Composition of the Edible Portion.—
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| | | | Starch | | Calories
| Water. | Protein. | Fat. | AND | Ash. | Per
| | | | Sugar. | | Pound.
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Pinus monophylla, | 3.8 | 6.5 | 60.7 | 26.2 | 2.8 | 3,327
" edulis, | 3.4 | 14.6 | 61.9 | 17.3 | 2.8 | 3,364
" sabiniana, | 5.1 | 28.1 | 53.7 | 8.4 | 4.7 | 3,161
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Pistachio.—The nut of the pistachio (Pistachia vera) is used very largely for flavoring purposes and also for food. The tree is a native of Syria but has been cultivated in southern Europe for many years. The nut produced in America, though somewhat larger than the native Syrian fruit, has not half so high a palatable value. The pistachio is grown to some extent in the southern part of the United States and also in California. The kernel of the fruit is green in color and has a flavor which in some respects is reminiscent of almonds. It is used chiefly in this country in the manufacture of confectionery and ice creams.
Composition of the Pistachio.—
Edible Portion.
Water, 4.2 percent
Protein, 22.3 "
Fat, 54. "
Starch and sugar, 16.3 "
Ash, 3.2 "
Calories per pound, 3,235
Walnuts (Juglans nigra L.).—The American walnut grows wild over a very large portion of the country, especially the middle section west of Maryland to the Mississippi river. The walnut tree is especially abundant along the Ohio river, where it forms in the early summer a dense foliage. The trees often attain a very great size, reaching a diameter as great as five feet.
The walnut trees grow only on rich soil, hence, unless the country was very hilly and unsuitable for cultivation, the walnut forests were the first to fall before the axe of the pioneer. Later the demand for walnut lumber completed the devastation of the walnut forests, until now very often in the regions where fifty years ago the trees were extremely abundant a large walnut tree is rarely seen. The walnut lumber has peculiar lasting powers, and on account of its natural color and grain is of the highest value for building and ornamental purposes. The early farmers in the Ohio valley made their rail fences out of walnut trees. The wild nut grows in a dense kernel and is covered with a thick pericarp which is green even at the time when the fruit is ripe. After a frost when the fruit naturally falls from the trees the outer covering disintegrates. When the nuts are gathered by boys the outer covering is usually beaten off with clubs. It contains a coloring matter of a brown or brownish-black tint
