Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-03

\AMNSAX esting publication,
NW throwing light upon
the possibilities Of a
branch Of agriculture hitherto neglected.
OF the plants which are destined to be
brought under systematic cultivation In
this country during the twentieth century
nuts are among the most promising. They
have higher nutritive worth than is pos
sessed by the apple. peach and pear. They
are of the nature of staple articles Of diet.
and approach the grains in food value.
Moreover, they are not perishable, and are
easily .handle ed with little weight and risk.
This country is largely supplied with
nuts from abroad, although nearly all of
them might as we'll be produced in the
United States.
The market supply of wild nuts is har-
vested largely by boys and girls, who
gather them for pleasure, though in some
sections the crop is blessing direct from
natures hand to the poor. The country
store" is the medium through which most
of this product finds it's way to the cities
The storekeeper consignS the nuts which he
gets from the children or farmers, often in
exchange for goods, to commission mer-
chant in the city. When the crop is large,
as is sometimes the case with the hick-
cries in the central western states, dealers
scour the country ana buy them UP in car
load lots for shipment to the cities.
The almond has been a source Of great
disappointment to planters in the Atlantic
States. 1t has been said that It will grow
where the peach will thrive. That is true
enough, but in fruit production it fails in
most of the eastern peach districts. Few
attempts are now made by growers east
of the Rocky mountains to produce al
monds. Forty years ago large importa-
ton Of soft-she!led almonds was made by
the commissioner of agriculture for dis
tribution among fruit growers. Both nuts
and trees were widely distributed in the
southern and middle states.
Almonds for the Market.
Efforts at cultivation resulted in failure,
however, except with the worthless hard
shelled variety, owing, perhaps, to the de-
struction of the blossoms by spring frosts.
The early blooming of the tree is a fatal
weakness of the almond from the point of
view of eastern planters. But varieties re-
Gently originated and introduced in Cali
fornia proved reasonably regular in fruiting
and have made almond growing very profit
able in some small areas. Almond planting
is now being tried with success in portions
of Utah and Arizona.
Gathering almonds by hand is very tedi-
Gus work. Generally the harvesting is done
by spreading sheet or canvas beneath the
tree. and on this the nuts fall when shaken
down. Ten pounds Is good yield for a
tree, though occasionally one tree will pro-
duce forty or fifty pounds. There is call for
the invention of a machine for hulling al
n.onds and separating the nuts from the
hullS. 1t now costs nearly cents pound
to gather hull and bleach the almonds,
whereas a good huller would reduce the eX-
pense to half cent. After the nuts are
separated from the hulls they are placed
ON trays and dried in the sun for few
days.
1t should be explained that the term
"hulling'' does not signify the removal Of
the shell of the almond. The latter, as 1t
grows on the tree, is incloSed in thin,
pupy envelope covered with skin. 1t
looks somewhat like a little green peach.
At the time of ripening the envelope dries
and cracks open, so that the nut often falls
out and drops to the ground.
When dry enough to escape rolding, the
nuts, still contained in their shells are some
times bleached by being lightly sprinkled
with water and by exposure thereupon to
the fumes of sulphur. The process Is apt
| to inture them unless very carefully done.
Its only object is to make the shells white,
| because customers prefer them so. Broken
| and inferior nuts are separated from the
sound ones before bleaching; they are she'll
| ed and sold kernels. The almonds are
| finally done up in wheat sacks and sent to
market.
The expense of gathering nuts is an i'm
| portant item in the growers accounts. A
| Texas pecan planter thinks that something
| of the style of street sweeper, which
| would gather the nuts into winrows, might
| be helpful; after which they could be col
| lected and run through machine for sort
| ing and cleaning. But the embarrassing
| invented Persian walnuts and butternuts
| are picked for picking and catsup when
| they are about half ripe The division CT
pomology has adopted the name Persian
| walnut" for the nut commonly known as
| English walnut" or Madeira NUT" be-
cause it seems to have been brought orig
| inally from Persia to Europe.
| Three species of walnut are of CONNER
| cial Importance in the United States. OF
| these the black walnut and the butternut
| are native, while the Persian walnut has
been introduced from the old world. The
| black walnut and butterlut have been
planted to a considerable degree.
Butternuts and Pecnns.
The butternut tree is most abundant and
reaches it's highest development in the Ohio
river basin. 1t does not respond readily to
cultivation, though the nut terminates read
lily and the plant grows rapidly. Single
trees have been known to bear twenty
| bushels of nuts in a season. In flavor and
quality the butternut Is second only to the
| shelbark, hickory and pecan among nuts
| native to the United States. 1t has not OBJ
| tanned the appreciation 1t deserves. Were
| 1t marketed In larger quantities. 1t would
probably win its way. Anybody who will
| supply it's meats fresh and iii convenient
| form for culinary and dessert uses Will
| have little trouble in timularilg demand.
| Possibly thin-shelled variety will be found
| some day. In a green state the nuts are
| used for picking and catsup. The black
| walnut is one of the most widely distributed
| of American forest trees. Its nut has been
| said to be among nuts what bacon is among
| meats-strong and greasy. Some choice
| wild varieties have been found, with white
| kernels of delicate flavor, and something
| might be accomplished by cultivatng them.
| However the planting of black walnuts for
| nuts alone has not proved profitable thus
| far. The market demand for them Is not
great.
Perhaps the best of all nuts is that species
| of hickory known as the pecan. 1t Is native
| to the United States, growing wild in the
| Mississippi valley and in Texas. The largest
| and finest nuts come from Louisiana, some
| specimens attaining a length of two inches,
| and a diameter of three-Quarters of an
inch Comparatively few from that state
| reach the north however. In Bee county,
| Texas pecans are grown with very thin
shells, that may be crushed in the fingers.
The freshly gathered nuts are placed In
| revolving churns, by which they are cleaned
and frightened A factory in New York
city gives employment to fifty men and
| women engaged in the business Of polishing
or FURNISHING" pecans for market. Event
ually cleaning establishments will be set
up in the neighborhood Of orchards.
The hazel or f1lbert is Of all nut-bearine
trees the one best suited to garden cul-
ture. Five species produce valuable nuts
and of these but one assumes the height
| and dimensions Of forest tree, the others
being only bushes or shrubs. OF the five