The seedlings of walnuts, like those of other species, usually produce long taproots, and if grown in a compact soil, these will have few small lateral fibers the first season, as shown in Fig. 75; but when taken up and the vertical main root shortened at _a_, and then replanted, they produce fibrous roots in abundance. The trees of almost any age from one to twenty years old, are not at all difficult to make live when transplanted, provided the branches or tops of the trees are reduced, to correspond with loss of roots in digging up at the time of removal. It may be well to give a word of caution to the novice in nut culture about pruning nut trees in spring, after the sap begins to flow; for if done at this time they will bleed freely and leave unhealthy wounds and black, unsightly spots on the bark. Prune walnuts in summer or early in winter, to give time for the wounds to season before the buds swell in spring. If young trees are to be dug up, prune after they are taken from the ground, then the sap will not flow from the wounds. This is true of all deciduous trees, vines and shrubs. If the trees have few small roots when taken up, prune severely; but if roots are abundant, little pruning will be required. It is seldom, however, in transplanting walnuts, that the pruning need be as severe as recommended for the chestnut; in fact, having transplanted walnuts of various species, and of all ages from one to twenty years, without the loss of a plant, I have come to the conclusion that they are pretty safe trees to handle, in this climate, at least, if not elsewhere. [Illustration: FIG. 75. SEEDLING WALNUT.] In seeking walnuts from a distance, for planting anywhere in the Middle or Northern States, it will be well to learn something in advance about the climate in which the nuts are raised; for it would be folly to send for either trees or nuts to a warm or semi-tropical region, like that of southern France or Spain, for a stock to cultivate in a climate as cold as that of New York, New Jersey, and States on the same line westward. We might, perchance, from such importation, secure one hardy plant in a hundred or thousand, but there would be no certainty of even this small number. This idea of acclimation and adaptation of trees to conditions and climate should not be overlooked by the nut culturist, no matter from what source he procures his stock, whether from abroad, or some distant region of his own country. If it can be obtained from a region where it has been growing under conditions similar to those to which it is to be transferred for cultivation, then the chances of success will certainly be largely augmented. Acclimation is a slow process; in fact, too slow for us to expect to secure any appreciable advantages from it in a lifetime, but in nature we seek final results, leaving time out of the question.