d soil
and under favorable conditions of growth, it will be seen that the black
walnut is not always slow in developing but that it is sometimes a rapid
grower.

Three varieties of black walnut are now available from the nurserymen.
They are the Thomas from Pennsylvania, the Ohio from some 20 miles south
of Toledo, and the Stabler from Howard County, Maryland 15 or 20 miles
outside the District of Columbia. All are prolific, precocious and of
superior cracking quality. The Thomas was discovered and first
propagated some 30 years ago. The young grafted trees show a tendency to
begin bearing in the nursery rows.

At the present time, the black walnut is regarded as being of greater
promise for planting in the northern states than is any other species
either native or introduced.

THE JAPANESE WALNUT

To a considerable extent this species has been confused with the Persian
walnut, although the two are quite unlike. This is a dwarfish species
with dull green rough leaflets often as many as 15 or 17 per leaf, which
often bears nuts in clusters of a dozen or more. While green the outer
hulls of the nuts are rough, and somewhat sticky.

The Persian walnut is a standard-sized upright growing tree with bright
green leaflets, usually 5 to 7 per leaf, and smooth, round nut hulls
which split open and shed the nuts automatically.

The Japanese walnuts hybridize freely with other species of walnuts and
produce nuts of all types; not infrequently crosses of this kind
resemble butternuts so closely as to be practically indistinguishable
from them.

True Japanese walnuts have a range in form of two distinct types. The
better known is of guinea egg shape; the other, often known as the
heartnut, is of distinct heart shape. Neither is large; the former is of
about the size of a guinea egg or smaller; the latter is still smaller.
Both are like the black walnut in being encased in a rough outer husk,
which upon maturing shrivels and adheres to the surface of the nut. The
shells are thinner than are those of the black walnut, but thicker than
are those of the Persian walnut. When well matured, the shell of the
heartnut tends to open slightly at the apex, after which it can be
readily split in half with a knife blade. The flavor of the kernel is
much like that of the American butternut.

The Japanese walnut is ordinarily hardy wherever the black succeeds. It
is by no means uncommon in Michigan where it is especially appropriate
fo