o justify shipment in that
condition. In the shell, walnuts and butternuts seldom bring more than
$1.50 or $2.00 per bushel and the demand is exceedingly limited,
especially after the earliest part of the season. Again, the shells are
of no value except for fuel. Fuel of this kind by freight or express is
exceedingly costly. Again, the nuts must be cracked somewhere and the
kernels removed before they can be used, and farm labor is much cheaper
than that of the city. Regardless of where the labor is from, the cost
of cracking the nuts and picking out the kernels, or "shelling" as the
operation is called in the trade, is charged back to the farmer. The
shelling of these nuts is something in which the whole family on the
farm can join.

Delivery should be early as it is then that prices are best. The use of
shelled nuts is practically an all-year affair, yet, just as soon as the
supply begins to bulk up in the hands of the wholesalers, prices
promptly go lower.

The condition in which black walnut kernels reach the market is
ordinarily very poor. Little attention appears to be paid to the matter
of sanitation, and practically no thought is given to their appearance.
As a rule, shipment is made in burlap bags of double thickness. Little
thought is ever paid to separating the kernels according to shade of
color and it is rare that the kernels are properly cured after being
removed from the shells. Oil and moisture given off by the kernels are
taken up by the burlap bags, and by the time delivery is made to the
wholesaler, the kernels are in no sense attractive and are often
unsanitary. Fortunately, the kernels are carefully gone over by
employees of the wholesaler by whom all spoiled pieces are removed and,
in the process of manufacture, the kernels are usually so heated as to
dispel any danger from ill effects due to the unsanitary condition.

The successive steps essential to harvesting and preparing for market
may be grouped as follows:

1. Harvest the nuts as soon as mature.

2. Remove the hulls promptly.

3. Cure the nuts somewhat.

4. Crack the shells and remove the kernels very soon.

5. In cracking, the kernels should be separated into five
grades--Lights, darks, intermediates as to color, small pieces and
crumbs.

6. Before packing for shipment the kernels must be artificially cured
until they no longer feel moist to the hand when it is run through the
container.

7. Barrels or boxes of wood, or straw