Transcriber's Note:
Typographical errors have been corrected in this text.
For a complete list, please see the bottom of this document.
ENGLISH
WALNUTS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT PLANTING, CULTIVATING
AND HARVESTING THIS
MOST DELICIOUS OF NUTS
(Compiled by Walter Fox Allen)
(Copyright 1912)
Foreword.
Realizing the tremendous interest that is now being directed byowners of country estates everywhere to the culture of thePersian or English Walnut, I have compiled this little book withthe idea of supplying the instruction needed on the planting,cultivation and harvesting of this most delicious of all nuts.
I have gathered the material herein presented from a large numberof trustworthy sources, using only such portions of each as wouldseem to be of prime importance to the intending grower.
I am indebted to the United States Department of Agriculture andto numerous cultivators of the nut in all sections of thecountry.
I have aimed at accuracy and brevity—and hope the followingpages will furnish just that practical information which I havefelt has long been desired.
The Compiler.
English Walnuts.
Viewed as a comparatively new industry, the culture of thePersian or English Walnut is making remarkable strides in thiscountry. Owners of farms and suburban estates everywhere arebecoming interested in the raising of this delicious article offood, thousands of trees being set out every year.
There are two important reasons for the rapidly growingenthusiasm that is being manifested toward the English Walnut:First, its exceptional value as a food property is becomingwidely recognized, one pound of walnut meat being equal innutriment to eight pounds of steak. Secondly, its superior worth[6]as an ornamental shade tree is admitted by everyone who knows thefirst thing about trees. For this purpose there is nothing morebeautiful. With their wide-spreading branches and dark-greenfoliage, they are a delight to the eye. Unlike the leaves of someof our shade trees, those of this variety do not drop during theSummer but adhere until late in the Fall, thus making anunusually clean tree for lawn or garden. In addition to all this,the walnut is particularly free from scale and other pests.
Up to the present time, the English Walnut has been more largelyin demand as a shade tree than as a commercial proposition; infact, so little attention has been given to the nuts themselvesthat there are, comparatively speaking, few large producingorchards in the United States, the greater portion of the totalyield of walnuts being procured from scattered field and roadsidetrees. It is a little difficult to understand why they shouldhave been so neglected when there are records of single trees [7]bearing as much as 800 pounds of nuts in one year.