Young trees may bear a few nuts three or four years after being
transplanted, but it usually takes from 10 to 12 years for tops to
become large enough to produce profitable crops. While there are
occasional trees that become profitable at these ages, there are many
that do not. The only significant record of yields yet made public is
one reported by Hemming.[2] His statement shows that 18 seedling trees
planted in 1930 bore an average of 29.5 pound (green weight) during six
of the eight years from 1937 to 1944, inclusive, when crops were large
enough to be separately recorded for each tree. The range in total
production per tree for the six years was from 106 to 277 pounds. At an
arbitrary price of 25 cents a pound, the average gross return per tree
would have been $7.39 for each of the six crops. The 1944 crop was a
practical failure. That of 1946, amounted to about 1000 pounds, or an
average of about 55 pounds per tree.
[Footnote 2: E. Sam Hemming, Easton, Md., "Chinese Chestnuts in
Maryland," Ann. Rep't., Nor. Nut Growers Association, Incorporated, vol.
35, pp. 32-34. 1944.]