Crath's Carpathian English Walnuts in Ontario
[23]P. C. CRATH, 129 Felbrigg Ave., Toronto 12, Ontario
Introduction
The English Walnut (Juglans regia) in England is known as Persian walnut. Some think that the nuts originated in Persia. The primeval forests of English walnut trees, which in many places cover the southern as well as northern slopes of the Caucasian Mountains show that Caucasia is the country of the origin of those trees.
But in the Western Carpathian Mountains in Europe geologists had excavated ancient walnuts in the salt rocks of the pits of Weliczka. In some places of the Eastern Carpathians walnuts could be found in a wild stage; and of course domesticated walnuts flourish in every Ukrainian orchard from the northern slopes of the Carpathians up to the southern banks of the Pripet River, and all over Ukraine as far as the Don. But there they could not be found in a wild form.
Walnuts in such countries as Italy, Spain, France are probably of
Persian origin.
Since Canada was discovered by Cartier European settlers have many times tried to introduce the southern European walnuts in to the New World, but without success. Only in California, along the Ocean's shore, Europeans succeeded in acclimatizing some, as they think, "English Walnuts"; though in reality the California Walnuts are halfbreeds.
In Old Ontario the people enjoyed the local wild black walnuts, butternuts and hickory. Up to the present English Walnuts are imported into this Province.
When in 1917 I settled in Toronto and found that even in the southern part of the Province, so rich in different fruits, no English Walnuts grew there, I was amazed.
In my old home in the Ukraine walnut trees were as common as elms in Ontario. And I have found that the Southern Ontario climate is warmer than the climate of Kiev or Poltava regions in Ukraine.