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volume of business on the New York Stock Exchange has far exceeded that transacted by any other institution in the world.

, species of Juglans, and native of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. They are fine forest-trees, and also yield most valuable timber. The nuts of various species are well-known. The English walnut is J. regia, and is the common walnut of commerce. Its commercial culture in this country is practically confined to California, though it is grown in widely scattered portions of the country. Nut-culture in California has become a very important industry, walnut orchards a feature of the state. They are found along the coast and in the interior valleys. Hardy varieties are grown up into southern Oregon. Nuts are shaken from the trees, spread out in trays to dry, and bleached before shipping. Much damage has been done by a bacterial blight of the nut, in battling with which spraying with Bordeaux mixture is employed. The common black walnut of the United States is J. nigra, well known for its fine, dark timber as well as for its characteristic nuts. The tree is distributed generally in this country, but is not very common in the eastern states, being more familiar in rich lands of the Mississippi Basin. It is of slow growth, attains a height of 100 feet, and with its towering and great trunk presents a massive and splendid appearance. The bark is rough and blackish, foliage a light yellowish-green, from 13 to 23 leaflets growing on a stalk. The leaves come late and fall early, and the tree is further deprived of its foliage by the ravaging of countless fall web-worms. The round, black, sharply-furrowed nuts are of excellent flavor. They are encased in a greenish-yellow husk. The wood is heavy, strong and close-grained, and has been so greatly in demand for furniture, interior finish and gunstocks, that the tree is scarcely to be counted longer as a forest tree. The butternut or white walnut is J. cinerea, ranging from New England southward to Georgia and westward. It grows from 30 to 50 to 100 feet, has spreading horizontal branches; the bark is grayish, stalks sticky, leaflets oval, sessile. In the scarce foliage there is much of yellow. The wood is light brown, takes a high polish, and is used for furniture and interior finish. The rough, brown, oblong nut, pointed at one end, has a sweet, oily kernel.

, Earl of Orford, an English author, was born at London in 1717. He studied at Eton and Cambridge, traveled in Italy, and took his seat in Parliament in 1741, but never was active in public life. His home at Twickenham near London, called Strawberry Hill, adorned with vast collections of pictures, books, manuscripts, armor etc., was one of the sights of the time, and admittance was granted by ticket to parties of four from May to October. His writings include Castle of Otranto, Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of the Reign of George II, Memoirs of the Reign of George III, Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III, Anecdotes of Painting in England and Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors of England. But his fame rests upon his Letters, which are the product of years of acquaintance with public men and events, and entitle him to the rank of one of the best letter-writers in English literature. He died on March 2, 1797. See Letters, edited by Cunningham; George Selwyn and His Contemporaries by Jesse; and essay on Letters of Horace Walpole by Macaulav.

, Sir Robert, Earl of Orford, an English statesman, was born at Houghton in Norfolk, England, Aug. 26, 1676. He studied at Eton and Cambridge. Entering Parliament in 1701, he became secretary of war in 1707 and treasurer of the navy in 1709. He defended the Whig party both with voice and pen, and his political enemies brought against him a charge of corruption, for which he was expelled from the house of commons and imprisoned in the Tower. With the accession of George I he became in succession privy councilor, chancellor of the exchequer and first lord of the treasury. Jealousy among the Whigs and the opposition of the German favorites of the king compelled Walpole's resignation in 1717, but in 1721 he was again called to power, and remained prime minister of England until 1742. His policy was to maintain peace abroad and quiet at home, and during his administration the country was very prosperous. The difficulties between King George II and the Prince of Wales led to his resignation, when he was made Earl of Orford. Charges of bribery were brought against him, but failed to be supported, though he doubless did not scruple to gain his ends by this means. He died in 1745. See Cox's Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole.

 is in Germany the night in which the witches and wizards hold their yearly gathering, the largest being the one held on the Brocken in the Harz Mountains. It originally was a vigil kept the night before May 1, in honor of St. Walpurgis, a sister of some early English missionaries to Germany, who established convents in that country, but it was changed with the belief in witchcraft to its present signification.

 (wŏl′rŭs), a marine carnivorous mammal, closely related to seals and sea lions. It is known by its enormous down-turned tusks or canine teeth, projecting from the upper jaw, sometimes reaching a length of thirty inches, The tusks are of solid ivory; are useful in defense, an aid in