Les Noix

IF CHESTNUTS ARE a reminder to the peasant of the former poverty of his ancestors, walnuts are an assurance of prosperity and well-being. Walnut trees are grown all over the South-West, many families having a few trees between them to guarantee a supply from one season to another. The commercial exploitation of walnuts seems to be confined, however, to the Dordogne valley and the countryside which borders it. Walnut trees do not like extreme heat, so will not be seen much south of the Quercy. On the other hand they are susceptible to late frosts so are not much cultivated on the high ground to the east of our region.