For the benefit of those new members who are not familiar with my nut
tree plantation at River Falls, Wisconsin, I wish to explain its
geographical conditions. Situated in the 45th parallel, longitude
92-1/2 deg., about 860 feet above sea level, this is a very severe climate
for growing most species of nut trees. Fortunately, I did not realize
that fact 30 years ago, and I learned a great deal about the hardiness
of many species and varieties and the difficulties of growing them
before I was convinced of it. My optimism in those years so ruled me
that I was influenced by it to try out such tender species as almonds,
English walnuts, filberts, pecans and chestnuts, along with hardier
types such as butternuts, black walnuts, hicans, hickories and hazels.
To give you a rough idea of the testing I did, I will mention some of my
work among hickories. I was fortunate enough to have a forest of
bitternut trees on my land. It is a well-known fact that, at least
temporarily, these bitternut hickories lend themselves well as grafting
stock for many superior varieties of hickories, hicans and pecans,
although the last species seldom is considered permanently compatible
with bitternut. The number of varieties I tested on bitternut stock is
roughly about 75. During the years since I started such grafting, most
of these have been lost by natural elimination, lack of hardiness or
incompatibility. Those varieties which on my place have proved hardy and
compatible with bitternut stock for at least ten years are: Bridgewater,
Cedar Rapids, DeVeaux, Glover, Kirtland, and Weschcke. Those which have
endured well on this stock for from 6 to 15 years are: Barnes, Davis,
Fox, Leonard, Milford, Netking, Platman, and Taylor. Among hybrids which
have stood for 10 years or more, there are: Beaver, Burlington, Laney,
Pleas, and Rockville. Of pecan, there are Hope and Norton. There are a
few other survivors of whose identity I am not certain, as they have not
yet fruited. This does not mean that all of those listed have borne, but
only that the identity of some of the survivors can not be established
without such verification.
Preeminent among the hickories which have produced nuts, stands the
Weschcke variety, which has borne the greatest quantity with the most
regularity. This variety, grafted on bitternut in 1932, produced one nut
that year. Its bearing record has been unbroken from then to 1946, when,
on May 11, the temperature dropped to 26 deg.F and on May 12, a similar, low
temperature was accompanied by four inches of snowfall. Pictures I have
on display verify these statements. The frost at that time destroyed the
whole crop in a nearby 30-acre orchard of apples, pears, plums, and
nuts. Although the first growth of Weschcke was totally destroyed along
with the crop, the second growth contained a fair distribution of
pistillate flowers which probably would have produced nuts, had they
been pollinated. The Weschcke produces no pollen, being one of those
curious freaks of nature which aborts its staminate flowers before they
reach maturity.
Other hickory hybrids and shagbarks which have borne satisfactory crops
on my farm, with fair regularity, are the Beaver, Fairbanks,
Bridgewater, Cedar Rapids, Kirtland, Siers and Laney, in the order of
their worth. The remaining varieties that I mentioned have not yet
fruited, although I hope they will do so.
The facts I have given are my reasons for recommending the Weschcke
hickory as a tree suitable for commercial use in the north. I realize,
of course, that farther south, where hardiness is not so essential a
quality, other trees may be just as satisfactory. I might also mention
that the size and cracking qualities of the Weschcke variety are also
commendable. The quality of the kernel, which is practically 50% of the
total weight of the nut, is praised by all who have tasted it.
It is with great regret that I admit that I have no black walnut
varieties which I can recommend for commercial use this far north.
However, I would place Ohio ahead of Thomas, because of its greater
hardiness. The ease of hulling, the size and appearance of Thomas, plus
its productivity, would certainly place it first were it not for the
frequent winter-killing it suffers, to which Ohio, of course, is not
completely invulnerable. Other varieties which have been fairly
satisfactory but which are not as well-known, include Patterson and
Rohwer. The fact remains, however, that not one black walnut I have
tested has produced a regular and satisfactory crop, although they have
been more productive than native butternuts. At present, I would rule
out both species as apparently having no commercial value in the
northern climate where my plantation lies, although they may be
satisfactory for home orchards.
Before leaving the hickories, I do want to mention that I feel there is
a good chance for growing pecans in this climate. I have seedling trees,
now more than 20 years old, which are in bearing but do not mature their
fruit. It is possible that some of these may become acclimated to an
extent that their cycle of dormancy will reduce itself, bringing their
period of flowering early enough in the spring to allow sufficient time
and heat units for maturing the nuts.
Early in my experimental work, I tested chestnuts and chinkapins but met
with poor results. Only in the last few years have experiments with them
been successful enough to warrant their being mentioned as commercial
possibilities in the north. At present, I have several Chinese and two
American varieties, as well as one chinkapin, which have proved hardy
and fruitful. Further testing is necessary before I can report anything
definite about them.
I have grafted on native plum stock most of the almonds which have been
considered hardy, including the hard-shelled varieties from Michigan and
the Northland from the Pacific Coast. Some have flowered but none have
set nuts. All proved too tender for our climate. I feel more hopeful for
success with some of the many seedling hybrid plums I am growing. A
number of these have edible kernels and the trees could be considered
for their fruit as well as for the kernels of their seeds.
Among other species of walnut I have tested is the heartnut, which is a
sport of the Japanese walnut. This is a worthy nut and has done well
when grafted on black walnut stock. Only two varieties have proved hardy
and only one of these, Gellatly, has produced good crops for a long
time. Were it not for the insect pests which attack it and, worse still,
the sapsucker, this tree might be considered for semi-commercial use in
the north. The sapsucker is a woodpecker. It chips out bark right down
to the wood, girdling large limbs and killing whole sections of a tree.
This results in an excessive amount of succulent, tender growth which is
subsequently winter-killed. Insects attack the new shoots, laying their
eggs in the bud and stem portions, causing immature growth which stunts
the tree and prevents its bearing. I have also found the heartnut
difficult to graft, even on black walnut, which is a favorable
combination.
I began testing Persian walnuts 30 years ago by grafting them on wild
butternut stock. Although many grafts were successful, not one even
lived through a winter. It was not until 1937, when I grafted hundreds
of trees with thousands of grafts of the many varieties of Crath
importations from the Carpathian Mountains, that I succeeded in getting
any to survive our winters. A few eventually bore nuts, but the severity
of our winters and the inroads of new insects during the war years
finally proved fatal to them. I made strenuous attempts to save the
varieties by regrafting, but I was wholly unsuccessful. Right now, I am
not at all hopeful that Persian walnuts of any kind can ever survive
very long this far north.
We now come to the last group of species mentioned at the beginning of
this report, namely, filberts and their hybrids. In my opinion, these
have potentialities of commercial value in the north. Even the frosts of
May 11th and 12th this year (1946) did not wipe out the crops which had
been set. With proper pollinization, I am certain that their production
will become as reliable as the corn crop in this part of the country. At
the banquet, I shall give each of you a sample of a new product made
from these nuts.
The combination of qualities of the cultivated filbert from Europe and
our wild Wisconsin filbert results in an extremely hardy plant, with
characteristics sometimes like the former, sometimes like the latter.
Many times, the hybrid combines the best of each. I am testing these for
field culture, to be cared for much as corn is. I expect to have three
experimental farms before very long, demonstrating the success of
commercial orchards of these hybrids which I call "hazilberts."
"Hazilberts" is a word I coined by borrowing from the names of its
parents. It has been readily accepted by the lay public and is easily
understood to refer to hybrids between hazels and filberts. Furthermore,
I was able to obtain a U. S. trademark on this for application to these
plants.
Hazilberts are all subject to the native hazel blight, ~Cryptosporella
anomala~, a fungus infection. They are also susceptible to another
blight similar to the bacteriosis of the Persian walnut. More serious
than these, though, is the damage caused by a curculio, which cuts down
heavily the production of nuts if measures are not taken to combat them.
Breeding has demonstrated that some hybrids are so resistant to the
inroads of this pest that they may almost be considered immune,
especially when they are interplanted with other hazilberts which do
attract curculios and so act as trap-plants. In this way, the insects
are encouraged to concentrate in one place where they may be poisoned,
thus protecting the main-crop plants. Since pollinators are required for
filberts anyhow, the pollinators may be the trap-plants. This is
actually the case in the initial plantings. Clean cultivation will also
do away with many of the curculios, since they depend on unbroken soil
in the fall for their metamorphosis.
The presence of blight makes it unwise to depend on a single-trunked
tree and I find that great productivity can be maintained when the plant
is allowed to grow in stools having from three to five trunks. The
management of such plants is like that of raspberry bushes, except that
instead of thousands of plants per acre to be cared for, with hazilberts
there are only 145, 15 x 20 feet apart.
Judging by the number of nuts on small plants, one may reasonably expect
crops to average one-half ton of nuts per acre. The hybrids I have grown
so far have been self-husking. The size of their nuts is good, some
measuring an inch in diameter. For commercial purposes, however, the
large size is not particularly desirable nor necessary.
In conclusion, I want to say that there is a very promising situation
developing for these nuts commercially. Not only are these hazel-filbert
hybrids easily planted, but they are easy to propagate, since they are
one of very few species of nut trees which are easily propagated by
layers and root sprouts. Out of more than 600 hazilberts which I planted
in the fall of 1945, only about a dozen were dead in June of 1946, which
gives you a practical idea of the ease and safety of transplanting them.