The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-11-19
FACTS ABOUT NUT SEASON.
Great Bulk of Supply Comes from Eu-
rope and Pacific Coast.

Chestnuts hickory nuts. black was-
nuts. and all other domestic nuts that,
to all appearances, mark the opening of
the nutting season, cut a very small
figure in the nut trade of New York.
The big dealers in imported nuts, which
form three-fourths of the market sup
ply. will have nothing whatever to do
with them. The season for imported
nuts begins this week, and will be on
the rush until the full holiday supply
is put out. Every steamship crossing
the Atlantic, particularly from Mediter-
ranean ports, brings tons of them.
CheStnuts, the first of the domestic
nuts to get into the local market, are
sent by farmers, a few bushels at
time, in New York PENNSYLVANIA and
Ohio. 1t is not so long ago that Italians
and small boys could go into the woods
around New York and gather a few
bushels to sell to the commission men
They cannot do this any longer. Own
ers of lands with nut trees on them
put up trespass signs, and likewise turn
loose on the property dog that will
bite.
Chestnuts sent to market by farmers
are sold to street vendors and grocery
stores at from 81 to SIS a bushel, accord
ing to grade. The street vender buys
the cheapest he can get BY the way
he roaSts them and do1es them out in
street, he realizes more than 1000 per
cent on his investment. But then, he
has a short season, and he needs the
money.
Hickory nuts go direct from the
commission men to the Rrocers. They
are selling now at IS and Sc a bushel
Retailed by the quart there is very
handsome profit on them-far larger
than on imported nuts. Walnuts and
butternuts also go to grocers to some
extent, but large proportion of them
go to DickerS. Until recent years
picked walnuts were an imported lux
1IT-xr lint Gil sa1xl
them on the market they are cheap
and plentiful. With all domestic nuts
the yield this year is less than go per
cent. of the average and prices are
correSpondingly high.
Reports from California, which is be-
ginning to rival the foreign market on
walnuts and Almonds say that the
crop there is about 40 per cent. of the
Louisiana say that the yield of pecan
nuts, which come exclusively from
these states, is about so per cent. of
the normal. Cabled reports to traders
from abroad say that the foreign crop
is fairly bountiful with the execution
OF WalnutS. which is the most iInpor-
tant nut in the trade Its sales. as
compared with other nuts, are in pro-
portion of three to one.
In the market these are commonly
called English walnuts. In the trade
there is no such thing as English wal
nuts No WalnutS come from England.
London has to buy her English" wal
nuts from Italy and France, the same
as New York does. The only really
English nuts that come here are Kent
ish cobs. and they are sent in small
quantities exclusively to high-grade
fruit dealers. They cost from lSd to
IS pound even in England. When a
few of them appear in the windows
OF Broadway fruiterers about Christ
mas time they cost 81 a pound
California growers have made such
success with WalnIIfG and dc aof
no one but traders can tell whether the
Walnuts they are ca ting came across the
American continent or across the Attain
tic ocean. The California nuts are pro-
tected by duty of three cents pound
on walnuts and almonds in the shell,
and six cents pound unshelled Cali
fornia growers. have virtually excluded
foreign paper-shell almonds from the
New York market. Whenever one eats
paper-shell almonds it is safe to assume
that they came from the Pacific coast.
Imported chestnuts last all winter and
domestic chestnuts will not. The former
come from France and Italy. Imported
almonds come from Italy and Spain
The best of them come from Tarrago-
MIA, Spain California grafters- have had
better success with these than with any
other nut. English walnuts, as they are
called. come from Chile. Italy and
France. The Chile crop begins to reach
New York in August, but they are not
put out as new crop until the wal
nuts arrive from Europe in October and
November. The first importations of
French walnuts from Naples are due
next week. They win all be sold as
English walnuts. The best soft-shell al
monds come from Ivica, Spain. The first
consignment of them reached New York
yesterday. The same steamer brought
the first large consignment of hazel
nuts. which come principally from IT.
aly--New York Times.
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