Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-01
Foreign and Domestic Nuts.

III ciSii tilNA DOihSoiiN ~ ut''
| Brazil cuts are, rs the name indicates
a native "f Brzil. There is no record
! If their being found in any other coun
try TIE trees are very luxnriaet and
beautiful, often growing to more than
| 100 feet in height. They produce a
round. woody pericarp, often five or
six inches in diameter, and sometimes
containing as many as twenty five of
tho triangular, pri&m-s shaped nnts. The
| trees produce very abuudaDtly, and it
is said large quantities could be sh.nrel
if desired by the trade. The tn, . are
most abundant Cd the hanks of the
Orinoco aud in Northern Brazil.
Great quantities are shipped from the
port Of Para to Europe ard the Uuited
States. These nuts are cheap, being
worth in this market at wholesale not
more than six cents per pound, when
f. glish waluuts are worth ten to fifteen
cents, and almonds seventeen cents.
The nuts are very rich and oily, and
they defeat their own market simply by
giving so much oily, rich meat for y
little money. They are the. most diff
cult of all the nut family to ship. how.
ever, on account of the difficulty in
getting them sufficiently dry. Their
oily nature causes them tC heat if they
are moist and piled up together. They
will sometimes heat so badly on tho
voyage as to completely rot out the
bags in which they are packed. Even
in the market here care has to be taken
to keep them exposed to the air as much
as possible.
First IN importance among our do
nestle nuts is the peanut, which is
only ground nut after all. Great
Quantities of peanuts are shipped every
year from Norfolk, Va, in which sec
ton of the country, with the Caro-
linas. Georgia and Tennessee. they are
grown almost exclusively.
Pecans are largely u product of Texas,
though the tree tloUrishes in several of
the Southwestern States, In tie At
lantic States the trees are sometimes
grown, but very rarely come to bearing.
Pecans belong to the family of hickory
nuts, but the shell is softer. thinner
aud more even. The flavor of the key
mel is also finer, when obtained free
from the astriusent taste of the inner
bark of the shell. The trees are large
and stately, often growing sixty or
eighty feet hig;., and are frequently
cultivated for ornamental shade trees.
1t is said that tho trees are long time
in coming to bearing, often reaching
the age of 30 years before producing
many nuts, while the fine Old pecan
hickories of so or 100 years produce
abundanly. Yhis nut is increasing in
favor in the Eastern States, and where
formerly few bushels supplied the
market, now invoices Of hundreds of
bags or barrels are not uncommon.
Even before tho war the small port OF
Indiauola, Tex; exported over 100 COO
bushels of theee nuts. 1t is expected
that 80 soon as the interior OF Mexico
shall open up trade by the build
ing of railroads, that large quantities
of pecans will be produced for ship
ment.
The butternut and the black walnut
are generally considered to- oily for the
trade, but they might be produced in
great quantities, if wanted, or rather
they are alreoly very abundant, and
each year, would only require gather
ing and curing. Black walnuts are
considerably used by confectioners,
however. A great supply could be-
saved from West Virginia, and the
other black walnut sections, if nee led.
The New England crop of hickory
nuts, or shellbarks, is light this year,
but great quantities are being shipped
from Ohio and Indiana. 1t is stated
that many carloads more might have
been brought forward if they had been
wanted. These nuts will never be very
popular, although their taste is excel
lent, for the reason o! their exceeding
ingly tough shell. A person needs the
enthusiasm of biologists and the
muscles of stonecutter to get at the
heart OF them, and even then he is like
ly to be rewarded by finding the meat
ground to powder with tue shell of tho
nut. Some of the hickory nuts grown
in Ohio are very large, even larger than
Eoglish walnuts, and the shells are
proportionately hard Boston Her
aid.