=Husking Walnuts.=--The husks of nearly all the varieties of the Persian and Oriental walnuts part from their shells freely when fully ripened and dried, but in a few varieties the husks are rather persistent, requiring force and friction for their removal. This may be accomplished by placing them in bags and shaking, or in barrels and rolling, until the nuts are scraped clean. But the better way, where there is any considerable quantity of nuts to be operated upon, is to take a strong barrel or cask, and so arrange it on standards that it can be rapidly revolved with a crank attached to one end. Of course, the cask must have its two heads left in place, and an opening made in the side to admit the nuts and remove them when cleaned. Almost any man handy with tools can make such a cleaner and polisher in a few hours, and if stored in a dry place it will last for several years. With butternuts and black walnuts the husks are much tougher, and they should be thrown into heaps in the open air, and turned over occasionally until the husks become softened sufficiently to permit of their removal, in case they are to be sent to market. Ordinary threshing machines may be used for cleaning the husks from black walnuts, by removing about one-half the teeth, or enough to allow the nuts to pass through without breaking their shells. Most of the hickories drop from the husk, leaving the nut clean; but in some varieties of the pecan the inner part of the husk adheres rather tenaciously, and they sell better if cleaned; besides, some have rather rough and thick shells, and a little scraping and polishing adds much to their appearance. The revolving cask, either worked by hand or other power, is an excellent implement for preparing these nuts for market, and if the husk is very persistent, a little dry sand thrown in will aid in cleaning and polishing. Sometimes these nuts are subjected to what is called the soapstone polish, leaving the shells very smooth, with a greasy feel. The French walnuts, which are extensively imported under the general name of Grenoble walnuts, are usually bleached with sulphur before they are shipped, and while this adds nothing to the quality of the kernel, the sulphur is an excellent insecticide and fungicide, and may be of some use on that account; but otherwise it is likely to be more injurious than beneficial. As bleaching both walnuts and almonds is often insisted upon by dealers, I give the process suggested by Director Hilgard, of the California Agricultural Experiment Station, which he believes will prove more satisfactory than the one usually employed, and is as follows: