No boy or girl who has ever gone nutting “in brown October’s woods” can
forget the fruits of the black walnut trees that hang like green oranges,
high up on the ends of the branches, and have to be climbed for and
shaken down. And each fellow on the ground looks out for his own head, as
the shower of nuts comes down. Oh! the rich, walnut smell of those juicy
husks, as we bruised them on the nearest stone, tore them off, wiping our
damp fingers on the grass, before cracking the rough-shelled nuts. The
brown stains stayed until they wore off, but the memory of the sweet
kernels lasts longer, and the pungent odour of those nut husks is in
every twig, bud, and leaf of every walnut tree. Bruise any young shoot,
and by the odour of its sap the tree’s name may be guessed.
There is another test for a walnut tree, for those who do not know the
odour of the sap. Cut a twig, and split it. The pith of walnut trees is
not solid, but is in thin plates, separated by air spaces. This is a sure
sign.
[Illustration: Three pignuts, with husks, three shagbarks, and two
pecans; Flowering twig of the little shagbark hickory]
[Illustration: Black walnut and butternut. Twig of butternut, in winter
and in spring]
Walnut trees grow rapidly, and are a valuable tree crop to plant. Nuts
for seed are packed in gravel, and left outdoors over winter. The
stubborn shells are cracked by Jack Frost in such a way as not to injure
the seed, which is the meat of the nut. The nuts are planted in spring
just where the trees are to stand, for it is much better for a walnut
tree never to be transplanted.
I have heard my grandfather tell how the early settlers in Ohio cleared
the rich bottom land along the rivers. The great trees that had grown,
undisturbed, for centuries, were the “weeds” that had to be cut down and
removed, before the soil could be ploughed and sowed to oats or wheat.
The only way to do this was to burn the trees, by piling them together
and firing the pile, as soon as it was dry enough to burn. The
“log-rollings” were the neighbourhood gatherings, when men brought their
teams and log chains, and worked like Trojans, dragging the logs to the
places selected for the giant bonfires, later on. The women and children
had a grand time, watching the men at work, and preparing the dinner,
which was a feast, and a great social occasion.
The stump of many a noble black walnut tree, cut down a century ago, has
stood, undecayed, until recent years. So valuable is its wood that these
stumps have been pulled up with expensive machinery, for the
gnarly-grained roots that are still sound. Cut into thin sheets, the wood
is used for veneering furniture. Think how many millions of dollars’
worth of lumber went up in smoke in those bonfires! Black walnut is
scarce now, and can hardly be bought at any price.