Although greatly admired, both for the beauty of its foliage, and for the excellence of its fruit, the cultivation of the walnut-tree in England is by no means attended to so much as it was formerly, when its _wood_ was considered the most ornamental timber produced in our island. It is pleasingly veined, and admits of a fine polish, but its colour is much less rich than that of mahogany; and consequently, except for the making of gunstocks, it has, of late, been wholly superseded by that more favourite wood. On the Continent, however, the walnut-tree is still in request for furniture of various kinds. The _fruit_ of the walnut-tree is covered externally with a thick and smooth green husk, the juice of which stains the fingers black. In an unripe state, before the shells are formed, the whole fruit may be made into a pickle, and also into ketchup. In medicine the unripe fruit is considered of use for the destruction of worms, and is usually administered in the form of an extract. Walnuts become ripe about the beginning of October; and, as they grow in clusters, generally at the ends of the branches, it is customary to beat them down with long poles. The kernel, which is covered with a tough, yellow, and bitter skin, is more esteemed than that either of the hazel-nut or filbert. It yields, on pressure, a sweet kind of oil, which, in quantity, amounts to about half the weight of the kernel. There are several varieties of walnut, which are well known to the cultivators of that tree. 240. _The HICKORY-NUT_ (Juglans alba) _is a North American species of walnut, the shell of which is very hard, does not split asunder like that of the walnut, and is of smoother and lighter colour than that_. Its kernel is sweet and well tasted, and affords a considerable portion of oil. 241. _The HAZEL-NUT and FILBERT are well-known fruits, the former of a shrub_ (Corylus avellana, Fig. 67) _which grows in hedges and thickets; and the latter of a somewhat similar shrub, which is cultivated in orchards and kitchen gardens._ Each of these kinds of _nuts_ is much esteemed, but particularly the latter; the flavour of its kernels being very delicious. They are, however, difficult of digestion, and, when eaten in considerable quantity, sometimes produce very unpleasant effects. The oil which is obtained from hazel-nuts by pressure is little inferior in flavour to that of almonds, and, under the name of _nut-oil_, is often used by painters. Chemists employ it as the basis of fragrant oils artificially prepared, because it easily combines with and retains odours. This oil is found serviceable in obstinate coughs. If nuts be put into earthen pots and well closed, and afterwards buried eighteen inches or two feet deep in the earth, they may be kept sound through the winter.