The work in nut culture by the Department of Agriculture antedates the
present Bureau of Plant Industry, and to confine the history of the work
to the present Bureau of Plant Industry would not quite do the subject
justice.
From the time of the beginning of fruit work in the Department of
Agriculture, in 1885, nuts have received more or less attention. After
the formation of the Bureau of Plant Industry, in 1901, special
appropriations were received from Congress for the support of nut
investigations, and individuals were appointed to that service in the
department. Mr. C. A. Reed, whom you all know very well, was the first
appointee of this service, devoting his whole time and attention to the
work. He has been with the department for several years, and has given
his time exclusively to the nut problems of the country. Naturally, the
nut problems are not confined to any geographic area, but are
nation-wide; but certain of the plants which have entered into the
problems of nut culture have demanded more attention than others, for
reasons that are the same as in fruit culture. The older fruits, those
better known and longer in cultivation, whose problems are better
understood, require less attention from the grower and from the
experimenter than do the newer ones in the field.
Nut culture in America, as I understand it, not being a nut culturist
myself, consists of two types of projects. We have one type that has
long been practiced by man, that we imported from European countries and
established on this continent. People have cultivated these nuts more or
less intensively for generations, and many of the problems have been
worked out, so far as Europe is concerned. Of course, when introduced in
America, new problems confronted the growers here. The other type of nut
industry is based upon indigenous nuts of which we know little, either
from the orchard standpoint or as to the varieties concerned. Our native
nuts, particularly the pecan, have forced themselves upon the attention
of investigators of the department to much greater extent, perhaps, than
any other nut with which we have to deal. Being a native, indigenous
plant, not yet under cultivation, there is immediately presented the
problem of the choice of varieties, adaption to changed conditions, and
all of the problems arising in connection with a rapidly developing
commercial industry; certain enthusiasts soon become enamored with the
possibilities in the southern parts of the United States for pecan
culture, and they immediately transplant it into new and untried
regions, and as a result their problems have become legion.
The work of the Department of Agriculture in nut culture has developed
really around the growing industries of the country; primarily, around
the pecan, and secondly, around the almond and the walnut, for these are
the more important, commercially. Naturally, the most pressing problems
arise in connection with growing industries; they have growing pains
which have to be eased the same as with small boys.
The Department of Agriculture has therefore found itself in the position
of seeking answers to numerous questions which have been made in
connection with these developing industries. I believe that we have
contributed very materially to the knowledge of varieties, particularly
as regards their adaptation to different geographic locations. We have
also assisted the industries to solve some of their problems of
cultivation, particularly of propagation, and also the problems growing
out of the maintenance of soil fertility. With a new crop, in a new
environment, it is always a problem to know how to manage the soil, and
this is one of the leading lines of activity in the field, at the
present time. In the Bureau of Plant Industry, two offices, that of
Horticulture and Pomology and that of Soil Fertility, are co-operating
in the solution of the soil fertility problems in the pecan regions.
Of course, as the industry developed and became established, the natural
enemies of the pecan and of the other nut trees asserted themselves, as
a result of which there have been set up investigations in the Bureau of
Plant Industry to study the life histories of the various fungi that
attack pecans; and outside of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Bureau
of Entomology has been devoting time to the study of the control of
insect enemies. So that, at the present, the department is so organized
that three or four important lines of attack are being made upon
problems of these industries. Thus, while at the beginning of the Bureau
of Plant Industry, in 1901, there was no single, individual person
devoting his time and attention to the problems of nut culture, at
present there are quite a group of individuals giving their whole time.
I feel we are making progress in the work, and while we may be lagging
very much behind what we should like to do, we are assisting as best we
can, and are at least keeping in sight of the industry, as it goes
forward.
I will not try to go into details about the work we are carrying on,
because it is better to tell of what we have accomplished than to tell
what we hope to do. We have a man on the Pacific Coast giving his whole
time and attention to the study of breeding and of the cultural problems
of almonds. Besides this, we have two men giving all of their time to
pecans; and during the last year, there has been established near
Albany, Georgia, a station devoted to the cultural problems of pecans.
One gentleman is continuously on the ground with the work, and two
others devote more or less of their time to it.
Now, while these problems connected with the industries are the ones
occupying most attention, the workers in the Department of Agriculture
have not been unmindful of other native nut-bearing plants, such as the
native black walnuts, the hickories and the chestnut up to the time of
the very destructive attack of blight. The chestnut, however, has not
passed out of our sphere of activity, because at the present time, (and
I think you will see tomorrow at the Bell Station, some interesting
possibilities in the future of chestnut culture in this country), the
Chinese forms, which are much more resistant to blight, bid fair to give
us a progeny to make it possible for us also to have a chestnut industry
from the horticultural standpoint.
Probably the day of timber supply from our native chestnut is at an end.
We hope not, but it looks that way at the present time. The
possibilities of growing trees from China, the mollissima, or hybrids of
them, bids fair to place the chestnut industry so that we can contend
with the blight. We probably will not have immune varieties, but those
which are able to live with the blight. That, it seems to me, is a very
important consideration, because chestnuts have always been an important
nut in our eastern markets, and are important in the European markets as
well. While the larger forms of southern Europe will probably not be of
value to us here, if we can establish a nut industry with nuts of fair
quality, as large as our native sweet chestnuts, based on the Chinese
species, the mollissima, then we will be making progress. You may see
some of these trees at Bell Station which are eight or ten years old;
they are bearing quite abundantly, and some of the chestnuts are really
very palatable and of satisfactory size.
In addition to this breeding work with chestnuts, there is under way
intensive breeding work with almonds which has for its object the
development of those more hardy than those now in cultivation in
California. This almond industry, though large, is handicapped because
of the late frost injury, and it is desirable to get those which will
bloom later and withstand lower temperatures.
The varietal problem with pecans will be ever with us, as long as
varieties are found in the wilds and as long as people continue to plant
seedlings in different localities. That is one of the subjects that is
being given considerable attention.
In addition, the relative productivity of the plants to use as mother
plants is an important one. In the work of the Department of Agriculture
in connection with citrus fruits, it has been found that the individual
bud carries over into its progeny the ability to produce fruit not only
of a given type, but also the productivity of the parent to the progeny.
A long series of records of the behavior of individual trees have been
secured; we are building up a mass of information on which to base
selections for better parent trees than any available at the present
time. If the pecan behaves like the citrus fruits of California, we will
be able in the future to have strains and varieties which will be very
much less variable than those at the present time.
The propagation, selection, disease and cultural work covers the field
that is handled by the Bureau of Plant Industry. We always like to dream
of the future, and we are pleased to have the dreams come true. We must
have in mind the possibility of better black walnuts than we have at
present; and after the great inroad into the industry made at the time
of the War, when the trees were used for timber purposes, there should
be a greater effort on the part of the people in the northern districts
to propagate black walnuts, not only for nuts but also for timber. The
black walnut is a very great asset not only for timber and for
ammunition purposes, but for food as well.
The hickory tree is in the same class as the black walnut--it is a
valuable timber tree as well as nut tree. No other timber is as valuable
for the construction of wheels as hickory, and while the "disc wheel"
has served a useful purpose in railroad car construction, it is not
likely that it will replace hickory altogether in the construction of
wheels of motor vehicles. We are veritably a nation on wheels and we
will always be looking for material with which to carry us through the
country. As I have said, we are a nation of people on wheels, and if
your propaganda did nothing more than to stimulate an increased interest
in the production of hickory for timber purposes, it would be
accomplishing a great result. But I believe that there are varieties
among the hickories which should be to the North what the pecan is to
the South. There are those which are very large and those which are
thin-shelled, and those of fine flavor; as a food product I think the
shellbark is second only to the pecan. And I should hail the day with
great interest when there are good, recognized varieties of hickories
corresponding with the best varieties of pecans. I believe they will be
found and developed.
I have told you something of what we are doing and of what we hope may
result. I hope that you will all visit the offices of the Department
carrying on this work, and that you will get acquainted with the men
handling the various projects, and tell them what your troubles are,
that they may know how to proceed, and that they may discuss with you
the best ways of attacking and handling the problems with which you are
confronted.
Prof. Lumsden of the Federal Horticultural Board spoke of the chestnut
bark disease and the fact that our experts advise us that within the
period of twenty-five years the destruction of the native American
chestnut will have been accomplished. The tanners and related interests
of the country are now scouting around to find some species of tree to
use as a substitute for tanning operations. Castanea mollissima is
capable of developing into a good sized tree. From an economic
standpoint the texture of its lumber is good, while the quality of its
fruit is fair, and as an ornamental tree it has a future. It has
resistance to the chestnut bark disease. It may become a substitute for
C. dentata. Several crosses have been made between C. dentata and C.
mollissima and some of them show considerable merit. Selection of these
hybrids will have to be made for two purposes, namely wood production
and fruit production.
Corylus colurna, the Constantinople filbert, is destined to become
popular as an ornamental. On the Pacific Coast a bacterial blight occurs
in some sections on corylus. A great work can be done in this country by
the Northern Nut Growers Association by publishing bulletins advocating
plantings of nut bearing trees for a three-fold purpose, timber, food,
and beauty.
Communications were read from Miss Frances L. Stearns, Instructor in
Botany of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Junior Colony, asking information
about planting nut trees, and from Mr. J. A. Young, Secretary of the
Tree Lovers Association of America, asking the association to adopt
their slogan and to co-operate with it in urging the more intelligent
planting of trees, shrubs and flowers.
The evening session on Sept. 26th was called to order at 8:10 and a
moving picture reel, "The Almond Industry in California," loaned by the
Dept. of the Interior, was shown. Following that an address with lantern
slides was given by Mr. C. A. Reed of the Dept. of Agriculture, on his
recent trip to China.
MR. REED: In 1910 certain Americans in China conceived the idea of
exporting the walnuts produced in that country to America. The
experiment proved so successful that they continued to do so, and
shipped their walnuts to this country year after year. The business
built up very rapidly, until the war broke out when, for the time being,
the industry was forced to a standstill. But as soon as the war was over
the business picked up again, and had assumed such proportions, about
two years ago, that American growers wanted to know how much longer the
Chinese would be able to send walnuts over here. Most of the nuts from
China were of inferior quality to those produced in this country.
Records of the exports showed that there had been an increase from China
each year; but as to the methods used, the extent of orcharding, or the
growth in planting, etc., the matter had not been written up, and the
consuls had not the remotest idea. It was finally decided by Congress,
therefore, that a special appropriation for an investigation should be
made. So a special trip was made to China to ascertain, first of all,
the probable trade from there for the next ten or twenty years. Our
people felt that more walnuts would be coming here, and they wanted to
know about this before they planted any more here. It fell to my lot to
make the trip, a year ago this summer.
We went first to Honolulu; then to Manila and Japan, and finally to
China. We went into the section just to the right of Tientsin. By
superimposing a map of China over that of the United States you may see
that China more than covers this country; China is considerably larger
than the United States.
Our basic point was Peking, which is in about the same latitude as
Philadelphia. We found that walnuts were grown all through this section
of China, not very much farther north than Peking, but not much farther
south than Shanghai. There are walnuts cultivated here, in the Chinese
way, over a great area; but we were convinced that the exportation of
walnuts to this country was not likely to increase, for the business has
apparently reached its height. American trade takes the best nuts; the
second best go to Canada, the third to Europe and the fourth and fifth
to Australia.
Our first expedition into the country was almost directly north of
Peking. We went down the railroad about 15 miles, to Shaho, where we
employed donkeys and a ricksha, and rode across country some 12 or 15
miles. Here we found a very excellent Chinese hotel, and surrounding
orchards of perhaps 300 trees. Some of the consular reports in China
stated that this place was one of the three sections in which the finest
shipments of nuts were produced.
We next went to the east of Tientsin where we found quite a number of
orchards and trees claimed to be from 150 to 200 years of age, although
we found, after travelling a short time and inquiring from the Chinese
farmers, that the figures they gave to us were probably inaccurate. We
finally ceased to ask the Chinese farmers for figures of that sort. It
was very interesting to note the difference in Chinese and American
methods. For instance, in China, the land may be owned by one or by
several people, who will lease the land or the trees, or perhaps even an
individual tree, for a period of years. White marks placed on the trees
indicate their ownership.
Young walnut trees were very scarce. We were told in one province that
Chinese merchants, who had been forced out of Russia because of economic
conditions there, and had lost everything, had come home and were
seeking something with which to make money. They were already planting a
considerable number of walnut trees, and were growing crops under the
trees, planting crops of millet first, and then of soy beans later in
the season. Another crop they use is called kaolin (pronounced "gollin"
in this country).
Very few of the trees are ever pruned systematically, or taken care of;
the Chinese seem to have no idea of this. Of course, the rainfall there
is at a different time of the year than ours. Fall, winter and spring,
in North China, are practically without rain. Consequently, the
atmosphere is very dry.
Here and there we found trees that struck us so favorably that we made
notes with the intention of going back to the trees to get scions for
propagating purposes for this country. We were told that one of these
trees had borne 800 pounds of nuts. I suppose, however, if that was so,
it was green weight, and included the hulls. This tree was on the
grounds of the Y. M. C. A., about 80 miles below Shanghai, the farthest
south we went. The tree had been planted by missionaries, and had made
splendid growth. There were not many walnuts south of that point,
however. In the province of Shanshi the soil is of a washed nature,
subjected to rains, and we found there huge gorges that had evidently
been forming for centuries. All of the soil there, that is not too
uneven to be cultivated, is terraced; and along the sides of the
terraces walnut trees are planted. We usually found tunnels along the
sides of the terraces. These were dug around the bank so that the water
would run through the tunnels instead of over the terrace.
We saw no indications of blight. We thought we saw it in one case, but
when we examined the nuts, it proved to be nothing but insects working
on the hulls.
Wherever we went, we were told by the Chinese that they harvest their
walnuts at about the time of the year which in America would be about
the first week in September. We found, however, that the nuts were off
of the trees and assembled on the ground for sorting and drying, long
before that. They were put in windrows covered with millet straw and
left for ten days, after which time the hulls were chipped off with
knives and the nuts immediately washed and put on the market. I was
particularly struck with the mechanical motion with which the Chinese
men worked; it was just as regular as a machine. This was the first time
that characteristic came to my attention, and afterwards I was struck
with the same thing everywhere.
Each farmer takes his products, whatever they may be, to a common town
called "market town," and there they are bought by the local merchants,
or the "compradors." The exporters are missionaries and foreigners who
make no effort to buy from the farmers, for the tradesman, or comprador,
can get the nuts at a better figure than can the foreigners. The
tradesman gets his commission in addition. The baskets of nuts are
carried on poles placed over the shoulders of the Chinese.
One of the principal walnut centers of Chantung Province is 25 miles
from the railroad, and we made quite an effort to reach it. An
agricultural missionary, a Mr. Gordan, made the trip there with me, and
we found it a badly infested section. We arrived about three o'clock in
the afternoon and took about one hour going around to see the nuts.
There were places within the wall where nuts had been assembled, and we
made estimates as to the number of pounds. I think there were from 100
to 150 sacks of nuts in a pile.
Many of the women and children grow walnuts and these crops are
inspected and sorted before being shipped to Peking. In the early
summer, we saw quantities of apricot kernels being transported to the
market and sold as almonds. We had understood that China was quite an
important almond-producing country, but I doubt if there are any almonds
in China. I did not see a tree, nor did I get an indication that there
were any there.
One of the largest chestnut trees that I saw measured eight feet and
would have been valuable for timber purposes. It was in one of the very
attractive little orchards of chestnut trees in the north of Shansi and
northeast of Tientsin. We understood that there were very large orchards
to the north, but you might say that there is no such thing as a large
orchard in China. We counted about 100 trees in such orchards, and we
made notes as to their bearing habits. We found the chestnuts of
pleasing quality, of a fair size, and not quite as large as European
nuts but larger than the American. We did not see many of the trees
which had been allowed to develop normally. They are not of special
value in China, and consequently, the branches are removed as high as
possible, and often the tops are cut out.
The Chinese have a species of native peanut which is very shrivelled and
hard; but missionaries from this country have introduced there the
American peanut, which is now grown so extensively that Chinese exports
have disturbed our market conditions considerably.
The Chinese allow nothing to go to waste. When the peanuts are removed
from the ground and cared for, the soil is sifted so that no peanuts
will be lost. The American peanut grown there is served in little
butterdishes on the hotel tables, as a delicacy.
THURSDAY MORNING SESSION, SEPTEMBER 27
Meeting called to order by President McGlennon, 10:15 a. m.
The president appointed as Nominating Committee to nominate officers for
the ensuing year, Dr. Robert T. Morris, Prof. C. P. Close, J. S.
McGlennon.
Mr. T. P. Littlepage, of Washington, D. C., then spoke on the subject of
Commercial Nut Culture.
This is a very difficult subject to discuss, for the reason that, as
yet, there are very few facts upon which to base any conclusions about
commercial nut culture in the North.
First, let me say that the principal point upon which we base our
opinion that nut culture in the North has commercial possibilities, is
the fact that growing throughout many sections of the North are
thousands of nut trees, pecans, walnuts, hickories and butternuts, many
of which grow very fine nuts. It would be a repudiation of all known
laws of natural science to conclude that trees budded and grafted from
these desirable parents would not grow and bear the same as they do.
Therefore, we are perfectly safe in concluding that if there are
successful nut trees growing, others also will grow. Let us proceed to
consider some of the requirements.
First, there is the soil requirement. But before considering the soil
requirement, I might add that we must keep within reasonable latitude of
the homes of the native trees. This subject has been fully covered in
previous reports of our association, and I do not care to go into a
detailed discussion of it, except to say that prospective planters of
commercial orchards should read the previous reports of the association
on this subject, and keep in mind that somewhere north of the home of
the parent trees, is a line north of which these trees will not bear.
This line is dependent upon several things, altitude, topography and
other elements. As an example, I merely mention that orange orchards
flourish in California at the Philadelphia latitude.