When the nuts are gathered and brought in they are put into a revolving barrel-churn holding about 12 to 16 gallons. Two buckets of water and about the same of walnuts are put in together and the churn revolved for some minutes. Then the nuts are taken out and spread on wire crates and placed in the sun; they should be raked over two or three times a day. Or, if the weather is wet, they may be placed in the dry-house in a good draught at about 70 degrees F. In an artificial drying if the heat becomes too great the nuts will be rancid, as the oil-cells will burst: so better err on the side of underheating than overheating. If left out of doors, cover carefully to protect from dew. The crates for outdoor drying are placed on trestles in some California groves, in order that the air may circulate through the nuts. This is much better than placing them on the ground, where they draw dampness. SORTING AND GRADING After the walnuts are gathered, washed, dried and stored for a week or so to test the correctness of their drying, they are ready to be graded by passing over a sized screen. The choicest ones will sell at top market prices, and the culls a little under. The Prince grove harvest is never graded, as he finds ready sale at highest prices for the entire output just as it runs after sorting out the few imperfect nuts. PACKING AND SHIPPING They are next put into pound cartons, or 50-pound bags, common gunny sacks, ready for the market. Not being perishable none are lost in shipping or by keeping. Walnuts from Oregon groves have been kept two years, tasting as sweet and fresh as those in their first season. Long hauls are not objectionable, as the rough handling is not injurious to the well-sealed varieties grown in Oregon. In this they have an advantage over fruit. WALNUT YIELD PER ACRE While it is generally found that seedling trees properly treated come into bearing the eighth year, this crop is usually light, doubling each successive season for seven or eight years. From then on there is a steady increase in crop and hardiness for many years. Often trees in Oregon bear in their sixth year; while there are instances on record of trees set out in February bearing the following autumn. This is no criterion, however, merely an instance illustrating the unusual richness of Oregon soil, and its perfect adaptability to walnut culture. Thirty-five acres on the Prince place yielded at twelve years, twelve tons of fine nuts, which were sold at 18 and 20 cents a pound, two cents above the market price, making an average of $125 per acre. Another grove of two acres yielded in their ninth year two tons, or a ton to the acre, netting the owner $360 an acre.