concerned. In medicine I have found the subject of wound repair and
immunity most interesting, the two subjects seeming to be more or less
related. Some animals will repair wounds and immunize readily, while
others will not. In a general way young healthy animals and human
beings immunize most readily, while older ones frequently fail almost
entirely. Interestingly enough plants seem to be strangely similar in
this respect, and the thing that stimulates cellular activity for
defensive purposes (immunity) apparently stimulates growth and wound
repair. The thing that stimulates most actively for a special purpose is
the thing itself, the best stimulant for wound repair being the simple
injury. To illustrate briefly: In my work last summer I came in contact
with two enemies, yellow jackets and copperheads. The copperhead
stimulated me to carry a club in defense, while for the yellow jacket
the club was of little value and I rather preferred carbon bisulphide.
Had I ignored my senses and allowed nature full sway, as a tree does,
the snake would have injected his venom and the yellow jacket his toxin,
and my cells would have accepted their only alternative and proceeded at
once to build up a specific defense, after which they would have been in
better shape for development, providing the poison would not have been
so great as to prove fatal. Injury to a tree certainly does stimulate
wound repair, defense and growth. It is well known that trees with many
transplantings, root injuries, transplant much more readily, and the
nurserymen use this method of stimulation as a routine procedure. I
learn in Florida that in order to transplant a good size palmetto, they
are in the habit of digging down on one side and cutting the roots the
year before removal. It will then transplant more readily. Pruning has
the same cell stimulating effect if done at a time that will retain the
stored nutrition. An attack of disease just as surely stimulates
cellular activity and growth but it is too frequently followed by
disaster.
We have all heard of driving rusty nails into trees (thinking the iron
produced the beneficial results), cutting a slit in the bark of the
limbs and trunk for "bark bound" so called, etc., all of which have
stimulating effects with more or less permanent injury to the tree. Who
knows but what the sap sucker, with his ability to dig into the bark and
extract a piece of cambium, was not sent to us to aid in preserving our
trees by stimulating new growth?
In my work last summer trees that were subjected to slight injury before
hand apparently accepted a larger proportion of grafts. I will briefly
cite two specific illustrations. A little butternut tree located near
the house was the object of my efforts for over two years. During my
illness I frequently went out and pruned a few branches or put on a few
buds. Something would happen to me and possibly I would not see it
again for months, and in the meantime the buds would be strangled or
knocked off. Another little hickory tree stood in the roadway. Harrows,
plows, wagons and even logs were dragged over it. Grafts on both these
trees caught rather readily last spring. In fact two black walnut grafts
on this little butternut were two of the very few that I got to grow at
all last year. My walnut grafting was almost a total failure. I have
this to say, however, that I had no dormant walnut scions, my scions all
being cut in May or June.
Mr. Jones, by marking the site of his patch bud several days in advance,
admirably carries out this idea by locally stimulating the cambium
cells. Dr. Morris's scheme of using white wax, besides regulating sap
pressure, allows the actinic rays of the sun to stimulate cellular
activity. Cutting the top out of the tree, which disrupts the normal
circulation and throws it into the few lower limbs, besides stimulating
the cells into activity, has apparently in a large measure accounted for
the slight success that I have had. Other methods such as injecting some
substance under the bark, applying antiseptics, or some stimulating
chemical in a similar way, as "Scarlet Red" is used in skin grafting to
increase epithelial growth, may aid materially. Certain chemicals
applied to the tree and leaves, as used in sprays, seems sometimes to
stimulate growth in a way that can hardly always be accounted for by the
checking of the disease for which it was placed.
Much more could be written on cellular stimulation but enough has been
said to encourage others to make observation in this connection, for it
is highly probable that the lack of proper stimulation of the cambium
accounts for more failures in top working trees than we are aware of.
3RD CONTROL OF PLANT CELL NUTRITION
With this topic we are probably less concerned in its relation to
grafting than when the growing and bearing stages come. However, certain
nutritional disturbances appear early and the more vigorously the stock
is growing beforehand the better progress, of course, the grafts will
make when they are started. Whether or not they will start more readily
have I been unable to ascertain, but I have a bunch of little fellows
with a growth of only an inch or so, and so puny that I cannot account
for it in any other way than a lack of proper nutrition. Many of these
little trees, used as stock, are very old in comparison with their size
and they will probably be dwarfs all their lives. It is a question
whether many such trees should be grafted at all. Further observations
will have to be made to decide that point. Perhaps proper preparation
for a year or two would be beneficial.
This topic will largely be left for future discussion under another
subject, but it occurs to me that much might be accomplished by proper
attention to nutrition, especially when setting out trees for grafting,
selection of proper site, fertility of soil, cultivation to aid
absorption, etc. I have observed limbs of animals much smaller than
normal due to prohibited movements or lack of proper circulation, one
side of a tree developed out of proportion, eggs without hard shell due
to lack of calcium in the hen's diet, and I know of an old English
walnut tree that bears nuts with shells so thin as to be almost
negligible. I am told that at one time this tree bore a nut with a much
thicker shell. It has never had any attention and it is quite probable
that the lack of proper shell building elements causes the trouble. I
have grafted a few of these and I want to see what happens by furnishing
better nutrition.
Concerning scion wood, I have "ringed" some limbs, similar to the method
used sometimes in producing extra large fruit, in an effort to have the
scion store up a large amount of nutrition. This experiment I shall
continue in the spring.
This article is based entirely on my own ideas, observations and
conclusions in connection with old standing principles. As previously
stated, I claim nothing new and my only desire is to stimulate others to
make like observations.
Carrying out my conclusions in my work next spring I propose to cut the
tops out of all my trees, leaving a few lower limbs instead of the top
ones, allow them to start growth a little before grafting, pinch the tip
from that growth, and, in addition to covering with paraffin or some
combination of it, shade the scions on the south-west side, either by
tipping branches over them or some other way. Paper bags seem to absorb
the paraffin. Double grafting in the case of the Vest and the Weiker
will be tried. Whitewashing the stock to prevent sun burn will be used
where necessary. Several other experiments based on the idea of cellular
stimulation before the scions are placed in position will be tried.
Dr. M. B. Waite, of the Federal Insecticide and Fungicide Board, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, spoke as follows:
DR. WAITE: Some of you may recall that several years ago, when you were
meeting here in this hall, I gave you a paper on the nut diseases of the
northeastern part of the United States, and it would not be desirable to
go over that same ground again. At that time, we took up the bacteriosis
of the Persian Walnut, and filbert blight, and I outlined a program of
proposed treatment for the filbert blight. It might be interesting to
note here that Dr. Morris, and I believe also Mr. Bean, put that
treatment into practice with success. The situation still remains,
however, that we do not know of diseased plantings of any size. If we
find a real plantation of filberts we will be glad to attempt control
measures ourselves. I have planted about two dozen filberts and they
still remain free from the disease. There are very few local hazel nuts,
wild or cultivated, around Washington; but we understand that the few
hazel nuts are free from this disease.
There are two or three things I wish to mention. One is the repeated
inquiries reaching my office with regard to the non-filling of nuts,
mostly the cultivated nuts, sometimes the pecan, sometimes the black
walnut, and frequently the English walnut. The subject is a complicated
one and the disease is not one that we can put under the microscope and
diagnose at once. The trouble is due to a complex of varietal and
environmental conditions, the effect of the conditions of growth, of
soil fertility, temperature, soil, water and humidity, sunshine, etc.,
on that plant. Very often it is because people get the wrong variety and
do not know what they have. They may have an unproductive seedling.
On the other hand a good variety may fail to bear in a locality where it
is not suited. Very frequently the real lack is in soil fertility. Of
course the success of the pecan trees down South around pig pens is an
old joke to you gentlemen, but there is truth in that. For good nuts
there is often need for a little extra manure or fertilizer, or perhaps
both. Sometimes there are rich pockets in the earth where those trees
would like to grow, or rich bottom lands which will produce without
manure. I think one of the best ways is to fertilize with manure, if
possible. Pollination troubles in connection with the non-filling and
dropping of the nuts should be thought of.
Then there is another angle to be considered, and perhaps I can express
it most definitely to you by citing the example of the June drop of
peaches. Whenever a tree, like the peach tree or the pecan or the black
walnut, sets its fruit in the spring, you will find that there are
cross-pollinated and self-pollinated fruits. These will begin to drop
their nuts or their fruit at definite stages. Furthermore we will find
the abortive seeds are not one size. This means that there were definite
stages of the pollination and of the fertilization. I should like to
work that up and find what the stages are.
The last big step in the dropping of the peach tree is the shedding of
the fruit just as the pits are hardening. When they are hard the fruit
does not fall. So this June-drop question ties in with the complications
of pollination and nutrition. We know from experiments on the sterility
of the pear tree, if highly fed and cultivated, such as those I worked
on in the city of Rochester, that those highly fed trees will have some
self-fertilized pears. In all of the pears we got no pears resulted when
pollinized with the pollen of the same variety, except on those well fed
trees. We learned this in the East, and have since found the same type
of self-fertilized pear occurring naturally in California and other
places in the West. In nut production that whole question of setting and
filling is tied up in a complicated way with pollination and nutrition.
Aside from nutrition the other thing to be considered is that of
disease. The common black walnut around Washington is generally poor
from fungus leaf diseases. Those of us familiar with it around here know
that they do not fruit well. This is not a good place for the common
black walnut. The wild ones are nearly all poor. I was raised in the
Mississippi Valley, where there were large nuts and fine ones, and we
gathered those which fell from the specially good trees. They do not
grow so well here, except the Stabler and a few others.
Leaving that subject, there is another I wish to take up. That is, the
great number of complaints about winter-killing of the English walnut.
Wherever we have been able to trace that down, as we frequently have, we
find that the English walnut suffers more from winter-killing right
around Washington, D. C., and in Pennsylvania, than up in Rochester; and
we also have complaints of winter-killing as far south as Georgia. A
common cause is the variation of moisture. After a dry spring and early
summer soaking rains come in August and September, and the trees,
brought suddenly into growth at the close of the season, when they
should be drying out, the walnut tree in particular, show
winter-killing. So I think one of the main troubles with the English
walnut in the Eastern United States is the winter-killing. Even in
Georgia we may have this trouble with the pecan, young trees two and
three years old, and I have photographed them.
As to false stimulation, in the woods, where these trees grow native and
under the conditions to which they are necessarily adapted, they are
mulched and crowded when young by their competitors. In cultivation we
do not get the crowding and the mulching that makes steady growth and
proper ripening. So you should, by some process, growing corn, cover
crops, or other trees, keep your delicate nut trees a little crowded
and, if possible, mulched while young; and then later, cut out the
undesirable things and let the trees have room.
I am not fully prepared to speak about the nut work of the Bureau of
Plant Industry, because that should be handled by the chief of the
bureau. I have charge only of the diseases of fruits and nuts. We have
had $8,200 allotted to the project and will have $2,000 more this year,
making $10,200. Originally that was $3,000 for nut diseases all over the
United States. We started to work mainly on the southern pecan diseases,
and partly on the bacteriosis of the walnuts of the United States. But
the Southern Pecan Growers' Association got some additional money for
the bureau, $5,000 of which was given to the fruit disease
investigations, and was tied up with the other $3,000. But the wording
of the bill said, "All for pecan diseases." So we transferred more to
the project and made it $8,200 for the nut diseases. That means we have
done very little work for the nut diseases except on Southern pecans,
and I have been warned that one must not stress southern pecans with the
Northern Nut Growers' Association.
We have had, however, one man, and will have two men, on the southern
pecan diseases in Georgia, on pecan scab and pecan leaf diseases, who
are winning out beautifully, and have nearly solved many of the
problems, including the pecan scab. One of the difficulties is the
occasional late summer rainy spell, bringing diseases and bad
conditions. But in general we have solved the problem pretty well.
Then we have the more permanently dangerous disease, pecan rosette,
which has taken about half of the pecans in some sections of the South,
especially in south Georgia and in Florida. That disease is being
experimented upon in the most extensive way of any of our projects.
There is only one word to say about pecan rosette, and that
is--humus--the disease is cured by the application of humus.
MR. REED: How far north is the walnut rosette disease?
DR. WAITE: As far as Falls Church, Va., but not much in the North.
MR. REED: The question was asked yesterday as to whether it could not be
overcome in this latitude.
DR. WAITE: That nobody knows. The soils east and south of Washington are
all acid, and the conditions are wrong for rosette. The soils have no
tendency to chlorosis. They are, in fact, antichlorotic. Theoretically
you could get the rosette conditions in the Piedmont region, but you are
almost certain not to find them over this way.
Now in the organization of the Bureau of Plant Industry there are at
least two main offices where nut problems would be studied; in the
Division of Horticultural and Pomological Investigations and in my
office, where the diseases are studied. Remember, also, that the insect
pests are studied in the Bureau of Entomology; they have experimented
quite extensively with pecan insect pests, and have the organization to
handle such pests. Of course there is a Bureau of Markets and the Office
of Soil Fertility in the Bureau of Plant Industry, which handle the
pecan, incidental to the other studies.
MR. BIXBY: I would like to ask Dr. Waite a question. The association has
spent a good deal of time in developing exact methods of measuring
quantitatively the various characteristics of nuts which are considered
valuable, and that study has given us methods of comparing notes from
year to year, comparing the same nut, and I have noticed that it is
quite frequent that the kind of nut that is good one year, will not be
so good the next year. To take an example, the Clark hickory, which took
the prize one year, the next year fell so far down that it would not
take any prize. But after a good deal of trouble I found that by careful
examination I could pick out from the nuts a few which tested up as they
did before. It occurred to me that a condition of that kind would be
more likely to be due to difference in the soil than in the fertility of
the pollen. Dr. Waite has had more or less experience in noting the
effect of the pollen, and I would like to ask if he thought this the
cause of the difference in the nuts.
DR. WAITE: I think it might be the cause for a little difference, but we
could account for the difference by entirely different things. By
environment and other conditions. Take the apples grown in this
vicinity; I have observed that certain seasons fit certain varieties.
This year it was favorable for Ben Davis, and yet we have had a poor
crop of most varieties; the conditions were bad for the Winesap to set,
but yet the fruit is good. Every year and every day is different; and
plants are subjected to these complications, and the yield, or the
result in fruit, is a response to environment. They are so very
susceptible to these things. I came here this morning after picking some
cross pollenated pears on the Arlington Farm. We have a lot of crosses
there where we study the hybrid seedlings. Some will be almost too poor,
in certain years, to deserve further attention, and good another season.
In other words, these nuts probably do not vary any more from year to
year than many of our fruits and vegetables do, and the main factor is
probably response to environment, namely, temperature, air humidity,
soil moisture and sunshine.
THE PRESIDENT: I might mention that we have had a filbert orchard at
Rochester for eleven years, and there has not been the slightest
indication of blight there yet.
MR. REED: I would like to ask Senator Penny how the Roadside Bill is
taken in Michigan.
SENATOR PENNY: According to the Michigan law, the people along the
roadside consider that their property is subject to the right of
transportation on the highway; just as a stream is owned by individuals
in Michigan, subject to the right of individuals to use it. This bill
says, "Give the right to plant trees on the highway," and I think the
planting is done with the consent of the owner. The agricultural college
has a landscape gardener connected with the landscape department; he
will have charge of planting along the roadside, and I think it will be
done in a scientific manner; but I believe it is necessary to get the
consent of the owners first.
MR. BIXBY: Last evening Mr. Franklin Weims, of Washington, was with me
on the state highway of Maryland, coming south from Baltimore. The
highway is being constructed at the rate of about eight miles a year,
and funds have been provided. Mr. Weims feels that something should be
done to see that the new highway is properly planted with trees,
preferably nut-bearing trees. I was thinking that the association might,
by some resolution, bring that matter to the attention of proper
authorities. I would like suggestions.
MR. CLOSE: It might not be out of order to adopt a resolution and
address it to the Governor of the state, Governor Richie; and also to
the State Forester, Dr. Besly, suggesting that perhaps some of the trees
and seedlings might be presented to the state, some of the trees that
Professor Linton spoke of this morning. Trees of that sort might carry
some weight.
THE PRESIDENT: Suppose we adopt a resolution and name Professor Close to
take up this matter with the proper state authorities, speaking
particularly of our ability to furnish seedlings from the Mt. Vernon
trees.
MR. CLOSE: If it is the wish of the association, I would be glad to do
that. (Motion made, seconded and adopted).
LETTER FROM F. H. WIELANDY, ST. LOUIS
Gentlemen:
First of all I congratulate you most heartily on being members of an
organization which means so much to the public, as consumption of nuts
is largely increasing and I much fear that the present day production is
not in line with the demand.
Although only a nut culturist by proxy I have manifested a deep interest
in this for many years, which is exemplified by the fact that on my
different hunting trips, in which I have indulged for over thirty-five
years, in the past twenty-five years I have also made it a point in the
fall of the year, to have with me a large pocket full of such nuts as I
thought would more easily come up and benefit some one in the future. I
usually carried with me black walnuts, hickory nuts, pecans and acorns,
and in my rambles through the woods and along the highways, I would
plant these where I thought there would be less chance of their being
molested if they developed.
In going over the same ground quail shooting, last fall, ground that I
had covered more or less for a good many years, I began to see the fruit
of my efforts, and felt repaid many fold for what I had accomplished.
Unfortunately we are a nation of destruction, rather than of
construction, so far as our timber is concerned, and this is more
noticeable in fruit and nut trees than in other varieties; although,
being interested chiefly in these I possibly am biased.
When we stop to consider that a country such as Norway began to replant
and reclaim their forests before Columbus discovered America, it strikes
me that it should be a lesson for everyone in this country. Consider
too, if you please, that before the war Germany paid her entire road
taxes from nothing but the production of nut trees along the public
roads. We also know, although a very small country in area, that it
produced enough timber each year to satisfy the need for building and
commercial purposes in the form of packing cases, casks, etc. And here
we are, a country forty times larger than Germany, and forced to depend
on countries such as Canada and Norway for wood pulp out of which we
manufacture a great many grades of paper.
Some twenty years ago I had a political friend introduce a bill during a
meeting of the state legislature, which made it mandatory for the road
overseer to plant nut trees along the right of way all over the state;
but like many meritorious bills, it was pigeon-holed until the next
meeting of the legislature. It seemed an impossibility to resurrect this
and an exceptionally fine forestry bill.
Unfortunately I promised to preside at a meeting of conservationists and
it is for that reason that I am unable to meet and be with your
honorable body, for I would like so much to be permitted in a humble
capacity to assist in carrying on the work which you gentlemen are
doing, as it is going to mean so much to future generations. I am sure
that each of you feels as I do in this matter and that is that "He who
serves others, best serves himself."
When the matter comes up for consideration I would like very much to
have your next convention here in the Middle West, either in St. Louis
or Alton, Ill., which is only a few miles north of St. Louis and in the
vicinity of a splendid nut-producing section, particularly the pecan.
THE CHESTNUT
_C. A. Reed, U. S. Department of Agriculture_
No discussion of the nut industry in the North at this time would be
complete without a brief review of the chestnut situation. The
destruction wrought by blight in wiping out practically all of the
native chestnut trees within its path, with almost equally fatal results
to the European species has for the time being all but eliminated the
chestnut from the consideration of planters in the eastern part of the
country.
The chestnut bark disease has cost the country untold millions of
dollars, and no wonder the public pauses for a second thought before
investing in eastern-grown chestnut trees. Nevertheless, it is not to
be supposed that chestnut growing has disappeared from this country for
all time. No plague has ever been known to wipe a race completely out of
existence, and it is unthinkable that the blight will do so with the
genus _Castanea_.