Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-04-26
THE CULTURE OF NUTS.

| ~ WnoN O@u OS OOuC III tulc tluSs III
particular, we hear great deal about
pecans. Instead of getting excited
over pecans, we had better turn orr
attention to our own shell or scaly
barked hickory nuts. Twenty five
years ago planted two Of these trees
on the top of poor, high ridge, soon
afterwards selling the place on which
they were planted. They commenced
to bear little when twenty years
old, and have borne continuously
ever since, increasing a little each
year The shell is just as thin as
the paper shelled pecan, and the
kernel, which is large, comes out in
two unbroken halves. The flavor is
equal to that of the pecan, if not
superior. / have seen shell barked
hickory nuts on the streets of
New York much smaller than those
am describing. / don't know
where the trees | planted originated,
but ] bought them from Franklin
Davis, in Richmond.
Another nut hich used to succeed
well in Virginii was the large filbert,
or improved hazel nut. | have seen,
when a boy, large shrubs of these,
loaded with nuts, but the filberts
bought, in more r, ce 1T years, though
they grew to enormous bushes (more
than fifteen feet high), bore so little
that | dug them up. l expect the
cause of this was that they were
untested seedlings.
The English walnut is valuable
nut, but We are too far north for It's
successful culture, except in some
favored spots, especially those that
are near water, on the bay or acean.
There is walnut you will find in
catalogues and which was much
lauded some years ago--I mean two
varieties of japanese walnut. The
nut is Insignificant, no larger than
small, thick shelled hickory nuts,
the kernel small and of very indlffer-
ent flavor. The tree grows badly,
and in dry weather, the leaves scaId
on high land. On low, rich places.
which would otherwise suit it, not
only the blossoms, but frequently the
leaves and twigs are killed by late
frost.
When you want walnuts, plant
our own black walnut, and you will
generally have good nuts in abund-
ance- These trees have been amongst
us like the prophets who had no
honor in their own country, but in
reality they are very much better
than the imported ones we buy, and
naturally they are much better
adapted to our soil and climate. Of
late years / believe our people have
begun to awaken to an appreciation
of our native walnuts. There has
begun to be steady demand for them
on the part of confectioners, and
they are also beginning to be utilized
for home confectionery, both for
candy and the filling of layer cakes.
Consequently, the country people
take more pains now to gather the
walnuts which used to lie out in
heaps under the trees all the winter.
The white walnut or butternut is
very nice for pickle or catsup, used
while still green and immature,
though it is gross nut when fully
ripe.
The Spanish chestnut is much
larger than ours, but inferior to the
latter in flavor and quality. The
Japanese chestnut is still larger, and
of still lower grade as to quality,
with the additional disadvantage that
the tree is exceedingly expensive to
buy when grated, and, as it is of so
much smaller growth, unites very
badly with the stock. In regard to
chestnuts, as said about walnuts,
it is really best to turn our attention
to onr native trees and try to cult
vate and improve them to the best
advantage. Do not trust permanently
to getting chestnuts from trees scat
tered over the place, as, besides the
Inconvenience of this, there is gem
orally a scramble as to whether you
will get the nuts or some animal or
trespasser. Get seedlings from the
woods and plant them in some suit
able and convenient place. They
bear transplanting very we'll, and are
also very easy to graft. You should
let them grow one year before graft
ing them. You can always be sure
of fine nuts, if you will graft them
from the finest chestnut trees in your
vicinity.
The hard shell almond succeeds
very we'll in this locality, though the
kernel is rather inferior. This is
the case, however, with most of the
almonds you buy nowadays, the shell
being thick and heavy and the kernel
small and inferior.
Peanuts, also, can be raised very
successfully in Virginia.
One great incentive to raising your
own nuts is the fact that it has
become very difficult of late years to
buy fresh and perfect ones, and the
stale are hoth unWholeson,a and ,,