other masts, or acorns; the only species that was known to the Romans having been the Juglans règia, or common walnut tree. Description. Large trees, with pinnate leaves, coarse-grained wood, and fruit, in one species at least, much esteemed at the dessert, and valuable for the oil which it contains. General Observations. The trees belonging to this order bear, with only two or three exceptions, so close a resemblance to one another in their young state (in which state alone most of them are to be seen in Britain), that we have been unable to satisfy ourselves as to what are species, and what are only varieties. In pursuance of our idea, that no plant can be truly a species, that is not readily distinguished from every other, in every stage of its growth, and at every season of the year, we should say that there were not more than two species of walnut hitherto discovered, either in Europe or America; viz. Jùglans règia and J. nìgra: and three species of C'àrya; viz. C. amàra, C. laciniòsa, and C. squamòsa. We submit this opinion, however, with great deference, having formed it chiefly from inspecting the young plants in the Horticultural Society's Garden, in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges, and from observing the great variety of foliage distinguishable in a bed of seedlings of any of the American sorts; we shall therefore adopt the descriptions and figures of Michaux, and leave the truth to be discovered by time and future observation. Previously to describing the species of the three genera, Juglans, Càrya, and Pterocarya, we shall quote Michaux's introductory observations; premising that this author includes both Juglans and Carya under the genus Juglans; the genus Càrya, as we have seen in the generic characters above, having been separated from Juglans by Nuttall, chiefly on account of a technical distinction in the fruit. "The walnuts of North America," Michaux observes, "appear to present characters so distinct, as to require their division into two sections. These characters consist principally in the form of the barren aments, or male catkins; and in the greater or less rapidity of growth in the trees. The first section is composed of walnuts with single aments, and includes two American species: the black walnut (Juglans nìgra L., fig. 1260. in p.1436.), and the butter-nut (J. cinèrea L., fig. 1262. in p.1439.); to which is added the European walnut (J. règia L., fig. 1257. in p. 1425.). The second section consists of such as have compound aments, and comprises eight species: the pacane-nut hickory (Carya olivæfórmis Nutt., fig. 1263. in p.1442.), the bitter-nut hickory (C. amara Nutt., fig. 1264. in p. 1443.), water bitternut hickory (C. aquática Nutt., fig. 1265. in p. 1444.), mocker-nut hickory (C. tomentosa Nutt., fig. 1267. in p. 1445), shell-bark hickory (C. álba Nutt., fig. 1269. in p. 1446.), thick shell-bark hickory (C. sulcata Nutt., fig. 1271. in p.1449.), pig-nut hickory (C. porcina Nutt., fig. 1273. in p.1450.), and nutmeg hickory (C. myristicæfórmis Nutt., fig. 1275. in p.1451.). The first three species of the second section bear some relation to those of the first in their buds, which are not covered with scales. For this reason, I have placed them immediately next, beginning with the pacane-nut hickory, which, by its numerous leaflets, most nearly resembles the black walnut and the butter-nut, the buds of which are also uncovered. Throughout the United States, the common name of hickory is given to all the species of the second section. This common appellation is due to certain properties of their wood; viz. coarseness of grain, and a reddish colour in the heart-wood, which, however modified, are possessed by them all, in a greater degree than by any other tree of Europe or America. These species exhibit, also, a striking analogy in their forms and in their leaves, though they differ in the number and size of their leaflets. To these sources of confusion must be added another in the fruit, which is often so various in its appearance, that it is easy to mistake the species to which it belongs. It is not, then, on the most remarkable differences alone that our distinctions must be founded; recourse must also be had to an examination of the shoots of the preceding year, of the buds, and of the aments." (Michx. North Amer. Sylva, vol. i. p. 139.) Si. Simple Aments. Growth rapid. 1. Juglans règia L. 2. J. nìgra L. 3. J. cathartica Michx., syn. J. cinèrea L. The order of the flowering of these species in England is, first J. règia, then J. cinèrea, in a few days after which the catkins of J. nigra expand. The order of fruiting is different; for, while the fruit of the common walnut begins to drop in the first or second week in September, that of the black walnut does not fall till the end of the same month, and that of the grey walnut, not till the beginning of October. (Mart. Mill.) To this section may be added Pterocàrya, a genus recently separated from Juglans. i. Compound Aments, each Peduncle bearing three. Growth slow. 1. Jùglans olivæfórmis Michx. (syn. Càrya olivæfórmis Nutt.) 2. J. amàra Michr. (C. amàra Nutt.) 3. J. aquática Michx. (C. aquática Nutt.) 4. J. tomentosa Michr. (C. tomentosa Nutt.) 5. J. squamosa Michx. (C. álba Nutt.) 6. J. laciniòsa Michx. (C. laciniòsa Nutt.) 7. J. porcina Michx. (C. porcina Nutt.) 8. J. myristicæfórmis Michx. (C. myristici fórmis Nutt.) 1. J. REGIA L. The royal, or common, Walnut Tree. Identification. Lin. Hort. Cliff, p. 449.; Mill. Dict., No. 1. and Ic.; Du Roi Harbk., p. 323.; Willd. Arb., 155.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 455.; Michx. N. Amer. Sylva, 1. p. 143. Synonymes. Núx Juglans Dod. Pempt., 816.; Núx Juglans, seu règia vulgàris, Bauh. Pin., 417.; Noyer commun, Fr.; Noseguier Provence; gemeine Walnuss, Ger. Engravings. Mill. Ic.; Lam. Ill., 781.; Ludw. Ect., t. 188.; Blackw., t. 247.; Knorr Del., 1. t. N. 7.; T. Nees ab Esenbeck Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ., fasc. 3. f. 2.; Michx. N. Amer. Sylva, t. 29.; our fig. 1257.; and the plates of this tree in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets in a leaf, 5-9; oval, glabrous, obscurely serrated. Fruit oval, situated upon a short inflexible peduncle. Nut rather oval, rather even. A native of Persia, in the extensive province of Ghilan, on the Caspian Sea, between 35° and 40° of latitude. In cultivation in England since 1562, and probably long before; flowering in April and May, and ripening its fruit in September. Varieties. ↑ J. r. 2 máxima; Núx Jùglans frúctu máximo Bauh. Pin., 417., N. fecundation: if so, the shells of the fruit of any walnut tree may be rendered tender, by removing all, or the greater part, of the male catkins, the moment they appear. J. r. 4 serótina Desf.; Núx Juglans frúctu serótino Bauh Pin., 417., J. r. 5 laciniata; Núx Juglans fòliis laciniàtis Reneaulm., N. Du Other Varieties. The above are the most remarkable and valuable of the varieties of the common walnut; the first three, on account of their fruit; and the last, as a curiosity, on account of its leaves. But in the Bon Jardinier five others are enumerated; and in the Horticultural Society's Fruit Catalogue for 1832 nine are given, of which the most valuable for cultivation for its fruit is the highflier; a variety which was originated at Thetford, in Norfolk, and which is held in much esteem in that county and in Suffolk. (Hort. Trans., iv. p. 517.; and E. of Gard., ed. 1835, p. 942.) There is also the Yorkshire walnut, which is much planted in that county. The varieties recommended by Mr. Thompson, as having proved the most prolific in the Horticultural Society's Garden, are, the round early oval; the double large French, No. 1. above; the tender-shelled, No. 2.; and the thick-shelled. A variation, worth notice, was displayed in a nut sent to us by Mr. Samuel Taylor of Whittington, near Stoke Ferry, Norfolk, which had nearly three perfect valves, but was devoid of kernel. Description. The walnut forms a large and lofty tree, with strong spreading branches. The leaves have three or four pairs of leaflets, terminated by an odd one, which is longer than the rest. The male catkins are pendulous, and are produced near the points of the shoots. The bark is thick, and deeply furrowed on the trunk; but on the upper branches it is grey and smooth. The leaves, when bruised, exhale a strong aromatic odour; and, in the extreme heat of summer, the exhalations from them are so powerful, as to produce unpleasant effects upon some persons, if they slumber under the 1257 tree. The fruit is green and oval; and, in the wild species, contains a small hard nut. In the most esteemed cultivated varieties, the fruit is of a roundish oval and is strongly odoriferous; about 1 in. long, and from 1 in. to 1 in. in diameter. The nut occupies two thirds of the volume of the fruit. Towards autumn the husk softens, and, decaying from about the nut, allows it to fall out. The shell is slightly channeled, and, in most of the cultivated varieties, so thin as to be easily crushed by the fingers. The kernel is of an agreeable taste; and is covered with a fine pellicle, and separated by a thin partition, which may be readily detached both from the shell and from the kernel. The plant is somewhat tender when young, and apt to be injured by spring frosts : nevertheless, it grows vigorously; and, in the climate of London, attains the height of 20 ft. in 10 years, beginning about that time to bear fruit. The tree attains a great age, as well as size; and, as it advances in both, increases in productiveness. There is, perhaps, no tree that sends down a more vigorous taproot than the walnut; and this it will do in the clefts of rocks; and, when it reaches good soil, produce a most ample head, and so thick a trunk and root, as in time to burst even rocks. Hence, there is no tree less liable to be torn up by the roots than the walnut; and, for this reason, and also because it makes its shoots rapidly, instead of continuing to elongate them all the summer, like some other trees (such as the larch, the oak, the poplar, &c.), it forms an erect well-balanced tree, even in exposed situations. The walnut is generally considered injurious, by its shade, both to man and plants. Pliny says that even the oak will not thrive near the walnut tree; which, if it be true, may be owing to the interference of their roots in the subsoil: but it is certain, that neither grass, nor field nor garden crops, thrive well under the walnut. The late Mr. Keen, an extensive market-gardener at Isleworth, being the owner of the land he cultivated, planted, about the beginning of the present century, a number of rows of walnut trees, at considerable distances from each other, across his grounds, in order at once to produce shelter to his herbaceous crops, and fruit for the market. He was celebrated for the growth of strawberries; and Mr. Phillips, the author of Pomarium Britannicum (published in 1820), says that Mr. Keen informed him that the walnut trees were so injurious to his strawberry beds, that the plants seldom bore fruit in their neighbourhood. The injury done to grass, and other plants on the surface of the ground, must be chiefly owing to the decaying of the fallen leaves, and the washing into the soil of their astringent properties; consequently, the evil may be much alleviated by sweeping them up, and carrying them away as soon as they fall. Geography and History. The walnut is a native of Persia; and, according to Loureiro, of the north of China. Pallas found it frequently in the Peninsula of Taurida, and on the south of Caucasus, growing spontaneously to a large size, so as to appear almost indigenous; the fruit ripening about the end of August. The elder Michaux, who, in the years 1782, 1783, and 1784, visited the province of Ghilan, was the first in modern times to ascertain, with certainty, that the walnut belonged to the same country as the peach and the apricot. It was known to the Greeks, whose names for it were Persicon and Basilicon, the Persian and royal nut. According to Pliny's account, the Greeks afterwards called the walnut tree Caryon, on account of the heaviness of the head produced by its strong smell. When the walnut was introduced into Europe is altogether uncertain; but it was cultivated by the Romans before the death of the Emperor Tiberius, and is supposed to have been brought from Greece by Vitellius. Strabo informs us that in Rome, at one time, tables of the wood sold at a higher price than those of citron. Ovid wrote a little poem, entitled De Nuce, by which it appears that then, as now, walnuts were knocked down from the trees by boys; and that, at marriages, walnuts were thrown by the bride and bridegroom among the children who surrounded them; a ceremony which was instituted to show that the bridegroom had left off his boyish amusements; or, perhaps, to signify that the bride was no longer a votary of Diana. (See p. 1430.) Hence, probably, is derived the French word for nuptials, des nóces. In France, at the festival of the Rosière at Salency, in the department of the Oise (see p. 792.), in the sixth century, it is directed that an offering be presented to the young maid who is crowned, composed of walnuts and other fruits of the country. The walnut tree is now to be met with in every part of Europe, as far north as Warsaw; but it is nowhere so far naturalised as to produce itself spontaneously from seeds. In Britain, it has been in cultivation from the earliest period of botanical history, and, in all probability, since the time of the Romans. It ripens its fruit in fine seasons, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, as a standard; and it lives against a wall as far north as Dunrobin Castle, in Sutherlandshire. It is much cultivated, in some parts of Italy, France, Germany, and Switzerland, as a road-side tree. Michaux says that it is more abundant in those parts of France which lie between 45° and 48°, than in any other part of Europe; and that the fruit, the oil, and the wood may be considered as forming, in that region, some of the principal branches of commerce. This corresponds with what is stated by Evelyn. "Burgundy," says that author, "abounds with walnut trees, where they stand in the midst of goodly wheat lands, at sixty and a hundred feet distance; and so far are they from hurting the crop, that they are looked upon as great preservers, by keeping the ground warm; nor do the roots hinder the plough. Whenever they fell a tree, which is only the old and decayed, they always plant a young one near him; and, in several places, betwixt Hanau and Frankfort, in Germany, no young farmer whatsoever is permitted to marry a wife, till he bring proof that he is a father of such a stated number of walnut trees; and the law is inviolably observed to this day, for the extraordinary benefit which this tree affords the inhabitants." (Hunter's Evelyn, p. 168.) "The Bergstrass," he adds, "which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all planted with walnuts." (Ibid., vol. i. p. 168. and p. 170.) At different periods, there has been a great dearth of the wood of this tree in France, where, as in England, in time of war, it was much in demand for gun-stocks. It is a remarkable fact in the history of this tree, that, in the winter of 1709, the greater part of the walnut trees of Europe, and more especially of Switzerland, France, and Germany, were killed; or so far injured, as to render it advisable to fell the trees. The Dutch, at that time, foreseeing the scarcity of walnut timber that was likely to ensue, bought up all the trees that they could procure, in every direction, and sold them again, according to the demand, for many years afterwards, at a greatly advanced price. In the year 1720, an act was passed, in France, to prevent the exportation of walnut timber, on pain of confiscation, and payment of a fine of 3,000 livres. A great many walnut trees were, at that time, planted in the royal demesnes. In 1806, the manufacture of muskets required about 12,000 trees yearly. In consequence of this, a great many plantations were made by individuals; and a prize was given for the cultivation of the tree by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, in Paris. We have been informed by M. Michaux, in a letter dated December, 1834, that in 1818 he formed a nursery of between five and six acres, for government, in the Bois de |