The Persian walnut, in its many varieties, has been planted almost every- where in Europe as far north as Warsaw, but does not appear to have run wild and become naturalized, as with many other kinds of fruit and forest trees. In Great. Britain it has probably been cultivated ever since the invasion of the country by the Romans, although a much later date is named by some of our modern horti- cultural authorities. Dodoens (1552), Gerarde (1597), Parkinson (1629), and other of our early authors of works on cultivated plants, speak of the Persian walnut as common in Various countries of Europe, Great Britain included. John Evelyn, in his ^^Sylva" (1664), says: ^'In Burgundy, walnut trees abound where they stand, in the meadows of goodly lands, at sixty and a hundred feet distance, and so far as hurting the crop, they are looked upon as great preservers, keeping the ground warm, nor do the roots hinder the plow." Evelyn, no doubt, had read what Pliny had said on this point, viz. : 208 THE NUT CULTURIST. ^'Eyen the oak will not thrive near the walnut tree; which, if it be true, may be owing to the interference of their roots in the subsoil ; but it is certain that neither grass nor field nor garden crops thrive well under the walnut." Evelyn was far too good a gardener and close observer to fall into the error of attributing noxious properties to the walnut tree, although Pliny's assertion, which has no foundation beyond his imagiuation, has been many times repeated in these days of supposed gen- eral intelligence. Small plants may fail, under the shade of large trees, or when deprived of moisture by the roots of such trees, but the walnut is no exceiDtion to the rule ; in fact, such deep-rooted kinds are less injurious than those with roots nearer the surface. Evelyn, in continuing his account of the walnut in Ger- many, says : ^'Whenever they fell a tree, which is only the old, decayed, they always plant a young one near him, and, in several places betwixt Hanau and Frank- fort, no young farmer whatsoever is permitted to marry a wife till he bring proof that he is a father of such a stated number of wain Lit trees; and the law is inviolably observed to this day, for the extraordinary benefit which this tree affords the inhabitants." What a pity that some such custom could not have prevailed during the past century in the United States. The author from whom I have just quoted adds that the Bergstrasse, which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all planted with walnuts. Cold winters, however, have occasionally played havoc with the walnut trees in Europe, and one of these occurred in 1709, when the greater part of the trees were seriously injured, especially in Switzerland, Ger- many and France. Many trees were cut down for their timber, which is always in great demand for gun-stocks and furniture. Certain Dutch capitalists, foreseeing the scarcity of walnut timber, bought up all they could THE Vv'ALXUT. :;i09 procure, and 3^ears afterwards sold it at a greatly ad- vanced price. In the year 1720 an act was passed in France to prevent the exportation of walnut timber, and this led to the planting of these trees more extensively than at any previons date ; this practice has continued to the present time, hence the immense revenue secured from the exjDortation of these nuts. The people of the United States are good customers for the surplus stock of Europe, and will probably so continue, until we wake up to a sense of our folly of perpetually buying articles that could be readily produced at home, and at a very large profit. Persian Walnut in America. — The date of the first experiment in planting this nut in this country is now probably unknown, but the oldest tree that I have been able to find with an3^thing like a satisfactory his- tory, is still growing vigorously at Washington Heights, on Manhattan Island, near 160th street and St. Nicholas avenue. I gave a brief history of this noble monarch of its race in the American Garden for September, 1888, from which the following account is condensed: ^'In 1758 Eoger Morris, an English gentleman, built a sjia- cious mansion on his estate, at w^hat, in later years, be- came known as Washington Heights. His grounds were well laid out for that time, and many rare foreign trees and shrubs planted, among them several, as then called, English walnuts. Whether these trees were raised from the nuts, or plants of some size imported, is not now known. Mr. Morris may have procured tlie seedlings from the Prince Nurser}^ Flushing, L. L, for this famous garden was established in 1713, or fort^^-five years j-jrevious to the building of the Morris mansion and the planting of the grounds about it. ''At that period no one doubted the hardiness of the so-called English w^alnut in America, and as most of the nuts and trees procured for planting came from accli- 14 210 THE is^UT CULTURIST. mated stock in Great Britain or tlie cooler region of Europe, success usually attended such experiments. Our pioneers and horticulturists fully expected that the trees would thrive and bear nuts in abundance, and time has shown that they were not mistaken, although we frequently see it stated at this late day, that the Persian walnut is not hardy north of the latitude of Washington, Philadelphia, or other cities south of New York. "One hundred and thirty-eight years have rolled by since walnut trees were planted at Washington Heights, and at least one of the originals has escaped destruction and holds its head aloft, defying the tempests which frequently sweep over that elevated and exposed spot on Manhattan Island. This veritable patriarch of its race in America is a monster in size, its stem between four and five feet in diameter at the base and more than seventy-five feet high, with wide-spreading branches. *^In the summer of 1776 the Battle of Long Island was fought, and the American forces were compelled to retreat in confusion to New York, thence northward up the island ; but when they reached Fort Washington, not far from the eleventh milestone on the old Albany post road, they made a stand and proceeded to entrench themselves at that jDlace. This was in September, 1776, and General Washington took possession of the Morris mansion near by, making it his headquarters, and, as this was at the season when the walnuts had reached an edible stage, we may safely presume, from his well-known predilection for such delicacies, that he tested the qual- ity of the Morris walnuts. One hundred and twenty years later I am writing this, with some fresh specimens of nuts before me from that same old tree. " This old patriarch has cast its shade over many a noted person in its time, for in 1810 the Morris estate passed into the hands of Madame Jumel, a lady long famous for her hospitality and the good cheer she ex- THE WALNUT. 211 tended to the surviving patriots of the Revolution. From 1810 to the time of her death, 1865, Madame Jumel's household always had an abundance of walnuts from the old tree, and one of the workmen on the place informed me that about two cartloads was considered a fair annual crop." It cannot be many years before this old tree will meet the same fate that has overtaken many of its younger contemporaries which were once growing in the neighborhood, for with the rush for building lots and the opening of new streets and avenues, trees are usually in the way, and in such cases eyen patriarchs are not sacred, nor do they command much respect from our urban population.* A half-century ago there was quite a large number of walnut trees scattered about on the northern half of Manhattan Island, many of these probably descendants of the old Morris trees, but of this nothing definite is now known. A number of persons whose ages permit- ted them to scan the early days of the present century, have assured me that in their childhood they had often collected walnuts from goodly sized trees on farms, from Harlem northward on the island. The largest number of Persian walnut trees planted in any one place was on the Tieman farm at Manhattanville, these being set out as roadside trees, some of which are still standing, although in the march of improvements they must soon disappear. These trees have always been noted for their productiveness, bearing a full crop every alternate year, and a lighter one in what is termed the ^'off season.'' While the old Morris walnut tree, and the large number growing on the Tieman estate, and scores of others scattered about New York city and its suburbs, *Sii«;e writing tlie above, and while these pages are being put in type, accidentally I learn with regret that the old Morris walnut tree lias been destroyed. 212 THE i^UT CULTURIST. have been, and many still are, living witnesses of the fact that varieties of the Persian walnut Avill thrive in this latitude, certain horticultural authors and essayists have continually asserted the contrary. Mr. F. J. Scott, in his superb and voluminous work, *SSuburban Home Grounds," in speaking of this species of the walnut, says, p. 351: *' Though greatly valued in England and on the continent for its beauty, as well as for its nuts, its want of hardiness in the Northern States, and lack of any peculiar beauty in the South, has prevented its culture to any great extent in this country. South of Philadelphia it may be grown with safety." This seems strange language to have come from such an eminent authority as the late Mr. Scott, inasmuch as he must have passed a hundred times within sight, if not in the very shadow of the rows of old walnut trees grow- ing at Manhattanville, when going from New York city to New burgh, where he studied landscape gardening under the lamented A. J. Downing, and to whom the work from which I have quoted is dedicated. It is quite evident, however, that our author, like many others, failed to see things that should have interested him. As an offset to Mr. Scott's idea of the northern limit for the successful cultivation of this nut, I may refer to the work of Mr. George Jacques, ^'Practical Treatise on Fruit Trees, Adapted to the Interior of New England," published at Worcester, Mass., 1849. In referring to the European walnut, p. 238, he says : "It is perfectly hardy on Long Island, and to the south of New York, and as far north as the city of Charles- town in this State (Mass. ), where there may be seen, in the enclosure of a residence on Harvard street, two fine trees of this kind, either of them much taller and larger than our large-sized apple trees. We have eaten nuts from these trees well ripened and fully equal to any of those imported. The trees often bear a crop of some THE WALNUT. 213 bushels." It is unnecessary to search for furtlier proof to show that certain excellent varieties of the Persian walnut do thrive and bear abundantly in our Northern States ; not, perhaps, in the extreme boreal borders of New England, nor in those of the northwest, but the acclimated sorts are pretty safe as far north as 42° of latitude, and in protected locations may crowd up a half degree more. I haye found very productive trees of this nut in northern New Jersey, several in Bergen county, others in Passaic, and thence southward, and while they are few in number, they are sufficient to prove that this tree is adapted to the soil and climate of the entire State. We seldom find more than one or two trees in any garden, and these are probably more the result of accident than design, their owners seeming to be satisfied in possessing something in the way of a tree not common in the neighborhood, never thinking that it might be well to plant enough of such trees to have them become a source of revenue. The parentage of quite a number of these bearing trees is readily traced to the Morris and Tieman stock, showing that these old trees are of a hardy and prolific race, which are well worthy of perpetuation for cold climates. Very old and large walnut trees are reported as growing in Pennsyl- vania and other of the Middle States, but they are far from being numerous. It has long been claimed that this species of nut succeeded best in the Southern States, and it is probably true, especially with the tender varie- ties; but for some reason, unknown to me, they have not been planted there in sufficient numbers to have, as yet, become of any commercial importance. During the past twenty-five years these nuts have been more extensively planted in Cnlifornia than else- where in the United States, and we may expect soon to know something definite in regard to results. Nearly all of the favorite French varieties have been introduced, 214 THE KUT CULTURIST. and are now being tested in different i^arts of the State, and it is quite likely that the greater j)art will succeed, although some of the early-blooming sorts may fail in localities subject to late spring frosts. Preyious to the introduction of grafted trees of the named varieties, the only trees of this kind planted in California were seed- lings raised from the common imported nuts ; but I have no statistics at hand to determine the date of the first j)lantings of this kind. Of late 3^ears there has been received, at some of our seaports, and especially at Isew York, some quite large consignments of walnuts from South America, under the name of ^^ Chile walnuts," but they are only varieties of the Persian raised in Chile. They are gen- erally of good size, moderately thin shelled, with plump kernels of excellent flavor. They are in great demand for confectionery, and are really better for such purposes than the larger and fancy bleached walnuts imported under the somewhat general name of Grenobles, or French walnuts. Owing to the difference of climate, these Chile walnuts arrive here late in winter, or about the time those coming from European countries the pre- vious autumn begin to become somewhat stale. Of our native species of this genus {Juglans), the almost everywhere common butternut ranks first in flavor and general estimation, but owing to its hard, rough shell, and the difficulty in extracting the kernel, it has never become of any considerable importance, although usually found in our markets in limited quan- tities. Of course, it is a general favorite in the country, and whei'ever found in sufficient quantities the boys and girls lay up a goodly supply for winter use ; and crack- ing butternuts during the long winter evenings is a pastime and pleasure not to be ignored nor forgotten. The fiavor of the butternut is far more delicate, and better, than any of. the Persian species, but the diffi- THE WALKL'T. 215 culty in extracting the iMtluT small kernel is a serious objection. The black walnut has a larger kernel, in ^iroportion to its size, than the butternut, and it is not so difficult to extract when the nuts are dry, but the flavor is too rank for most palates, although it has often been referred to as excellent by the earlier botanists who yisited this country ; but it has never been considered of much value until quite recently, or since the manufacturers of con- fectionery discoyered that heat somewhat subdued the rank flavor, and now many tons of the meats are annu- ally consumed in candies and walnut cakes. I am cred- ibly informed that cracking black walnuts and shipping the meats to our larger cities has become quite an exten- sive industry in several of the Middle and Western States. We have two other but smaller native species of the wal- nut that will be described further on, under the head Species and Varieties. Propagation of Walnuts. — The propagation of the walnut in the natural way, or by seed, is exceedingly simple, for the nuts grow readily and freely if planted soon after they are ripe, or any time before they become old and the kernels shriveled. It is, of course, best to plant them while fresh, but they are not at all delicate, and may be transported a long distance in a dry condi- tion without seriously affecting their vitality. If wal- nuts are given the same care as recommended in the preceding pages for other kinds of nuts, so much the better. The seedlings of walnuts, like those of other sj^ecies, usually produce long taproots, and if grown in a compact soil, these will have few small lateral fibers the first sea- son, as shown in Fig. 75 ; but wdien taken up and the vertical main root shortened at a, and then replanted, they produce fibrous roots in abundance. The trees of almost any age from one to tv/enty years old, are not at 216 THE XUT CULTURIST. all difficult to make live when transplanted, provided the branches or tops of the trees are reduced, to corre- spond with loss of roots in digging up at the time of removal. It may be well to give a word of caution to the novice in nut culture about pruning nut trees in spring, after the sap begins to flow ; for if done at this time they will bleed freely and leave unhealthy wounds and black, un- sightly spots on the bark. Prune walnuts in summer or early in winter, to give time for the wounds to season before the buds swell in spring. If young trees are to be dug up, prune after they are taken from the ground, then the sap will not flow from the wounds. This is true of all deciduous trees, vines and shrubs. If the trees have few small roots when taken up, prune severely ; but if roots are al^undant, little pruning will be required. It is seldom, how- ever, in transplanting walnuts, that the pruning need be as severe as recommended for the chestnut ; in fact, having transplanted wal- nuts of various species, and of all ages from one to twenty years, without the loss of a plant, I have FIG. 75. sEEDLixG WALNUT, come tothc concluslou that they are pretty safe trees to handle, in this climate, at least, if not elsewhere. In seeking walnuts from a distance, for planting anywhere in the Middle or Northern States, it will be THE WALNUT. 217 well to learn something in advance about the climate in whicli the nuts are raised ; for it would be folly to send for either trees or nnts to a warm or semi-tropical region, like that of southern France or Spain, for a stock to cultivate in a climate as cold as that of New York, New Jersey, and States on the same line westward. We might, perchance, from such importation, secure one hardy plant in a hundred or thousand, but there would be no certainty of even this small number. This idea of acclimation and adaptation of trees to conditions and climate should not be overlooked by the nut culturist, no matter from what source he procures his stock, whether from abroad, or some distant region of his own country. If it can be obtained from a region where it has been growing under conditions similar to those to which it is to be transferred for cultivation, then the chances of success will certainly be largely augmented. Accli- mation is a slow process ; in fact, too slow for us to expect to secure any appreciable advantages from it in a lifetime, but in nature we seek final results, leaving time out of the question. In raising seedling trees we cannot expect much more than a reproduction of the species, and not that of the parent tree. Plants that have been subjected to un- natural conditions and surroundings, as usual under cul- tivation, are far more likely to show a wider range of va- riation in the seedlings than those growing wild in their native habitats ; but even the latter cannot be depended upon to reproduce exact types from seed. In other words, there is nothing certain about seedling nut trees ; the large nuts may produce trees bearing very small ones, the early-ripening give late ones, the tall dwarf trees and the precocious fruiting some of the most tardy vari- eties ; and yet, with all this uncertainty, we still think it best to select for planting the best nuts obtainable. 218 THE IsJJT CULTUEIST. i. e.3 best and most promising for the conditions under whicli the seedlings are to be grown. For the multiplication and perpetuation of choice varieties we must resort to artificial modes of propaga- tion, mainly by budding and grafting. These modes, however, while the best at present known, are so diffi- cult and uncertain in cool ciimates, — even in the hands of the most skilful propagators, — that grafted w^alnut trees have never been very plentiful in the nurseries of this or other countries with which we have commercial relations. In the south of France nurserymen appear to have been more successful in the propagation of walnuts by budding and grafting, than elsew^here ; but in the northern provinces, as well as in Great Britain, we hear little of this mode of propagation. So difficult has this mode of propagating the walnut been considered in Eng- land, that Thomas Andrew Knight, president of the London Horticultural Society, early in the present cen- tury discouraged all attempts to proj)agate this tree by such means ; but later, in a paper read before the Soci- ety April 7, 1818, he admits to having changed his mind, especially in regard to budding the walnut, and says : "The buds of trees of almost every species succeed with most certainty when inserted on the shoots of the same year's growth ; but the walnut tree appears to afford an exception ; possibly, in some measure, because its buds contain withm themselves, in the spring, all the leaves which the tree bears in the following summer, whence its annual shoots cease to elongate soon after its buds unfold ; all its buds of each season are also, conse- quently, very nearly of the same age, and long before any have acquired the proper degree of maturity for being removed, the annual branches have ceased to grow longer or to produce new foliage. ... To obviate the disadvantage arising from the preceding circumstances, T THE WALXUT. 210 adopted means of retarding the period of the veo-etation of the stocks comparatively with tliat of the bearing tree : and by these means I became partially successful. There are, at the base of the annual shoots of the wal- nut and other trees, where these join the year-old wood, many minute buds which are almost concealed in the bark, and which rarely or never vegetate but in the event of the destruction of the large prominent buds which occupy the middle and opposite end of the annual wood. By inserting in each stock one of these minute buds and one of the large prominent kind, 1 had the pleasure to find that the minute buds took freely, while the large all failed without a single exception." From the above and other remarks of Mr. Knight, in the paper read by him, I infer that he kept the stocks in pots stored in a cool place in spring, until he could obtain shoots of the season from bearing trees, and from these minute undeveloped axillary buds for inserting in the stocks. These buds, as he informs us, are inserted in the wood of the preceding season, and near the sum- mit or to23. He does not give any directions for holding the buds in place, whether by w^axed or plain bass liga- tures ; the former, how^ever, would probably be prefer- able, for the purpose of excluding the air and water. Some twenty years later (1838) J. C. Loudon, in ^'Arboretum Britannicum," etc., refers to the propagation af the walnut as follows : ^^Much has been written on the subject by French authors, from which it appears that in the north of France, and in cold countries gen- erally, the walnut does not bud or graft easily by any mode ; but that in the south of France and north of Italy it may be budded or grafted by different modes, with success. At Metz, the Baron de Tschoudy found the flute method (Fig. 76) almost the only one which he could practice with success. By this mode an entire ring of bark, containing one or more buds, is removed 220 THE .¥UT CULTUKIST. from a twig on a tree to be multiplied, and transferred to the stock, and made to fit as shown. If the ring is too large, a slice may be cut off ; and if too small, a 23iece of the bark of the stock may be left to fill the space." Both stock and parent tree must be in about the same condition or stage of growth when this ring bndding is done, in order that the bark containing the bud may peel off freely from the wood, and this is always in the spring, soon after the buds begin to unfold and the sap is in motion. Loudon says that in Dan- phi ne, France, young plants in the nurseries are budded chiefly by this mode, which succeeds best the closer the operation is performed to the col- lar of the plant ; and the same is true in grafting, the nearer the root the better, as has been found by ex- perience with hickories. Charles Baltet, in his '^L'Art de Greffer," recommends grafting in the usual mode of crown grafting, also flute or ring grafting, in April or May, and ordinary cleft grafting close to the root and at the forks of the branches, etc. He says that the cion should be cut, as much as possible, obliquely across the pith, so that it may be exposed on one side only. He also advises using cions whose base consists of wood of two years' growth, and these fur- nished with a terminal bud. He cautions propagators against grafting early-growing kinds upon those of later vegetation. If w^alnuts of any of the native or foreign species have been successfully joropagated by budding or grafting, at any of the nurseries in our Eastern States, it has not been made known in the nurserymen's catalogues. FIG. 76. FLiUTE BUDDING. THE WALN^UT. ;^21 Michael Floy, who early in the present centnry had quite extensive grounds devoted to fruit and ornamental trees, near what is now the centef of New York city, as we learn from his ^'G-uide to the Orchard," published in 1833, claims, in this work, that the Persian walnuts thrive well in this country, but admits that he had never succeeded in grafting the trees, and with the hickories had no better success, although he had tried them many times; but he adds: '^ Still I do not say it is im- possible either to bud or graft them ; but there is something peculiar about it, for both the bud and graft turn black when cut, almost instantaneously. Others may succeed better, but let them try it before they affirm it upon hearsay ; they may succeed very well by inarching. " Coming down to the present day, in our search for facts and information in regard to the propagation of varieties of the walnut, we may find it interesting to visit California, which, of all the States of the Union, is perhaps the best adapted to nut culture in general ; besides, a larger number of nut trees of various kinds have been planted there than elsew^here in this country. It is in California that we find such men as Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, an enthusiastic propagator and culti- vator of fruit and nut trees, and especially of the latter, if we may judge by his works and writings on this branch of horticulture, — and so far as I have been able to learn, he is the only nurseryman in the United States who has grafted walnut trees of many different varieties for sale. In regard to modes of propagation, Mr. Gillet says that the common mode of shield budding, as emj^loyed on fruit trees, fails entirely with small walnuts from one to three years from the seed, and it does but seldom suc- ceed even on larger stocks. When tried on large, old stocks, he advises removing all the wood from the inner 222 THE J^iUT CULTURIST. side of the strip of bark on wliicli the bud is situated, and at the same time have this strip not less than two inches long and as broad as possible. He describes his mode of grafting walnuts, which does not differ materi- ally from those already given. That he has never at- tained any very remarkable results may be inferred from the following : ^^We will add that the ^grafted walnuts' that we offer were grafted expressly for us, regardless of cost, by the most reliable firm to be found in the walnut district in France, through a process discovered several years ago, and which we will briefly describe for the benefit of people who may be inclined to try this new method of grafting very young walnuts. "One-year-old seedlings of the size of the little fin- ger, or about one-half inch in diameter at the butt, are selected, the root cut back short enough to permit the planting of the trees in pots of three inches in depth ; the trees, previously to being potted, are grafted with cions exactly of the same size, whip or cleft grafting being used ; the pots are then taken to a hot or propa- gating house, and a glass bell set over them to prevent the outside air getting to the grafts, the temperature of the house being kept day and night, at least for fifteen days, or till the grafting has taken, to 70° F. When the grafts are well taken and growing, the glass bells are removed, and the grafts allowed to grow three or four inches, before the little grafted trees are set out in nursery rows; it may be preferable, especially in cer- tain parts of the country, to keep the trees in the pots till the ensuing spring. Forty to fifty per cent of the grafts will succeed, and it is the best that can be done. ''This mode of grafting the walnut, besides requir- ing a hothouse, needs the care of a skillful person to make it succeed. So are grafted the little trees that we THE WALNUT. 25i3 import from France, and that we plant in nursery rows and offer to tlie public." For other modes of root grafting, I refer the reader to those recommended for the hickories, in the preced- ing chapter. Propagating walnuts by layers is practica- ble, where the small trees have been cut down to force out new shoots near the surface of the ground, then bent down and covered with soil in the usual method of lay- ering woody plants. Planting and Pruning. — The plants will produce a greater number of fibrous roots if the nuts are planted in light, loose, but rich soil, than in a heavy, tenacious one ; but with all kinds it is best to transplant when one or two years old, and cut off a portion of the tap- roots, as recommended for the hickories. When re- moved from the nursery rows for final planting, prune away nearly or quite all side branches, leaving only the terminal bud if the trees are not more than six to eight feet high. After final planting where the trees are to remain permanently, very little pruning will ever be required, further than to cut away branches that may cross each other, or to shorten some to give proper form to the head. No tree in cultivation requires less prun- ing than walnuts. As a genus of trees the walnuts flourish best in deep, rich loam, rather light than heavy, and in this country require considerable moisture at the roots, and some, like the butternut, succeed best in bottomlands, near creeks and larger streams. If the soil is naturally too dry for such trees, the fault can be readily remedied by the use of some form of mulch apjDlied to the surface of the soil around the stem, after planting, renewing this annually, or oftener if necessary, until the trees are large enough to shade the ground. Walnut trees, as well as the closely allied hickories, are well adapted for roadside planting, and when set in 224: THE XUT CULTURIST. such positions are far less likely to be injured by insects than when jjlanted in orchards or large groups, besides serving a double purpose, being ornamental as well as useful. They may also be planted around buildings, and where other and less valuable trees are generally grown. There are also millions of acres of rocky hill- sides and old fields which might be utilized for nut orchards, and if rather widely scattered over such land they would 23rove beneficial in shaaing the pasture grasses. First of all, however, let us have rows of these trees along all our country roads, after which it will be time enough to begin planting them elsewere. SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF WALNUTS. Native of the United States {Juglans cinerea. Linn.). Butternut. White Walnut. — Leaflets fifteen to nineteen, oblong-lanceolate and sharp-pointed, rounded at the base, downy, especially on the underside, petioles covered with viscid hairs ; fruit oblong, two or more inches in length, with a clammy husk, not opening when ripe, but closely adhering to the deeply corrugated and rough, thick shell. Trees wdth Avi de- spreading branches, and of medium hight, or from forty to fifty feet, but in deep forests sometimes sixty to seventy, with stems two to three feet in diameter. A common tree in moist soils almost everywhere, from the Canadas southward to the highlands of northern Georgia, Alabama, and sparingly in Mississippi and Arkansas, and all the States bordering the Mississippi river north- ward to Minnesota. A valuable timber tree, with soft, light wood, much used of late for furniture and inside house finishing. In early times the inner bark was employed for making a yellow dye, also as a medicine, the extract being a mild cathartic, hence one of the sjDecific names, Catliartica. THE WALNUT. 225 Synonyms . Juglans ohlonga alha, Marshall. Juglans cathartica, Micbaiix. Carya cathartica, Barton, 1818. Wallia cinerea, Alefeld, 1861. Varieties of the Butternut. — There are to be found many varieties of the butternut, varying mainly in the size of the nuts, and only slightly in the thickness of the shell ; but I am not aware that any of tbese have ever been propagated, all the trees in cultivation or else- where having been grown from the nuts. This nut is, no doubt, susceptible of great improvement, as well as others of the genus, and it is worthy of being experi- mented with for that purpose, especially in cold, north- ern climates, where there are few or no other kinds of edible nuts. Probably the most direct and surest way to secure improved varieties is by hybridizing, taking the butternut for the female parent, and the Persian walnut for the male. Hybrids between these two si3ecies are already known, and they will, no doubt, become more plentiful as soon as skillful horticulturists are en- couraged to produce them. Several hybrid wahmts of other species are figured and described by European hor- ticulturists, but, so far as known, they are mainly acci- dental productions, and not the result of any direct effort of man ; iiature, in this instance, merely giving a hint of the possible, leaving us to avail ourselves of the lesson if we feel so inclined. J. Le Conte, in a list of four hundred and fifty plants, collected by him on the island of Xew York (Manhattan), and published in the ^^ Medical and Philo- sophical Register," Vol. II, 1812, mentions a hybrid walnut among the number. Dr. John Torrey, in "Cat- alogue ot Plants," etc., 1819, refers to this tree under the name of Juglans hyhrida, and says that it is grow- ing near where Eighth avenue intersects the road called 15 226 THE NUT CULTUEIST. Lake Tours, about three miles from the city, and is a large tree. This specimen probably disappeared long ago, and we have no means now of determining its ori- gin or between what two species it was a hybrid. Eecently Prof. C. S. Sargent has discovered other hybrid walnuts in the neighborhood of Boston, and fig- ured and described one in Garden and Forest for Oct. 31, 1894. He says: ^* My attention was first called to the fact by observing that a tree which I had supposed was a so-called English walnut (Juglans regia), in the grounds connected with the Episcopal school of Harvard college, at Cambridge, was not injured by the cold of the severest winters, although Juglans regia generally suf- fers from cold here, and rarely grows to a large size. This individual is really a noble tree ; the trunk forks, about five feet above the surface of the ground, into two limbs, and girths, at the point where its diameter is smallest, fifteen feet and two inches. The divisions of the trunk spread slightly and form a wide, round-topped head of pendulous branches of unusual symmetry and beauty, and probably sixty to seventy feet high. A closer examination of this tree showed that it was hardly to be distinguished from Juglans regia in habit, in the character of the bark, or in the form and coloring of the leaves, and that the oblong nut, with its thick shell deeply sculptured into narrow ridges, was the slightly modified nut of our native butternut, Juglans regia. Two other trees with the same peculiarities were after- wards found. One is a large, widespreading specimen, with a trunk diameter of four feet three inches about two feet above the surface of the ground, and just below the point where it divides into three large limbs. This is on the grounds of Mr. Eben Bacon of Jamaica Plain, and is supposed to have been 23lanted between fifty and sixty years ago. The other has a tall, straight trunk, with a diameter of three feet one inch at three THE WALNUT. 227 feet above the surface of the ground, and is growing on a farm near Houghton's Pond, in Milton, at the base of the southeastern slope of the Blue Hills." That there should be hybrid walnuts is nothing strange or wonderful, and we often marvel that there should be so few of them in regions where two or more species are growing in close proximity in the same forest or elsewhere, but from whence came these specimens in Massachusetts is somewhat of a mystery. We may safely conclude, however, that the hybridizing did not. occur there, but somewhere else, and either the nuts or small seedling trees were introduced and planted where these hybrid specimens are now growing. It is possible that they are descendants of the old hybrid walnut tree of New York city, mentioned by Le Conte and Dr. Torrey, some one having sent nuts or seedlings to friends in Massachusetts, and the three trees described by Prof. Sargent are merely those which have survived until the present day, these retaining the hybrid character- istics of their parent. These hybrids may or may not possess any special economic value, but they are of con- siderable scientific interest, and for this reason alone are well worthy of careful preservation and extensive propagation. Butternut Sugar. — It has often been claimed that sugar can be made from the native butternut tree, and while it is true that the sweetish sap flows readily from wounds made in this tree in early spring, the amount and quality of sugar to be obtained from it is scarcely worthy of serious attention. In my boyhood days but- ternut syrup and sugar were considered as ^'sticky jokes" of the sugar camp. Hybrids in California. — Mrs. Ninetta Eames, writing, in the American Agriculturist, of new varieties of walnuts in California, refers to certain species and varieties growing in that State, as follows : 228 THE NUT CULTURIST. FLOWERING BRANCH OF HYBRID WALNUT. J, reaia x J' Calif ornica. THE WALKUT. 229 ^^On one of the avenues in Santa Rosa there are some dozen or so ornamental shade trees, which invariably attract the passers. It is not only that they are uncom- monly beautiful, but that there is something unfamiliar about them. One unhesitatingly pronounces them ^walnuts/ from their unmistakable likeness to both the English walnut and the native species found growing along the streams of middle and southern California. They are, in fact, a cross between the Juglans regia and J. Calif ornica, the wild black walnut of this State. In its appearance, this magnificent hybrid is nicely balanced between both parents, but it is superior to either of them in beauty and luxuriance of foliage, and in its j)henomenal growth. There is, indeed, but one tree, the eucalyptus, that grows more rapidly. In speaking of this quality in the new walnut, Mr. Luther Bur- bank says : ' It often excels the combined growth of both parents, adding twelve to sixteen feet to its hight in one year. Given like conditions, a budded six-year-old hybrid is twice as large as a black walnut at twenty years of age.' ^^The clean cut, bright green leaves make a remark- able showing, being all the way from two feet to a yard in length, and of graceful, drooping habit (Fig. 77). They are sweet-scented, too, — a delightful fragrance, resembling that of June apples. Another admirable feature of this hybrid walnut is its smooth, grayish bark, with white marblings not unlike the Eastern sugar maple. The wood is compact, with lustrous, satiny grain, and takes an elegant polish, which gives it unmis- takable commercial value. Like the majority of hybrids, though blossoming freely it yields a scant crop of nuts, one or two annually on a single tree, and this only after twelve years of persistent barrenness. The seed, when planted, goes back to its parent distinctiveness, — one- half turning out to be English walnuts and the other 230 THE NUT CULTURTST. FIG. 78. HYBRIU WALNUT. J. iiigra^X J- Calif ornica. FIG. 79. HYBRID WALNUT, SHELL REMOVED. J. nigra X J- Calif omica. THE WALNUT. 231 ^^^ half black walnuts, — the true liybrid being only reproduced by grafting on a thrifty young Jti- glans Californica. ''Another liandsome novelty in shade trees, is a hybrid from the Juglans nigra, or well- known Eastern black walnut, and J. Califor- nica (Figs. 78 and 79). It makes a charmirg ornamental tree, and bears, in its season, a prolific crop of unusually large nuts, which have little value except in the eyes of school children.. Several of these hybrids are growing in Santa Eosa, and present an in- teresting study to the 23omologist. ''A still more unique species of the walnut genus is the Juglans 8ie- holdianay a Japanese wal- nut which grows abun- dantly in the mountain- ous districts of the island of Yesso, and also in the more southern divisions of the empire. Several of these remarkable trees ^ are to be found in the fig. so. juglans sieuuldiaxa raceme. Kew gardens, but only one specimen is said to be grow- < \ 232 THE NUT CULTUPtlST. iiig in America, and this has recently come into pro- fuse bearing on the Bnrbank experimental farm, eight miles from Santa Rosa, California. According to good authority, this Japanese walnut not only attains its greatest perfection in this favored climate, but it thriyes equally well in countries too cold for the common walnut, J. regia. In its wild state in J'apan, the Juglans Sieboldiana (whose curious raceme of nuts is shown in Fig. 80) makes a wide-spreading tree about fifty feet in hight, with pale, furrowed bark; nuts an inch and a half long, with a diameter one- third less, and a kernel having much the flavor of the com- mon walnut. The tree bearing so thriftily on Califor- nia soil, suggests its possible value as a j marketable nut, ^] while it already fur- nishes a remarkable addition to horticul- tural interests." Juglans n i - GKA, Linn. Black Walnut . — Leaflets FIG. 81. BLACK WALNUT IN HTTSK. cleven to sevcnteeu, rarely more ; ovate-lanceolate, smooth above, moderately pubescent beneath, pointed, somewhat heart-shaped at the base ; leafstalks slightly downy, usually of a pale purplish color early in the season, especially on young trees ; fruit large, mostly globose (Fig. 81) ; husk thin, roughly dotted ; shell thick, hard, deeply and unevenlv corrugated with rough, sharp ridges and points (Fig. 82) ; kernel large, sweet, but usually with a strong, rather rank taste, but less oily than the butternut. THE WALXUT. 2d-s Trees grow to an immense size, witli deeply furrowed bark ; wood dark colored, yaluable for cabinet work, inside finishing, gnn stocks, etc. Common in deep, rich soils, from western Massachusetts west to southern Min- nesota, and southward to Florida. Most abundant west of the Alleghany mountains, and especially in the rich valleys of the Western States distant from railroads and water communication; elsewhere the trees have long since been cut for their timber. I have only one synonym to record, and this is scarcely worthy of notice, viz. : Wallia nigra. (Alefeld in ^^Bonplandia," 1861.) Varieties of the Black Walnut. — As with the butternut, there are no varieties of the black walnut in cultivation; at least, none propagated by means which will insure the perpetuation of their varietal char- acteristics. It is true that there are plenty of wild vari- eties to be found, these varying widely in size and form, and somewhat in thickness of their shell, as well as the ease with which the kernels may be extracted, but none of these have been ])erpetuated by artificial means. Among the earliest varieties recognized by botanists, one was called Oblong Black Walnut, Juglans nigra oilonga, by Miller, 1754, and perhaps in earlier editions of the ''Gardener's Dictionary." He says this is from Virginia, and only a variety of the common black wal- nut. Marshall, in 1785, describes this ''black oblong fruited walnut," and adds : "There are, perhaps, some other varieties." These oblong, or, more correctly speaking, oval nuts, often sharp-pointed at both ends. FIG. 82 JUGLAJfS NIGRA, KEMOVED. 234 THE NUT CULTURIST. are rather plentiful at this time. There are rarely any considerable iinmber of bushels reaching market from Virginia and adjacent States, among which these oval or oblong nuts cannot be found. I haye a number before me measuring from one inch to one and a quarter in diameter, and from one and a half to nearly two inches in length. Other varieties found, perhaj)S, in the same lot, are broader than long, or one and seven-eighths inches broad, by one and one-half in vertical diameter. These measurements are of the cleaned shell, after the husks have been removed. For several years a ''thin -shelled black walnut" has been offered by at least two nurserymen, in whose cata- logues they are described as "with unusually thin shells, the kernels coming out whole." I have endeavored to ascertain the origin of this variety, but failed, for both of the nursery firms who advertised the trees for sale admit that they do not know from whom they obtained the nuts planted, or where the original tree is growing. As the trees offered are only seedlings, there is no cer- tainty that they will produce nuts with '^^thin shells." We can safely drop this supposed variety from the list until something definite is known about it. JuGLANS Califork-ica, Watson. California Wal- nut. — Leaflets in from five to eight pairs, more or less dow^ny, but sometimes smooth, oblong-lanceolate, sharp- pointed, narrowing upward from near the base, two to two and a half inches long. Male catkins much larger than in our Eastern species, or from four to eight inches, often in pairs. Fruit round, slightly compressed, three- fourths to one inch and a quarter in diameter ; husk thin, slightly dotted or roughened ; shell dark brown, very faintly sculptured (Fig. 83), almost smooth, thick, the kernel filling two broad cavities upon each side ; edi- ble and fairly good. A tree or large shrub in the vicin- ity of San Francisco and along the Sacramento (where THE WALNUT. 235 FIG. 83. JUGLAKS CALIFORNICA. it is sometimes ciiltiyated), growing to the hight of forty to sixty feet, and two to four feet in diameter; ranging southward to Santa Barbara, and eastward through southern Arizona to New Mexico and Sonora (Thurber, "Botany of California"). This species has been considered by some botanists as only a variety of the next, or Juglans riipestris, var. Major, Torrey. Scarcely hardy in the latitude of lN"ew York city, except an occasional seedling from nuts gathered along the northern limits of the species, or from the cooler eleyated regions of the Pacific slope. It is of no special yalue, only adding one more edible nut tree to the list. Juglans Rupestris, Engelmann. Texas Walnut. New Mexico Walnut. — Leaflets thirteen to twenty-five, smooth, bright green, small, narrow, and long-pointed; male catkins short, or about two inches long, and quite slender ; fruit round or oblate ; husk thin, nearly smooth ; nut small, one- half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter ; shell very thick, rather deeply furrowed, the narrow grooves on the greater part continuous from base to apex, the broad edges of the ridges smooth, not jagged as in the butternut RiPESTRis, SHOW- aud bhick walnut. Kernel sweet and ING SMALL KERNEL. ^^QQ(J^ ^^^^ g^ gj^^^ll (J^jg.^ g4) ^^ ^^^^ ^q be worth the trouble of extracting. A small and neat tree twenty to forty feet high, native of the bottom lands of the Colorado in Texas, and throughout the western part of the State, extending through southern and central New Mexico to Arizona. In New Mexico it reaches an elevation of seven or eight thousand feet, though the climate is often severe, the temperature dropping to zero FIG. 84. JUGLANS 236 THE NUT CULTURIST. and below during the winter. Seedlings raised from ■nuts obtained near the northern limits of this species in Texas and New Mexico would probably be hardy in most of the jSi orthern States, but they are scarcely worth cultiyatiug for their nuts, owing to the small size and thick shell ; but as the trees are neat and graceful they are worthy of a place among other useful and orna- mental kinds. An occasional bearing tree of tliis Texas walnut may be seen in the gardens and parks of the Eastern States, and probably in some of the Western, but I have no direct information in regard to their loca- tions or age. Synonyms : Juglans rupestris, Torrey. Juglans Califrrnica, Watson, Bot. California. Oriental Walnuts. — How few or many species of the walnut are indigenous to China, Korea, Japan and other Oriental countries it would be very difficult to determine, with our present limited knowledge of the forests of that part of the world. The few botanists who haye had opportunities of studying the flora of those regions do not agree as to names or number of species of the genus. Loureiro, in his "Flora Cochin- chinensis" (1788), names three species as indigenous to China, viz. : Juglans regia in the northern part, but this is now considered very doubtful ; Juglans Camirium, Ehumphius, a medium-sized, heart-shaped nut, the trees found in the forests, and also under cultivation ; Ju- glans Catappa, a large forest tree in the Cochin China mountains, with oblong, edible nuts, with husk and shell of nuts of a reddish color. Many years later Sie- bold describes a Japan walnut under the name of Juglans Japonica, and still later the Eussian botanist, Maxi- omowicz, renames this, in honor of Siebold, Juglans Sieholdiana, and describes another native of Japan as Juglans cordiformis. But prior to any of the authors THE WALNUT. 23> named, Thnnberg had described a Japan walnut under the name of Jiiglans nigra, probably the same as Lou- reiro's sj^ecies, with reddish husk, but as this name had already been given to an American species it had to be drojDped. Maxiomowicz also describes what he supposed to be a distinct species, found in the forests of Mand- shuria under the name of /. Mandshurica (1872), but it is doubtful if it is anything more than one of the many wild forms of the species found widely distributed over eastern Asia. The red or black fruited walnut of Loureiro (/. Catajjpa), and Siebold's black walnut (J. nigra), are probably the same as the Ailantus-leaved {J. ailantifolia) , recently described in Xicholsst Indies and Brazil, btit its reputation in Africa does not appear to have been sustained it its Western habitat. CoQuiLLA XUT. — The fruit of the Piassaba palm, Attalea funifera, a native of Brazil, where it grows about thirty feet high. The fruit is produced in bunches, and are each about three inches long, covered ^-ith a thin rind. The nut is very hard, and is used as a substitute for bone and ivory in the manufacture of articles for the household. CoQUiTO XUT. — This is the fruit of the wing-leaved palm of Chile, Juhcea spectahilis. It is a moderately tall species, and closely resembles, in general habit, the date palm. The nuts are edible, but they are of sec- ondary importance, this palm being valued mainly for the sweet sap issuing from the stem when ctit down, this continuing to exude from it for weeks after it is severed from the roots. The sap is gathered and boiled, and when reduced to the consistency of molasses becomes an article of commerce, under the name of Meil de Palma or palm honey. MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. 2Gb Cream nut. — A local mime of Brazil nut. Dawa nut. — Sec Litchi nut. Earth nut, or earth cHESTNut, etc. — A small, low-growing, herbaceous plant of the carrot family ( UmhelUfercB), common in waste or uncultivated grounds in Great Britain and other countries of northern Europe. Formerly botanists supposed there were two species, but of late only one, the Bitnium hulhocastanum. On the roots there are small, nut-like tubers, of a sweetisli taste, and they are eaten by children, either in the raw state or after being roasted. These tubers have various local names, and in addition to the above, they are called kipper nuts, and pig nuts in England, but a familiar local name in Scotland is lousy nuts, because it is said that eating them is sure to breed lice. But this story may have been invented by parents to deter their chil- dren from digging and eating the roots of wild plants. Willdenow, in naming this species, certainly recognized its edible qualities, and that children were fond of it, else he would not have called it an earth chestnut, — hiilho, bulb, and castamim from castanea, the chestnut. Elk nut. — See Oil nut. Fisticke nut. — See Pistacia nut. Fox nut. — The seeds of a floating, annual aquatic plant, the Euryale ferox, native of India, and belonging to the water lily family {Nymphceacece). It is a handsome plant, with leaves about two feet in diameter, of a rich purple on the underside, with thorn-like spines on the veins. Flowers deep violet-red. The seeds of this spe- cies are eaten by the natives, the same as the aborigines of this country gathered the seeds of our indigenous Nelumiium luteum, under the name of water chinquapin, using them for food in the late fall and winter. Ginkgo nut. — The large, round, white, somewhat flattened, nut-like seeds of the now common maidenhair tree, or Ginkgo liloha, also known as Salishuria adianti' 266 THE NUT CULTUKIST. folia of some nurserymen's catalogues and many recent botanical works. The former, however, is the older and correct scieutific name. This tree is a native of China and Japan, and of a slender, sparsely branched habit, growing from fifty to eighty feet high in its natiye countries. It is a deciduous, cone-bearing {Co7iifercB) tree, with two-lobed, fan-shaped leaves two to three inches broad, divided about halfway down from the top. The male and female flowers are on separate trees, and to secure seed or nuts both sexes must be grown near together. The ginkgo was introduced into European gardens in 1754, and there are now many fruiting speci- mens, especially in France, from whence the nuts have long been secured for planting, by nurserymen and others interested in tree culture. There are very few bearing trees in this country, and one in Washington, D. C, has been fruiting for a number of years. In China and Japan the seeds or nuts are valued for their edible qualities, but they have a kind of disagreeable, balsamic taste in their raw state, although this is dis- pelled by roasting, after which they are quite sweet and palatable. As the trees do not begin to bear until of considerable age, and the nuts are inferior to many other kinds, I do not think the ginkgo will ever become very popular in this country as a nut tree. GooRA i^uT. — See Cola nut. GoRGON" KUT. — See Fox nut. Grou'N'DI^ut. — The small, globular tubers of the dwarf three-leaved ginseng, Ai^alia trifolia, are called groundnuts in some of our Northern States, and they are frequently sought for, dug up and eaten by children, as I know from j)ersonal experience. The plant belongs to the ginseng family {Araliacem) , and is closely related to the true five-leaved ginseng {Aralia qtii?iquefoUa), but our groundnut has only three leaves, instead of five ; besides, it is a somewhat smaller plant, rarely more MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. 267 than six to eight inches liigh. When the scattered seed sprout in spring, they send down a long, slender, thread- like rootstock, to a depth of from four to six inches, and at the bottom of this the small tuber is produced. It has a somewhat pungent taste, but this only whets the appetite of a boy when on a hunt for ground nnts. Groundnut. — The tubers of one of the most widely distributed climbing plants of the Eastern States, and common in low, Avet grounds almost every where, from Canada to Florida, and westward to the Mississippi. This plant is described in most of the botanical works of the present day under the name of Ajnos tuherosa, and it belongs to the Pulse family (LegttminoscB), and is closely related to the common and well-known wista- rias, although much smaller and of a more slender habit. It is a smooth, perennial, twining yine, with pinnate leaves, and dense racemes or clusters of small brownish- purple pea-sliaped flowers. The subterranean rootstocks bear long strings of edible tubers, from one to two inches long, and from an inch to an inch and a half in diam- eter, somewhat variable in shape, dark brown on the outside, but white within. When boiled or roasted these tubers have a rich, farinaceous, nutty flavor. This tuber or groundnut is the one described by Mr. Thomas Herriot, the historiographer of Sir Walter Ealeigh's expedition to Virginia in 1585, under the In- dian name of '^Openawk.^' He says: ^^ These roots are round, some as large as walnuts, others much larger ; they grow in damp soil, many hanging together, as fixed on ropes; they are good food, either boiled or roasted.'' These tubers are to be found in the swamps and damp soils of Virginia at this day, just as they were at the time of Herriot's visit, but many modern historians have tried to make out that Ealeigh's colonists found our common potato among the Indians at that time, although I have never been able to find a scrap of trnstwortliy his- 268 THE XUT CULTUEIST. tory to support such a claim^ or that Ealeigh himself ever planted or cultivated the American potato in Ire- land or England, or, in fact, ever tasted one of these tubers. GROUS'D:sruT. — See Peanut or Groober. Hazelnut, oe Chile hazel. — This is merely a local English name for the fruit of a small evergreen tree, native of Chile, S. A., where it is known as Guevina, and this has been adopted as the name of the genus, adding the specific name of the European hazel, so we have Guevina Avellana, although in some botanical works it may be found under the name of Qudria lietero- phylla. It belongs to the Protea family [Proteacece). It has white, hermaphrodite flowers, in long axillary racemes ; these are succeeded by coral-red fruit about the size of a large cherry ; the stone or nut-like seeds being edible are largely used by the Chileans. They are said to taste like the hazel, hence the name. Trees are hardy in the southwest of England, and would probably succeed here in the Southern States. It has been planted and found to thrive in California. Eeadiiy propagated from seed or green cuttings under glass. Horse-chestnut. — The fruit of a genus of decid- uous ornamental trees and shrubs, native of Asia and North America. The common horse-chestnut, or u^a- culus Hippocastanum, is a native of Asia, and was intro- duced into Europe over three liundred years ago, its large, smooth seeds and prickly husks probably suggest- ing both its common and scientific names, although these trees do not even belong to the same order as the true edible chestnuts {Castanea), but to the soapworts {Sapindacece). It is supposed that the prefix, '^ horse," was derived from a custom among the Turks, of giving the nuts to horses as a medicine when these animals were afflicted with a cough or inclined to become wind- broken. In southern Europe they are sometimes fed to MISCELLANEOUS KUTS. 2G9 COWS to increase the flow of milk, and at one time they were employed for making joaste for book binders. They are scarcely edible, although containing consider- able farinaceous matter, owing to the presence of a bitter narcotic principle. Our native species, better known as Buckeyes, with both smooth and i:)rickly fruit, are equally worthless as food. Iyort nut. — There are two species of palms pro- ducing nuts hard enough to be employed as a substitute for ivory, in the manufacture of small articles of domes- tic use. But the one best known to commerce under the name of ivory nut is the fruit of Phytelejjhas macro- carpa, native of New Granada and other jDarts of Central America. This palm is a low-growing and almost de- cumbent species, the stem seldom more than six to eight inches in diameter ; bat the leaves are of immense length, or from fifteen to twenty feet, growing in bundles, or clusters. The fruit consists of about forty nuts, en- closed in a rough, spiny husk, of a globular form, pro- duced on a short footstalk growing from the axis of the leaves, the whole bunch weighing from twenty to thirty pounds. They are two inches long, slightly triangular, and covered with a thin, pulpy coat, which becomes dry, papery and brittle when thoroughly dried, but when in its green state it is sometimes utilized by the natives for making a favorite beverage. The ripe nuts are very solid, hard, and when polished resemble ivory. Immense quantities of these nuts are imported into this country, as Avell as Europe, and used as a substitute for bone and ivory for making buttons, toys, and similar small articles. Jesuit chestnut. — See Water chestnut. JiCARA NUT. — A local name, in some of the Cen- tral American States for the Calabash {Cresoentia Ciijete). A low-growing, rather rough tree, with simple leaves, usually three growing together on a broad leafstalk. 270 THE NUT CULTURIST. The fruit is extremely variable, both in size and form, ; but mainly globose, and two to four inches in diameter. The shell is very hard, and largely used for drinking cups, and these are sometimes highly ornamented on the outside. The kernel is scarcely edible, but is used ; by the natives as a medicine. JuBA NUT. — See Coquito nut. JuviA NUT. — See Brazil nut. Kipper nut. — See Earth chestnut. LiTCHi NUT OR LEECHEE NUT. — I am inclined to think that the affix of '^nut" to this Oriental fruit is an Americanism, and not used elsewhere. There are three distinct species of this fruit known among the Chinese, under the name of Litchi, Longan or Long- yen, and Rambutan, all the prod- uct of the Nepheliums, a genus of the soapberry family {Sapin- dacece). By some of the earlier botanical works the litchi is placed either in the genus Dimocarpus or Euplioria. Within the past FIG. 103. LITCHI OR ^^w ycars this fruit has appeared LEECHEE NUT. jn Qur markcts, in consequence of the increased trade with Oriental countries, and facili- ties for rapid transit across the continent. The litchi is a globular fruit, about one inch in diameter (Fig. 103), with a tliin, chocolate-brown colored shell covered with wart-like protuberances. When fresh the shell is filled with a white, jelly-like pulp, in the center of which there is one rather large, smooth brown seed. The pulp is of a most delicious sub-acid flavor, but it is often rather dry and stale in the nuts which reach us from China and Japan. The tree producing this fruit is sel- dom more than twenty-five feet high, with rather sturdy twigs and branches, the leaves composed of about seven oblong pointed leaflets. This is said to be one of the MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. 271 most popular of Oriental fruits, and the trees would probably succeed in many of the Southern States and in California. It is now on trial in Florida, having been introduced there in 1886. It has been fruited in Eng- land many times, but always under glass, wlicre the plants receive protection and artificial heat. A full description of this species, accompanied by a superb col- ored plate of the Nephelium or Dimocarpus Longana, ap- peared in the ^^Transactions of the London Horticultural Society," 1818, p. 402. There are not only a large num- ber of species of the Nepheliums bearing edible fruit, but, as might be expected from their long and extensive cultivation, many local varieties, especially in the south- ern provinces of China and throughout the islands of tropical Asia. The Dawa of the Fiji islands is the fruit of N. pinnatuMy a tree growing sixty feet high, and forming extensive forests on those islands. At some future time we may be receiving the dawas under the name of Fiji nuts. Lousy nut. — See Earth chestnut. Marking nut. — The seeds of Semecarpus Anacar- diiim, an evergreen tree of the cashew-nut family {Ana- cardiacece), native of tropical Asia, and especially Cey- lon. It has large, oblong leaves, and grows about fifty feet high, and the fruit is produced on a fleshy recepta- cle. The natives roast and eat these nuts, and the black juice obtained from the green fruit is used for marking cloth, hence the common name. The juice is also mixed with lime to make an excellent indelible ink, also for a kind of varnish. MiEiTi nut or it a. palm nut, — These are the Indian names of the fruit of a lofty palm tree, the 2fau- ritia fiexuosa, of the swamps along the Orinoco river, also in wet soils at higher elevations. This giant palm grows to a hight of a hundred and fifty feet, with an immense crown of large, fan-shaped leaves, and just 272 THE Is^UT CULTUEIST. beneath these the frnit appears in a pendulous cluster eight to ten feet long, containing several bushels, weigh- ing, altogether, from one to three hundred pounds. The individual nuts are about the size of an ordinary apple, with a very smooth shell, somewhat veined or streaked. The natives of the country not only use the farinaceous kernels of these nuts as food, but obtain a saccharine material from the pith, out of wiiich they make wine by fermentation. The petioles of the leaves also furnish them with a strong fiber, used as thread- cord, and for various other purposes. Moreto:n' Bat chestj^ut. — See Australian chestnut. MoNKET-POT i^UT. — See Sapucaia nut. Mtb,obalak K'UT. — This name is aj)plied rather indiscriminately to the fruits of several species of the genus Terminalia, which are, in the main, large trees of the Myrobalan family {Comhr^etacece). They are native of India, Malay, Fiji, and, in fact, almost all the islands of the Pacific in warm latitudes. The fruits are similar to large plums, but slightly angular, containing a hard, nut-like seed. They are used principally for tanning- leather, and also for making ink similar to that made from oak galls. The kernels of all the species are edi- ble, and are eaten by the natives. In the Fiji islands the Terminalia Catapioa is a favorite tree with the natives, and they plant it near the houses. The kernels of this species have the flavor of the sweet almond. NiCKAR KUT. — The seeds of two species of Guilan- dina, a genus of the bean family {Leguminosce). They are climbing plants, with hard-wooded, prickly stems, forming almost impenetrable- thickets near the seacoast in the East Indies and other tropical countries. They have become widely distributed, as the pods readily float when they drop into the water. The pods are about three inches long, very prickly, containing seeds or nuts about the size of small marbles, and exceedingly hard ; MISCELLANEOUS KUTS. 273 but in time the water softens them, after which they sprout and grow when cast ujion the shore by the waves. The two species are distinguished mainly by the color of the nuts, those of G. Bonduc being yellow, and those of G, Bonducella gray, or with a reddish tint. Of no yalue or use except as botanical curiosities. ISiTTA OR NUTTA NUT. — The natiyc African name of the seed« of Parkia Africana, a tree of the sensitive- tree section of the bean family (Leguminosce). It grows about forty feet high, and has compound winged leaves. It has become naturalized in the West Indies. The pods grow in clusters, the seeds imbedded in a yellowish, sweet pulp, like the carob or St. John's bread, and the negroes are very fond of them. In the Soudan the seeds are roasted, and then allowed to ferment in water until they are soft and putrid, after which they are washed, pounded and dried, then made up into cakes to be used as a sauce for different kinds of food. It is supposed that the African traveler, Mungo Park, first brought these seeds or nuts to the notice of Europeans, and Kobert Brown named the genus Parhia in his honor. Nutmeg. — A name applied to the fruits of a large number of trees, and of different orders of plants. The true nutmegs of commerce are the fruits of trees belong- ing to the genus Myristica, and of the family Myristi- cacecB. The oldest and best known of these is the M. fragrans, a small, widely branching tree, growing twenty to twenty-five feet high, and" supposed to be indigenous to the Indian Archipelago. The fruit is about the size of an ordinary walnut, with a thick rind, which, upon opening, at maturity, discloses a reddish aril covering the nut within. This aril or husk is the mace of commerce, while the true nutmeg is the center or hard seed (nut). The Brazil nutmeg is longer than the true species, and is sold under the name of long nut- meg, and is the fruit of M. fatua. Another species, the 18 274z THE is^UT CULTUEIST. M. otoha, is cultivated in Madagascar, but is scarcely known in commerce. Anotlier species, the M. sehifera, is a common tree in tlie forests of Guiana, North Brazil, and up into Panama. It is utilized principally for the oil extracted from the nuts, obtained by macerating them in water, the oil rising to the surface, and as it cools skimmed off. The seeds of several species of conifers and laurels are known, either locally jor in commence, as nutmegs, or are used as a substitute for the true nutmeg. There are three different kinds of trees, native of Guiana, in addition to the one already named, the seeds of which are employed as a spice or medicine. One of these is the Acrocliclidium camara. These nuts are known in commerce as *^Ackawai nutmegs," and are used mainly as a cure for diarrhoea and colic. Another is the seed of the Aydendron Cujumary tree, and they are known in commerce as *'^ Cujumary beans," although they are not, strictly speaking, a bean, and the same is true of the so-called ^^Puchurim beans," from the same country, for they are the fruit of Nectandy Pucliiiry, a small tree of the laurel family. They are used as a tonic, and con- sidered highly stimulating. Clove Nutmeg, or Madagascar nutmeg of com- merce, is the fruit of Agatliopliyllum aromaticum, a small evergreen tree, indigenous to Madagascar. Brazilian Nutmegs are the highly aromatic seeds of Cryptocarya moschata, or At'he7'osperma moschata of some botanists. It is a lofty tree, native of Brazil. The aromatic nuts are used as a substitute for nutmegs, but are very inferior to the genuine. Peruvian Nutmeg, or Plum Nutmeg. — The seeds of a large evergreen tree with aromatic foliage, like our common sassafras, and for this reason is sometimes called Chilean or Peruvian sassafras. The seeds are of no more economic value than those of our native sassa- MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. :^T5 fras. It is known under various botanical names, but Laurelia semjmrvirens is, perhaps, the most familiar. California Nutmeg, or Stinking Nutmeg, is the nut-like seed of Torreya Californica, a small tree of the yew family (^Taxacece). The fruit is from an inch to an inch and a half long, with a fleshy rind enclosing a hard, long nut, which is slightly grooved like a nut- meg. The fruit, leaves and wood are strongly pcentcd, hence the name of '^^ stinking nutmeg," or ^'^ stinking yew." Another species, the T. taxifolia, is a native of Florida. Oil nut. — The fruit of a low-branching, deciduous native shrub, growing three to ten feet high, with alter- nate leaves and small greenish flowers in terminal spikes. It is the Pyridaria oleifera of Gray, and Hamiltonia oleifera of Muhlenberg. The fruit is in the form of a pear-shaped drupe, about an inch long, the small seed or nut with an oily kernel of strong acrid taste ; of no value. This shrub is found on shady banks in the mountains of Pennsylvania, and southward into Georgia. Paradise nut. — See Sapucaia nut. Pea^^ut, groundnut, goober. — The well-known fruit of ArarJiis liyi:)og(Ea, a low-growing annual belong- ing to the pulse or pea family {Leguminosce) , supposed to be a native of South America, but now extensively cultivated in nearly all semi-tropical countries and wherever the summers are long enough to insure the ripening of the seeds. Extensively cultivated in Vir- ginia, south and westward. Too well known to require any further comment or notice here. Pecan nut.— See Chap. VII. Pekea nut. —See Souari nut. Peruvian nut. — See Nutmegs. Physic nut. — The seeds of Jatropha Curcas, a small tree of the spurge wort family {Eupliorhiacece). It is native of some of the West Indies and warmer parts 276 THE NUT CULTUHIST. of South America, but now cultivated in other tropical countries for its seeds, which yield an oil used for the same purposes as castor oil, but rather more powerful and drastic. The seeds have a nutty flavor, but are rather dangerous if eaten in any considerable quantities, and death has been known to follow excess in this direction. Physic nut. — In '^Bartram's Travels," he refers to a seed or nut of a plant he found growing in Florida under this name, p. 41, as follows: " . . . some very curious new shrubs and plants, particularly the physic nut or Indian olive. The stems arise, many from a root, two or three feet high ; the leaves sit opposite, on very short petioles ; they are broad, lanceolate, entire and undulated, having a smooth surface, of a deep green color. From the bosom of each leaf is produced a sin- gle oval drupe, standing erect on long slender stems ; it has a large kernel and thin pulp. The fruit is yellow when ripe, and about the size of an olive. The Indians, when they go in pursuit of deer, carry this fruit with them, supposing that it has the power of charming or drawing that creature to them, from whence, with traders, it has obtained the name of physic nut, which means, with them, charming, conjuring or fascinating." To what kind of fruit Bartram referred under the name of ^* physic nut," is not certain, but his descrip- tion of the plant comes very near that of the American olive {Olea Americana), but the fruit of this and other closely allied plants of the same family are not '^yellow" when ripe, but purple. Pignut, or hognut. — See chapter on Hickory. Pine nut. — A name applied indiscriminately to the many species of pine trees {Pinus) bearing seeds large enough to be conveniently used as food. In south- ern Europe, and especially in Italy and the south of France, the seeds of the stone i^ine [Pinus Pinea) have MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. 277 been extensively used as food, from the earliest times down to the present day. Nearly all the ancient authors refer to them as among the valuable products of the countr}. Macrobius, in his story of the Saturnalia, speaks of the cones as Nuces vel Poma Pinea. Tliese pine nuts are called Pinocclii in Italy and Sicily, and occasionally a few reach this country, where the Italiun name has been corrupted into Pmolas. These seeds or nuts are used for desserts, puddings and cakes, also eaten raw at table, as with almonds. They have a slight taste of turpentine, but it is not strong enough to be at all disagreeable. In this country we have several na- tive species bearing very large edible seeds, and they are known in the West under the general name of Pinon, or nut pines. The best of these nuts, to my taste, are the seeds of Pinus edulis, so named by the late Dr. Engelmann, because of its large, sweet and edible seeds. It is a small, low-growing tree, more or less common on dry hills and slopes, from Colorado southward through New Mexico, and into western Texas. The seeds of Pinus Parry ana and Piyius cem- broides, of Arizona and Lower California, are also called Pinons, and largely gathered by the Indians. Farther FIG. 104. BRAXCH OF NUT PINE. 278 THE NUT CULTURIST. east and nortli we find the one-leaved pine {Pinus mono- phylla), and although the seeds are much s-maller than those of P. edulis, they were formerly gathered in im- mense quantities by the Indians^ to help eke out their often scanty winter store of food. Occasionally a small quantity of these pine nuts is sent to Eastern markets, but rarely, unless ordered early in the season. The trees of P. edulis and P. monopliylla are perfectly hardy here, and worth cultiyating for ornument, as well as their nuts, although their slow growth is a rather severe test of one's patience. Fig. 104 shows a Pinon branch. Pistachio nut. — Historically, this is a very ancient nut, for Bible commentators claim that it is the one sent by Jacob into Egypt. It is the fruit of a small, decid- uous tree of the cashew family {^Anacardiacece), a native of western Asia, but many centuries ago it had become naturalized in Palestine and throughout the Mediterra- nean regions. It has shining evergreen winged leaves, and the bark on the young twigs is brown, becoming russet-colored with age. There are several different species, but the one producing the nuts of commerce is the Pistacia vera^ having brownish-green flowers in loose panicles, and these are succeeded by bunches of reddish fruit, about an inch long, with an oblique or bent point. The nuts have a double shell, the outer one usually red, the inner one smooth and brittle ; the kernel is pale green, sweet, and of rather pleasant taste. There are a number of varieties, differing only slightly in form and size. This nut has been cultivated spar- ingly in Great Britain since 1570, but the climate is not quite warm enough to insure its ripening in the open air. It would probably succeed throughout the greater part of California, as well as in the extreme Southern States, but Mr. Berckmans writes me that it is not hardy in his grounds at Augusta, Ga. There is a species of pistacia known as P. Mexicana, found in central MISCELLANEOUS NUTS. 279 Mexico, and extending as. fur north as San Diego, in California, according to the report of Dr. Cooper (Bot- any of California, Vol. I, p. 109). QuANDANG NUT. — A medium size Australian tree, the Santalum acuminatum, of the sandalwood family (SantalacecB). It produces a plum-like fruit, which is best known in. its native country as the quandang nut. It is used as a preserve, but is little known, except in or near its native habitats. Queensland nut. — See Australian hazelnut. Sapucaia nut. — The Brazilian name of, at least, two species of large forest trees growing in the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries. The best known of these is the LecytMs Zahucajo, a lofty tree of the myrtle family (Myrtacece). It is closely allied to the more com- mon Brazil nut of commerce. The sapucaia nuts are produced in an urn-shaped, woody capsule, which has received the name of Monkey- pot, because when these capsules ripen the lid at the top is suddenly liberated, emitting a sharp sound, which, as heard by the monkeys, gives them notice that the nuts are falling, and that the first on the ground becomes the fortunate pos- sessor of the largest number. The capsules or pots are about six inches in diameter, and the lid opening at the top about two inches. The nuts, wdiich are packed very closely in the shell, are about one inch in diameter, and two to three in length, with a thin, browm, and very much wrinkled and twisted shell (Fig. 105). The kernel is white, sweet, oily, and somewhat more delicate in flavor FIG. 105. PARADISE OR SAPUCAIA >UT. 280 THE KUT CULTUEIST. than that of the common Brazil nut. In New York city these nnts are sold under the name of Paradise nuts. But this is probably only a local name, for I have been unable to find it in any botanical work. These nuts rarely come to this country in any consid- erable quantities ; a few hundred pounds at a time would be considered a large consignment. Sassafras nut. — See ISutmeg, Chilean. Sassafras i^ut. — See Nutmeg, Puchury. Si^AKE NUT. — A large, roundish fruit, about the size of the black walnut, the product of the OpMocaryon yaradoxiim, a large tree of the soapberry family [Sapin- dacecB), natiye of British Guiana. This nut takes its name of ^^ Snake nut," from the peculiar form of the embrj^o of the seed, which is curled up spirally. The Indians, thinking there must be some virtue in form, use these nuts as an antidote for snake bites, altliough, so far as known to science, they do not possess any medicinal properties. SouARi NUT, OR BUTTERNUT. — TMs nut, like the last, is a native of British Guiana, and is the fruit of the Caryocar nuciferum, a noble tree, growing a hundred feet high, having large, broad, trifoliate leaves, resem- bling those of our common horse-chestnut, but not quite as broad. The flowers are very large, and, with the tube, fully a foot long, of a deep purple on the out- side, and yellow within. They are comjoosed of five thick, fleshy pitals, and as showy as some of our best and brightest-colored magnolias. The flowers are pro- duced in terminal clusters or corymbs, succeeded by a large, round, four-celled fleshy fruit five to six inches in diameter ; but as some of the embryo nuts usually fail to grow, it changes the form of the fruit as it enlarges towards maturity, and only one or two of the nuts ma- ture and ripen, very much as frequently occurs in both the «weet and lior?o-chcstnutG. The nuts are affixed to .MISCELLANEOUS KUTS. '^6i a central axis, and are of a rounded, subreniform shape, and even flattened to an almost sharp edge on one side, and broadly truncate at the scar (hiliim) where tliey are attached to the pericarp or central axis. The shell is of a deep brown color, embossed, as it were, with smooth tubercles. They are from two to two and a half inches or more in their broadest diameter, as shown in Fig. 106. The kernel or meat is pure white, soft, rich and oilv, FIG. 106. SOUARI NUT. with a pleasant flavor. This nut is a rarity in our mar- kets, and Mr. H. R. Davy of New York, to wliom I am indebted for a specimen, as well as other rare kinds, assures me that in his forty-five years' experience as a dealer in foreign fruits and nuts, he has never known of but one lot, and that one consisted of about one-half bushel, brought into his store by a sailor, who only knew 282 THE I\UT CULTUmST. tlieir common South American name. These nuts are more frequently seen in European seaports than in those of this country. South Sea chestnut. — See Tahitian chestnut. Tahitiak chest:n"ut. — The seeds of a tree known in the South Sea islands by the native name of Toi, but to botanists as Inocarpus edulis. It belongs to the bean family [Leguminosce). The tree grows sixty to eighty feet high, and when young the stems are fluted lil^e a Grecian column, but as they increase with age the pro- jections extend outward, until they form a kind of but- tress all around the lower part, gradually decreasing upward. This so-called chestnut tree has yellow flowers, succeeded by fibrous pods containing one large seed or nut, which, when roasted or boiled, resembles the chest- nut in taste. The nuts have a different local name in almost every one of" the Pacific islands where it is at all abundant. Tavola nut. — See Myrobalan nut. Tallow nut. — A local and nearly obsolete name for the fruit of the Ogeechee lime or sour gum tree {Nyssa capitata) of the swamps of Florida, Georgia and westward. The fruit is about an inch long, resembling a small plum, the pulp having an agreeable acid taste. Bartram, p. 94, refers to this fruit under the name of ^' Tallow nut,*' but why so called is not explained. Tallow nut. — The fruit of the Chinese Tallow tree, SUUingia sehifera, of the spurgewort family {EupliorMacem), a native of China, where it is, as well as in some of the warmer parts of America, extensively cultivated. It has been planted in a few localities in the Southern States, and appears to thrive. It is a small tree thirty to forty feet high, with rhomboid taj^ering leaves and a three-celled capsuled fruit, each cell containing only a single seed thickly coated with a yellow, tallow-like substance, hence its common name. MISCELLANEOUS KUTS. 283 This tallow or grease is used for making soap, burning in lamps, and also for dressing cloth. Tempeeance nut. — An English name of cola nut. Torre Y nut. — The hard, nut-like seeds of Torreya nucifera, of Siebold, or Taxus nucifera, of Ksempfer, and Caryotaxus nucifera, of Zuccarini, a tree native of Japan, where these nuts are eaten by the Japanese, either raw or roasted. An oil is also extracted from the nuts, for use in cooking or for burning in lamps. Tliis Japanese tree belongs to the same genus as the so-called California nutmeg (see Nutmeg) and our Florida stink- ing cedar {T. taxifolia), also the great Chinese cedar {T. grandis). Water chestnut. — Also known as water caltrops. The seeds of several species of water plants of the genus Traj^a, of the evening prim- rose family i^OnagracecB). In southern Europe and eastward there is a species found in ponds, ^^^- '''• '^^'^^^ chestnut. the seeds of which are called Jecuit chestnuts (T. Pla- tans), and in India and Ceylon a closely allied one, the Singhara-nut plant (T. dispinosa), while in Lago Maggiore there is another ( T, verhanensis), but all may be varieties of one and the same species, including the Trapa Mcornis, a two-horned water chestnut, exten- sively used in China and Japan as food under various local names. In China they are called Ling, and of late years have been occasionally imported and sold, more as curiosities than for eating. These seeds or nuts are of a dark brown color, and of the form and size shown in Fig. 107, resembling, in miniature, the skull of 284 THE :nut cultueist. an ox with abbreyiated horns. When fresh, the kernel is of an agreeable nutty flavor. Water chestjstut, or chiin^quaptk. — The seeds of the large yellow water lily {NelumMum luteum), a very common j^lant in small j)onds in the West and South, but more rare in the East. The seeds are about the size and shape of small acorns, and produced in a large, top- shaped, fleshy receptacle. They are edible, and are sup- posed to have been extensively used as food by the abo- rigines of this country. INDEX. Page Ackawai nxitmes 274 Acorn 254 Acrodiclidium camara 274 lEsculus liippocastaiuxiu 268 Agatliopliyllum aromaiicuin.. . 274 Aleurites tiilo ba 259 Almond 12 bitter 34 budding, bud in position. . . 28 incision for bud 27 buddiii g kn ite 24 budding knife,Yankee 24 prepared shoot of buds 26 season for budding ... 22 culture in California 17 history of the 13 insects and diseases 39 Cercospora circumscissa 43 Goes pulverulenta 52 Scoly tus rngulosus 42 Taphrina deformans 43 orchard in California 18 planting and jiruning .- 32 propagation of the 19 properties and uses of 39 pruning 33 liaising seedlings for stocks 20 soil and exposure for the. . . 30 varieties 34 hard-shelled 35, 36 large- fruited 37 ornamental varieties. .. 38 peach 37 soft or brittle-shelled... 36 sweet 40 thin-shelled 37 Amygdalus argentea 39 Cochinchinensis 38 communis amara 34 dulcis 35 fragilis 36 macrocarpa 37 persicoides 37 incana 39 nana 39 orientalis 39 Anacardium occidentale 260 Apios tuberosa 267 Arachis hypogsea 275 Aralia trifolia 266 Areca catechu. . , 256 Page Atherosperma moschata 274 Attalea f unifera 264 Australian chestnut 255 Australian hazelnut 256 Aydendron tu juniary 274 Beech , American 43 Chile 48 European 43 evergreen 43 history of 44 injurious insects 52 properties and uses 52 propagation ot 47 soil and locat ion for the.. . . 47 species and varieties 48 Beechnut 44 leaf, bur and nut 51 Ben nut 256 Bertholletia excelsa 267 Betel nut 256 Bladder nut 257 Brazil nut 257 Brazilian nutmegs 273, 274 Bread nut 258 Brosimum alicastrum 258 Buffalo nut 259 Bunium buibocastanum 265 Butternut 259, 280 Byzantium nut 259 California chestnut 55 California nutmeg 275 Calodendron Capense 259 Candle nut 259 Cape chestnut 259 Caryocar nuciferum 280 Caryotaxus nucif era 283 Cashew nut 260 Castanea chrysophylla var. m i nor 57 Castanea chrysophylla var. pumila 57 Castanea sempervirens 55 Castanopsis 55 bur.: 57 chrysophylla 55 leaves anil nuts 56 Castanospermum Australe 255 Caucasian walnut 261 Chestnut 60 budding 80 diseases of the 116 285 286 THE NUT CULTURIST. Page Chestnut, distance between trees 82 European varieties of !>9 Comfort DO Cooper UO Corson 100 Dager 101 Moncur 101 Nunibo 102 spines of 102 Miller's Dupont 102 Paragon 102 bur 103 nut 104 spines of 103 tree, four years old. 105 Ridgely 104 bur 106 Scott 107 Styer 108 flowers 61 French variety of tlie 108 gathering and assorting 65 grafting 71 cleft 77 growth of cion 78 large trees 7i) materials 72 nrodes of 75 season for 71 splice 75 sprouts 79 sitccess in 78 wax 72 history of the 62 insects injurious to 113 Balaninus carytripes. .. 113 weevil 114 Japan 109 Advance 110 Alpha Ill Beta Ill Early Reliance Ill Felton Ill Giant JIO, 111 Killen •■■• 112 Parsons 112 Parry's Superb 112 Success 112 mulching- 82 native varieties of the 94 burless 94 bush chinquapin 96 eonunon chinquapin 97 Fuller's chinquapin 97 chinquapin burs 97 chinquapin tree 98 Hathaway 95 Phillips 95 planting 68 in nursery rows 69 propagation of the 64 seedbed and soil for 67 soil and climate for 83 species of 86 American 88 Page Chestnttt, species btish chin- quapin 8t) Castanea A mericana 88 Japc^nica 93 nana 89 pumila 90, 91 sativa 91 vesca 91 Eitropean 91 Japan 93 leaf 92 staking transplanted trees. 81 stocks from the fores is 70 transplanting and pruning. 80 tises of II9 Chile hazelnut ..268 Chocolate nut or bean 261 Clearing nut 262 Clove n utmeg 274 Cocoanut 262 double 263 Cocos luicif era 262 Cola acuminata 264 nut 264 Coquito nut 264 Coquilla nut 264 Cream nut 265 Crescentia cujete 269 Cryptocarya inoschaia 274 Cujumary beans 274 Da wa nut 265 Dimocarpus hnigana 271 Earth nut 265 chestntic 265 Elk luit 265 Euryale ferox 265 Evergreen cliestnut 55 Fagus ajitarc ica 48 betuloitles 48 ferruginea 48 obliqna 48 svlvatifa 48 Fisticke luit 265 Filbert or hazelnut 118 Fox nttt 265 Galeruca calmariensis 5 Ginkgo biloba 265 nut 265 Goober 275 Goora nut 264 Gorgon nut 266 Groundnut 266, 267, 275 Guevina Avellana 2G8 Guilandina bonduc 273 bonduceila 273 Hamiltonia oleifera 275 Hazelnut or filbert 118 American species of hazel.. 126 beaked hazel 127 Corylus Americana . 126 Corylus rostrata 127 Asiatic species of hazel 128 C. ferox & heterophylla 128 bligiit 138 Cryptospora anomala... 139 fungus , . . , 141 IKDEX. 287 Page Hazelnut or lil her: , 128 Eurupeaii species of — 127 Cuiistciiitiiu)ple hazel 12i) Corvlus Avellana — 127 Culuiiia 128 tubulosa 130 history of the til be it 120 insects injurious to filberts. 145 personal experience witli filberts 132 planting and i^runing fil- berts 124 propagation of the filbert.. 122 soil, location, etc., for fil- berts 123 varieties of filbert and ha- zel seedlings 135 varieties extra large hazel seedling 13G varieties large filbi-rt 119 large seedling hazelnut. 120 select list of 130 Alba or white filbert.. .. 130 Cosford, or Miss Young's thin-shelled 130 Crispa,or frizzled filbert 130 Do Wilton, large square.. 130 Grandis, or round cob- nut 131 Lambert's filbert 130 Purple-leaved filbert . .. 131 red filbert, red hazel, etc 131 Spanish filbert 132 Horse-chestnut 268 Hiclfory nuts 147 age of fruiting tlie 193 big bud. 160 big shellbark 157 bitter pecan 165 bitternut 163, 164 brown 162 budding and grafting 183 crown, on roots 189 sprouts from roofs 190 Carya aniara var. myristi- ceeforniis 165 Carya olivseformis 155 cultivation of tlie 177 Hicoria pecan and syno- nyms 155 Hicoria alba 155 " " synonyms 157 Hicoria aquatica 165 «' " synonyms. 166 Hicoria glabra 162 " " synonyms. .. 164 Hicoria laciniosa 157 " " synonyms 159 Hicoria minima 164 " " synonyms.. 165 Hicoria myrisficEeformis. .. 165 Hicoria tomentosa . . 160 '* " synonyms 162 history of the .' — 148 hognut 162 Hlinois nut 155 Page Hickory nuts, insect enemies of the 195 American sillc worm.. .. 202 Attacus luna 2()2 belted chioii lUJ bud worm 2i)2 burrows of scolytus 2i)U Calocaia 2()2 Chion cinctus hJj Chramesus icoria.- 201 Clisiocampa sylvatica.. "D'i Cyllene crinicornis US piclus 198 robiniiie 19» Elaphidion inerme 199 Goes, beautiful 199 pulchra 199 tiger 199 tigrinus 199 Grapholitha caryana . . . 201 bark borer 199 nut weevil 202 shu<*l<; worm 201 twig uirdler 196 leaf miners 202 leaf rollers 202 locust borer 198 luna moth 202 Oncideres cingulatus. . . 196 orange sawyer 199 painted borer 198 plant lice 202 Scolvtus 4-si3inosus 199 Sinoxvlon basilire 201 Telea polvphemus 202 tent caterpillar 202 Tortricidai 201 king nut 160 moclver nut 160 Pecan nut 155 varieties of 167 Alba 167 Biloxi 167 Colorado 169 Columbian 167 Early Texan 168 Faust 168 Frotscher 168 Georgia Melon 168 Gonzales 168 Harcourl 168 Idlewild 169 Jewett 169 Lady Finger 169 large, long 167 Little .Mobile 167 Longfellow 168 Pride of the Coast... 169 Primate 1^^ Me.xican 169 Meyers l"*^ Ribera 168 Risien 169 Stuart 169 Turkey Egg 169 Van Demaii 169 288 THE NUT CULTUKIST. Page Hickory nuts, pignut 162, 164 planting for profit 194 propagation ()f the 180 shellbark or sliagbark 155 'varieties of 170 Hales' paper-shell. . . 172 long hickory 173 from Missoiiri 1 73 Western, varieties of . . . 174 Floyd pecan 177 long 174 Nussbaumer's 174-176 species and varieties 224 swamp hickoria 164, 165 switch bud 162 thick, or western shell- bark 157, 158 white-heart 160 Inocarpiis ediilis 282 Introduction , 1 Importat ion of nuts 8 Imported nuts, value of 9 Ita palm nut 271 Ivory nnt 269 Jesuit chestnuts 269, 283 Jicara nut 269 Juba nut — 270 Jubsea spectabilis 264 Juvia nut 258, 270 Kipper nut 270 Kola nut 264 Laurelia sempervirens 275 Lecythis Zabucajo 279 Leechee nut 270 Litchinut 270 Lodoicea Sechellarum 263 Longan 270 Longyen 270 Lous v nttt 271 Maeadamia ternifolia.. 256 Madagascar nutmeg 274 Marking nut 271 Mauritia flexuosa 271 Miriti nut 271 Miscellaneous nuts 254 Monkey-pot nut 272 Moreton Bay chestnuts 255 Moringa optera 256 pterygosperma 256 Myristica f atua 273 fragrans 273 otoba 274 sebifera 274 Myrobalau nut 272 Nectandy puchurv 274 Nelumbium luteu'm 284 Nephelium pinnatum 271 Nepheliums 271 Nickar nnt 272 Nittar, or Nutta 273 Nuces vel Poma Pinea 277 Nutmeg 273 Nutmeg hickory 165 Nvssa capitata 282 Oak nnt 254 Oil nut 265, 275 Pate Olea Americana 276 Openawk 267 Ophiocaryon paradoxum 28 > Paradise nui 275 Parkia Africana 273 Peanut 275 Pekea nnt 275 Peruvian nut 275 nutmeg 274 Phytelephas niacrocarpa 269 Phvsic nut 276 Pinang 256 Pine nut 276 Pinocchi 277 Pinolas 277 Pinon 277 Piiuis cembroides 277 edulis 277 nionophylia 278 Parry ana 277 pinea 276 Piper betel 256 Pistacia Mexicana 278 vera 278 Pistacliio init 278 Plum nutmeg 274 Pterocarya fraxinifolia 261 Puchurim beans 274 Pyrularia oleifera 275 Quandang nut 279 Qudria lielerophylla 268 Queensland nut •. 256 Quercus virens 255 Raffia, or Roffia 25 Rambutan 270 Salisburia adiantifolla 265 Santalum acuminatum 279 Sapncaia nut 279 Sardis nut 63 Sassafras nut 280 Semecarpus anacai dium 271 Singhara-nut plant 283 Snake nut 280 Souari nut 280 South Sea cliestnnt 282 Staphylea trifolia 257 Stillingia sebifera 282 Stinking nutmeg 275 Strvchnos i^otatorum 262 Tahitian chestnut 282 Tallow nut 282 Tavola nut 282 Taxus nucifera 283 Temperance nut 283 Terminalia Catappa 272 Theobroma cacao 261 Torrey nut 283 Torre va Californica 275 nucifera 283 Trapa bi cornls 283 bispinosa 283 r.atans 283 verbanensis 283 Walnut 203 American 224 black 232 INDEX. 289 Pago Walnut, American black, in husk 232 varieties of 233 butternut 224 sugar 227 varieties of 225 California 234 Gary a catliartica 225 Juglans Calif ornica 234 catliartica 225 cinerea 224 hybi-ida 225 obloiiga alba 225 nigra 232 nigra, luisk removed 233 nigra oblonga 233 rupestris 235 New Mexico 235 Texas 235 "Wailia cinerea 225 white 224 budding and grafting 218 flute 220 history 203 husking 250 hybrids m California 227 flowering branch of 228 Jviglans Californica 229 Sieboldiana 231, 237 insect enemies of tlie 251 Citlieronia regalis 252 Regal Avalnut moth 252 Jovis glans 203 Juglans 203 Oriental 236 Juglans ailantifolia 237 Camirium 236 Catappa 236 cordiformis 239 Japonica 236 Mandshurica 237 Persian 204 in America 209 Pape Walnut, Persian, Bartliore 242 Ciiaberte 242 Chile 240, 242 Chister 243 Cut-U^aved 243 English 240 Franquette 243 Frencli 240 Gant,