The Jones hybrid filberts stand from six to eight feet high, except

those planted recently. This year they have a fair crop. The catkins

came thru the winter in good shape for the most part. My two European

filberts, which have lost their identity, but are either Italian Red,

Cosford, or Medium Long, (one of the three perished) usually suffer the

loss of their catkins and occasionally lose a branch or two to

winter's icy fingers.

To me, the filberts are fascinating at all times of the year. When the

snow is deep and the cold bites deep, their tight little catkins always

hold forth the comfortable promise of spring. When spring does come the

thrill of the tiny red blossoms and lumbering catkins is as real and

enduring as the promise of a crop of the shiny nuts is fickle. Then, of

course, after the last tiny blossom has faded and the last catkin has

withered, the leaves push forth. To me, these tiny leaves are a sight

comparable to the opening and unfurling of the various varieties of the

grape. Then enters the element of suspense, between the time of leafing

out and the time when the little nut clusters appear.

My bushes are all growing together on a rise of ground near an old barn

foundation. The ground is rich and they love it. Each bush is individual

and distinctive as are their nuts--some tucked far in the husk, some

bulging out in a precarious fashion, some fat and round, others long and

narrow. They're interesting. I can let the butternuts, bitternuts and

hickories pass, the heartnuts, chestnuts, and pecans can wait until I am

sure they will bear here. The walnut will grow up along with the other

trees--blending into the landscape, but the filberts, like Zombie, call

attention to themselves every day of the year.

Somebody said recently that the emphasis in England is in being, and in

our country in becoming. I imagine our land stopped being with the

disappearance of the Indian and the primeval forest and is now in the

process of becoming something else. What that something else is we don't

know, and each generation carries a new set of values, but we all know

that to become something better, trees must and will figure in the plans

of all generations--better and more useful and more disease resistant

trees. It is significant that nut trees lead in these requirements.

Biology, Distribution and Control of the Walnut Husk Maggot

DR. F. L. GAMBRELL, _New York State Agricultural Experiment Station,

Geneva, N. Y._

DR. GAMBRELL: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, some 22 years ago, I

believe it was, I attended one of your meetings at the Experiment

Station in Geneva, and at that time I gave a little talk on the walnut

husk maggot. Perhaps some of you are old enough to have been there and

remembered something about it, or maybe you are old enough so that you

have forgotten as much as I have, so it would be worth talking over

again. At any rate, when the chairman of your program committee wrote

Dr. Chapman, asking him if he might talk, he came to me and said, "Would

you be willing to do this?" I said I'd be willing but I didn't know

whether I'd be able. But finally, the pressure was so great that I said

yes, and I am here.

After I accepted the invitation, I made up my mind that I would like to

bring myself up to date as much as possible on recent developments on

walnuts, so I took the liberty of writing to a lot of our entomological

colleagues and talking to one of your members, Mr. Slate, in the hope

that I might get some more recent information on the maggots, or,

particularly, the control of this walnut husk maggot. I wrote to some 10

or 15 entomologists in 15 states, as well as the United States

Department of Agriculture in Washington and to our neighbors on the

north in Ottawa. I must say that I have had a very fine response from

everybody. They were all very willing to help, but practically all of

them had the same answer: while they knew there was such a bug, they

didn't know too much about it as an economic pest. So that left us all

right in the same boat, with about two exceptions, as when we began. Our

friends to the north in Canada sent some very nice information. We also

had some information from the U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant

Quarantine, Washington, D. C., together with some illustrated material.

Also our good friend, Dr. Boyce, at the Citrus Experiment Station, in

Riverside, California, with whom I have discussed the walnut husk maggot

problem quite a few years ago, had a very nice bit of information and

illustrative material which he provided. Incidentally, he is the man who

has been mainly responsible for the development of the walnut husk fly

control program for the nut industry in California. I would certainly

like to take this opportunity to acknowledge any contributions he or the

other people have made towards this discussion.

In New York State we have in our official list of insects about 30

species of fruit flies that are catalogued, but only about five of these

can be classified as of economic importance. Two of these occur on the

cherries, both sweets and sours, and are called the cherry maggots.

Another one on apples, known as apple maggot, and a related form on

blueberry. And then, of course, the walnut husk maggot, and one other

which occasionally occurs on currants, but this one, of course, is of

less importance than the others.

The fruit industry, of course, in New York is quite large, both apples

and cherries, so that there is a considerable problem there as far as

control is concerned. The growers spend thousands of dollars every year

in combatting the various species of fruit flies. The interesting thing

in this connection is that throughout the last 25 years with which I am

familiar with the cherry fruit flies--in fact, that was one of the first

projects I worked on in cooperation with Dr. Hugh Glasgow when I came to

the Experiment Station in 1925--the control measures which we developed

in 1925 to 1927 are essentially the ones which we are still using today;

that is, for the most part. There have been various attempts to change

the control program through the introduction of these newer

insecticides, and some progress has been made, but in every case they

have been wrought with some difficulties. At the present time the

official state recommendations for the control of apple maggot and

cherry maggot still include the use of arsenate of lead under some

conditions. I mention that at this point because it is of some

significance in the overall control. I am going to discuss that later

on.

As far as the host plants and distribution of the walnut husk maggot is

concerned, according to the original description which was published

almost a hundred years ago, it was listed as occurring in and to the

Middle States. That is a little bit indefinite, but at least it occurs

all over the Eastern United States and as far west as Kansas. Then the

one which occurs in California, which has since been called _Rhagoletis

completus_ (?) looks very similar to the one that we have here, but

there are slight taxonomic differences, so at least it is considered a

different species. At any rate, it is very similar to the one we have

here, and this whole group of fruit flies that we have been talking

about have a lot of similarity in their wing patterns and things of that

sort.

And the fact that I mentioned the control as generally as I did is of

significance in that all of these flies of the various species are

apparently susceptible to the same type of control measure.

As far as the host plants are concerned, I have personally observed

injury on all of our common _Juglans_ species that I have run across in

New York State and in some of the states to the south of us, including

butternut, Japanese walnut, English walnut and black walnut. I have seen

reports of infestations which were recorded in hickory, but I personally

have not seen them.

I'd just like to have a show of hands. How many in the audience here

have had experience with the walnut husk maggot or had injury on the

fruit? (Showing of hands.) I see the majority of you certainly know what

it is, but just as a brief reminder, the type of injury, of course,

varies somewhat depending possibly on the variety and time of year at

which the fruits first become infested. We know, of course, that the

flies do not begin to puncture the husk until they attain a certain

degree of softness. Early in the season they are not able, apparently,

to penetrate the husk with the ovipositor, and that, of course, varies

not only with hardness but with varieties. The flies, of course, may be

seen on the fruit even though they are not able to penetrate the husk

and deposit their eggs. These husks, of course, many of them, become dry

and hard after they have been tunnelled out, and it is almost impossible

to clean the shells. Occasionally you have nuts in which you have a

separation of the suture, and in those cases you very frequently get the

exudate from the husk penetrating through the suture in the shell onto

the kernels themselves, and in those cases molds may grow on the kernels

so that those fruits are no good.

In connection with this injury I am going to show you some slides in a

few minutes, but the preceding speaker made reference to a type of

injury which occurred on the terminal growth of a walnut tree and that

is one that we have had a lot of inquiries at the Experiment Station

about, injury to the new terminal growth fairly early in the season.

That probably, in most cases, is caused by the butternut or the walnut

curculio. Early in the season these adults begin feeding on the new

terminal growth, and they even puncture the new growth and lay their

eggs there before the nuts are large enough for them to attack and very

often considerable killing back of the terminal growth occurs. I have

seen it on English walnut seedlings in nursery rows where there would be

very large kill-back from the walnut curculio. Superficially the injury

on the fruit is quite similar to that of the husk maggot.

(First slide.) This first slide is just to give you some idea of the

general areas of fruit growing and distribution in New York State. The

eastern section, right-hand side, Champlain Valley and Hudson Valley,

are primarily apple maggot regions. Some walnut husk fly probably occurs

there, but they are predominantly apple-growing areas. In the central

part of the state, northern, particularly, we have fruit, and as far as

I know, there are no plantings of walnuts there, though you people may

know of some. In The Ontario Plains section south of Lake Ontario is one

of our big fruit belts in the State. Some walnuts are also grown here.

Consequently this area has in it apple, walnut and cherry maggot flies,

and, of course, they will be lapping over in all those areas into

surrounding territories. But this gives you an idea, in a general way,

of the distribution of the host plants and the flies about which I have

been speaking.

(Next slide.) Those flies get pretty big when you get them up there.

They are not that easy to see in the field. The ones on the top are the

species found on cherries. The one on the lower left is the apple

maggot, the one on the lower right is walnut husk maggot. The only

difference you can see here is in the wing pattern but in nature they

differ in color. They all have a little different wing pattern. Also,

there is a little difference in size, the walnut husk maggot being the

biggest of the four species shown here.

(Next slide.) I have shown here the emergence date of the various

species, including the cherry fruit flies, the apple maggot and the

walnut husk fly. And you notice that beginning over about the first week

in June you have emergence of the cherry fruit flies, and you have a

continuance of emergence of some of these species up until at least the

first or second week in August. These points going up and down just show

the number of flies that were taken on given dates, and there is a very

definite correlation between the proportion of flies that emerge on any

given day with the temperature or moisture condition. Some years, when

you have very hot, dry weather, there is considerable mortality of these

flies as they just do not seem to be able to emerge from the soil, which

is a good thing.

(Next slide.) This photograph is one that I wasn't sure I was going to

get back in time for the meeting, but it is a Kodachrome of a pair of

flies mating on an English walnut. This happened to occur on some of our

own trees at the station, so that we are not immune from attack by this

bug.

(Next slide.) That is a close-up of an egg puncture, just a very tiny

little hole in the husk, and once in a while they lay an egg even on the

surface. Those eggs are quite small, about a millimeter in length and

about two-tenths of a millimeter in width, but the next slide will show

you that what they normally do is to put them inside that puncture in

groups. They vary quite a bit, but the average number of eggs is about

20 in each puncture. But that doesn't mean you won't have maybe four or

five different punctures on a given nut, so you may end up with at least

a hundred or more maggots in a shuck.

(Next slide.) And the next picture is a photograph of the same English

walnut taken about six or seven days later, showing the young maggots

that have just hatched out. What they will do, they will begin boring

in, and they will just radiate out in all directions into the shuck.

When they have gotten that far along, of course, there is no hope for

control.

(Next slide.) This slide is one taken when the maggots were almost

mature, showing the type of damage that you get.

(Next slide.) This is the resting stage, or the pupa, the one which

spends the winter in the soil and from which the flies emerge in New

York, at least in our section, beginning about July 15th and going

through up until August 15th.

(Next slide.) The one at the top is normal fruit. I mentioned a while

ago that this butternut curculio causes quite a bit of concern and also

spoke about its being in terminals. If you look carefully you see a very

definite hole here in the husk. That is where the adult punctured the

husk. It may have been a feeding puncture first and later an egg was

laid inside, and then you get the maggot or the grub of the curculio

developing in there, so that superficially that discoloration looks very

much like the walnut husk maggot. But in this case you may not find over

one or two maggots in a nut. And the other difference is that these

fruits which are attacked usually fall during July and August, whereas

the ones that have maggots in, many of them stick right on the trees and

don't come off at all.

(Next slide.) I have two or three slides just showing the variations in

the degree of injury on English walnuts from the point where you'd have

an egg puncture. The puncture was made on the other side of the nut, on

top here, and this is just the exudate running down around the nut which

dries and becomes black. But these walnuts up above show just a lot of

dark spots where the maggots are beginning to find their way through the

husk. I have with me some injured nuts similar to those shown on the

screen if you'd like to see them when I have finished my talk. They will

give you a little idea what maggot injury looks like.

(Next slide.) This is the same type of injury on butternut. Maybe you'd

have one egg puncture and as many as a hundred or 120 maggots inside the

shuck.

(Next slide.) This is a picture of maggot injury on black walnut. They

don't seem to like the black walnuts as well as they do the Persian

walnut and butternut.

(Next slide.) This is one of the hybrid English walnuts that is located

on the grounds at the Geneva Experiment Station. It's quite a large

tree. I don't know the name of it. Maybe you do, George.

MR. SLATE: It has no name.

DR. GAMBRELL: It's not very fruitful, anyway, is it? But it is also

susceptible to injury.

(Next slide.) This photograph was made quite a few years ago, and that

explains some of the lines around it, but at any rate, this pile of nuts

shows the damaged ones that came from one tree, and also the ones that

were not infested. In other words, about two-thirds of the nuts on that

particular tree had been infested with maggots.

(Next slide.) That's a close-up view and is the type of thing I was

trying to describe to you earlier where the shucks dry up and stick to

the nut so that you cannot remove them. Those on the left, of course,

would be absolutely no good for commercial purposes.

(Next slide.) Now, I suppose you are all interested in this matter of

control. Unfortunately, I must admit that I have not worked on the

walnut husk maggots very much in the last 15 or 20 years. You may recall

that we had a severe freeze back in 1933 or 1934, which took out quite a

lot of our Persian walnuts in Western New York, and only the hardier

trees remained. But prior to that time we had been getting numerous

complaints, from growers about injury from walnut husk maggots, and we

did some work at that time and also worked with the Farm Bureau people

in the counties where walnuts were grown fairly commonly. In many cases

these Persian walnuts were grown on fruit farms where they also have

apples and other fruits. So that in those cases it was not a difficult

problem to obtain control. We worked out a program whereby, say,

beginning about July the 20th to the 25th, at which time quite a few of

the flies would have emerged, if the orchardist, when he was going

through with his regular spray operation on his fruit trees, would give

his walnuts at least two applications at about two weeks intervals, he'd

cease to have a maggot problem. That pretty well solved it, as far as

they were concerned. But there were also these other plantings where

you'd have just a few trees, or possibly one tree in a back yard,

something of that sort, which is a little bit more difficult to control.

Dr. Glasgow and I found that on cherry maggot in the city, while a

material like lead arsenate is very effective in a commercial orchard,

it's very ineffective for just one little tree in your own back yard,

providing your neighbors have some trees and they don't spray them. The

reason is very obvious: the flies don't necessarily stay on the same

tree. They visit around from tree to tree, they feed on the surface of

the leaves or fruit. Therefore, it's possible for them to be over on

someone else's unsprayed tree and still come over and lay eggs in the

nuts of a sprayed walnut tree before being killed. So you can see that

such activity may create somewhat of a problem.

At any rate, the lead arsenate spray of three pounds to a hundred

gallons, with or without fungicides, has given good control in the past.

That No. 3 combination of lime sulphur and lead arsenate was used west

of Rochester here around Hilton where this grower had a commercial fruit

planting, but he also had a number of English walnuts. The year prior to

the time these trees were sprayed he had about 40 per cent of the nuts

infested, and the year these were sprayed the infestation dropped they

came down to about one percent. Notice the comment at the foot of the

table which states that the trees that were not treated the following

year went back up to 20 per cent of the nuts infested. There were about

20 per cent of the trees that had infestation. Of course, the flies

moved around enough that the trees became reinfested. It simply brings

out the point that unless you have a pretty good-sized planting, you are

going to have to spray pretty thoroughly in order to get control, and

also, if you only have one or two trees and you have a lot of

surrounding shrubbery and a lot of trees, it would be very wise to also

spray those, unless they are plums or peaches, which are quite

susceptible to arsenical injury. But most things would stand the

arsenate of lead, and it would be very desirable, wherever you can, to

spray surrounding trees and shrubs close to the walnuts themselves, and

in so doing you would get pretty effective control. It is quite possible

to use this control method and obtain over 80 per cent reduction in

infestation.

I am sorry to say I don't have any information on these newer materials,

like DDT, methoxychlor and parathion. You have probably read about all

of those in the magazines. Some of the men in our department have done

quite a bit of work with these insecticides on the apple maggot in the

Hudson Valley and in Western New York and they find, as I mentioned

earlier, while it's possible to obtain control of apple maggot, say,

with DDT, it requires much more frequent application. In that case, if

any of you are orchardists or follow the apple-growing insect problems

at all, the first application of the walnut maggot spray should go on at

about the time the last cover spray for the coddling moth goes on for

the first brood. That sounds a little involved, but from the calendar

point of view it would be about July 25th in Central or Western New

York. Normally, with us here the cherries are being harvested by about

July 15th, sometimes a little earlier, but at any rate, that's the time

the flies usually begin to emerge.

We have what we call a pre-oviposition period of about two weeks, during

which time the flies are not laying any eggs in the shucks and are

moving around feeding. Of course, that is the time you have to get this

spray material on, before they have punctured the nuts and deposited

eggs inside.

I think, unless there are questions, that's all I have to say.

A MEMBER: You recommend No. 3 to be used?

DR. GAMBRELL: Lead arsenate at 3 lbs./100 gallons and 2 gal. of lime

sulphur would be an effective insecticide-fungicide mixture. I have used

both the wettable sulphur and lime sulphur, as shown here, without any

injury to foliage. Sometimes, as you know, if it's real hot, like today,

sulphur could cause you a lot of foliage injury. Dr. MacDaniels will

certainly bear me out on that.

PRESIDENT BEST: Now I think Joe McDaniel has a little idea here he wants

to introduce at this time.

DR. MACDANIEL: I have been talking with Mr. Devitt. He is interested in

following up these Carpathian trees in Ontario and is willing to act as

our agent in securing seed nuts from some of the better selected trees.

As I understand it, this Association couldn't properly act as a sales

agency for them, but I believe there are some of the members who would

like to get these superior seed nuts of Ontario, and I would be willing

to take the names of persons who are interested in them, either for

their personal planting or for resale. Mr. Devitt thinks he can secure

the nuts at about 60 cents a pound from the owners who have these good

trees and deliver them to the United States at around a dollar a pound.

Anyone who is interested in that, see me or Spencer Chase during the

remainder of the meeting.

Panel Discussion: The Persian Walnut Situation

_Moderator_: S. B. CHASE; _Panel Members_: H. L. CRANE, GILBERT BECKER,

J. C. MCDANIEL, H. F. STOKE.

MR. CHASE: To introduce the subject, Lynn Tuttle sent a paper, and in

addition he sent a few slides. We won't give the paper, but we are going

to run through a few slides very hurriedly, because he took the trouble

to send them. I am going to read the captions off very quickly. (A

series of slides of Persian Walnut were shown).

The moderator isn't going to do anything other than ask for any

questions that you folks have on Carpathians at this time. I am going to

ask Dr. Crane to comment on this question: Are we going overboard

building up our varieties as we know them now? In other words, we have

selected four or five varieties that won a contest and our judges

selected them as best, and these are the only ones we are hearing about.

DR. CRANE: Mr. Moderator, I don't believe we are, provided that we

maintain high standards in the varieties distributed and tested. I feel

that when we select a variety we should select it because it is a good

nut, not that it's a world beater, for big size and thick, rough, rugged

shell that is not sealed, and which is of no value for human use or

consumption, excepting for firewood or fuel. Those big nuts won't fill.

The best nuts are of reasonably large size, well filled with a well

sealed shell and with a kernel that is sweet. Don't figure on selling

nuts that have bitter kernels to anybody else. We have nut varieties of

the Carpathians that are not going to go over because of the faults that

I have mentioned. I should say, too, that we do not know how widely a

variety is going to be adapted to different climates. If we select

rigidly for good, outstanding varieties that bear good nuts and good,

vigorous trees, we won't get too many.

MR. CHASE: That was one point I wanted brought out, that we are now just

in the preliminary stage of this Carpathian variety selection business.

Of the selections made some have been made by default, because there

weren't enough of other samples to compete with. On the other hand, the

several we have we all consider outstanding in some respect, or other,

and are of value as a beginning provided we bear in mind that we haven't

scratched the surface on Carpathian walnuts yet.

MR. STOKE: And let's not confine ourselves to Carpathian walnuts,

because Hanson is not Carpathian walnut, and that's an excellent nut.

MR. CHASE: Mr. Stoke, what is going to be NNGA's policy in trying to

give recommendations for the planting of Carpathian or Persian walnuts?

In other words, does it make any real difference whether it's a

Carpathian or whether it is not, as long as it has proved hardy and of

good quality?

MR. STOKE: We are dealing with Persian walnuts, and Carpathian happens

to be one class of Persian, and Broadview happens to be a Persian that

came from Russia, and Lancaster is one that came from somewhere in

Europe and landed up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I would emphasize the

name Persian as the over all name. The Carpathian is merely a Persian

walnut which has been brought from the Carpathian mountains of Poland.

MR. BECKER: Last summer a group of nut growers went to Lee Sommers',

which is in the central part of Michigan. In the invitation to our nut

growers I said, "This is the only pure Carpathian orchard we know in

Michigan." That didn't set well with some of them and they took issue

with me. In answering this issue, I said that Mr. Sommers had planted

Carpathian Persian walnut seed that came from Poland direct. Many of us

have a mixture. Even Mr. Shessler has the Hanson and Jacobs and a number

of others. If he sells you seed, you are going to get it mixed. In a few

years we will have a job keeping pure Carpathian.

DR. MACDANIELS: Isn't it a matter of straight terminology? _Juglans

Regia_ is the Persian walnut. Carpathians are a regional strain of

_Juglans Regia_.

MR. CHASE: I think we all understand that.

MR. MACHOVINA: Can we speak of a Carpathian strain. Crath himself said

there were many. He even found walnuts growing in clusters like grapes.

DR. MACDANIELS: It would be a regional group of clones with a certain

origin not a strain in the genetic sense.

MR. STOKE: They are just Persian walnuts that happened to come from the

Carpathian region.

DR. CRANE: There is a little difference. I believe that in the northern

countries we have had more or less inbreeding and we could consider them

more nearly a line, not a strain, because of that. When the original

seed was introduced by Reverend Crath, probably each one of those lots

of nuts come from different trees, as a line, but, now this second

generation stuff that's coming along, it's just _Juglans Regia_. It's a

hardy Persian walnut.

MR. STOKE: I think I can offer a word of explanation of those growing in

clusters. I have no doubt that when the barbarians swept over the wall

centuries ago they brought Asiatic walnuts with them from as far as

Manchuria. They grew in clusters there like butternuts and heartnuts. No

doubt some of them reached Europe, and some of them may have hybridized

with the Persian, and I think really that's the answer.

DR. MACDANIELS: The same situation existed with peaches 20 years ago. We

had five geographical races of peaches that were more or less distinct.

With the exception of one, the Peento, they have all lost their identity

now because there has been no attempt to keep them distinct.

DR. CRANE: That's right.

MR. CHASE: Then we end up, there is no such thing as a Carpathian, it's

just a name for a hardy walnut that came from a certain region, that

distinguishes it from others.

MR. KEPLINGER: In my parents' old home in Eastern Germany in the

Bohemian mountains there is an English walnut tree that's 300 years old

and bears a hundred bushels of walnuts a year. They stand 40 below zero

there, too, and the nut cracks and hulls well. It has a record on

standing the cold, but there hasn't been any of them brought out here

and planted in this country, but they are there. I know they are there,

because they are on our estate.

DR. CRANE: Mr. Moderator, there is one remark that I want to make. Here

we are, the Northern Nut Growers Association, and yet we still use the

term, "English walnut," when we are talking about Carpathian walnut and

Persian walnut. This "English walnut" is the worst form of terminology

that can be used. England doesn't have any walnuts; they have never

grown any Persian walnuts or English walnuts, they haven't in the past

and they aren't today. They have a few trees but are in the same fix

that we are in the Northern Nut Growers Association; they are trying to

find a variety of Persian walnut that they can grow in England, and yet

here we call them English walnuts. They should be Persian walnuts, or

Chinese walnuts. We don't know where they came from. The best

authorities seem to think that they originated in Persia; others think

they originated in China, but the abundance of evidence is on Persia.

We want to get this thing kind of straight. They are all the same thing,

_Juglans Regia_.

MR. CLARKE: I'd like to make a suggestion. I don't know as you have any

authority or power to change, but the term _Juglans Regia_ means "royal

walnut." Why not work for the adoption of a name like that, and it will

include all of them.

DR. MACDANIEL: That's what they call them in France. This country has a

little complication; there is another Royal walnut, one of the hybrids

between the California black and the Eastern black.

DR. GRAVATT:-While we are talking about bringing English walnuts,

Persian walnuts, whatever you want to call them, from Europe, I want to

give a warning about a disease that is killing thousands of trees in

Southern France. Just recently I saw quite a few of them in France and

the edge of Italy. I don't know whether it's virus or what it is, but

it is certainly killing out the English walnuts there at a very rapid

rate, and I advise very strongly against introducing walnut seed, scions

and such, from those areas in France and Switzerland or other areas in

southern Europe where this disease is prevalent. We will know more later

about it, because quite a team of pathologists is working on it in

Europe.

MR. CHASE: Has anybody else got any comments about _Juglans Regia_? I am

afraid to say anything else.

DR. MACDANIEL: I will say that this Carpathian strain, of _Juglans

Regia_ is the first walnut of the Persian type that we have had for

Illinois. The Pomeroy, other Eastern strains and California varieties

have not survived very long in the climate of the state of Illinois. We

do know now that some of the Carpathian seedlings have been fruiting for

10 or 12 years and do show considerable promise there. I don't know

whether it will ever develop into a commercial industry but they are

worth growing.

MR. CHASE: Thank you. I'd like to ask George Slate what he knows about

the Northern Star Persian walnut. Very hardy, and so forth? I think

maybe the members might be interested in that.

MR. SLATE: Spencer asked me to find out about the North Star _Juglans

Regia_, which was advertised in the Flower Grower. I called up the local

nursery that was selling them, and they said they got their seeds from

some Pomeroy trees in the western part of the state. I guess they are

just _Juglans Regia_.

MR. STOKE: Down in Virginia we have Virginia Thin Shell purchased

sometimes one place and sometimes another.

MR. CHASE: The secretary's office had an inquiry from the executive

secretary of the American Nurserymen's Association wanting to know if

those claims could be substantiated. I couldn't say on the basis of what

information I had, and I so told him. Apparently they, through their

organization, have stopped further advertising of that strain under the

claims that they made for it.

MR. KORN: We find our public at large, not only our members, seem to be

fascinated by the fact that the Persian walnut can be grown in this

latitude. So in speaking to them about it, when I am speaking to our

members, I try to say Persian walnut, but when speaking to the public at

large, they don't know what I am talking about so I come out flatly and

say English walnut. I tell them that we can't expect to grow the

California type, but we have a hardier type coming from the Carpathian

mountains or Germany or Russia or Holland, that can be grown

successfully in this part of the country.

MR. CHASE: I think that's the only approach you can use.

MR. KORN: That's the one I use, and I think it quickly helps people to

understand what you are talking about, and doesn't get them confused. If

you talked to them about Persian walnuts, they wouldn't know what you

were talking about, but if you say English walnuts, immediately they

understand, or should, at least.

MR. CHASE: I believe Dr. Crane meant that in our inner sanctum he would

prefer _Juglans Regia_.

DR. CRANE: I would like to ask if there are any growers here who have

propagated the Persian walnut on Eastern black walnut, that is,

experienced any trouble with graft union failure on them.

MR. STOKE: I haven't.

DR. MACDANIEL: Mr. Oakes?

MR. OAKES: I haven't.

MR. CHASE: No graft union failure on _Regia_ and _Nigra_.

MR. STOKE: And my experience is they come in much quicker than on their

own roots as seedlings.

DR. CRANE: How old are your oldest grafts?

MR. OAKES: Put on in 1938?

DR. CRANE: That's 15 years.

MR. STOKE: I have them at least 20 years.

MR. BECKER: Mine are twenty.

DR. MACDANIEL: Mr. Moderator, I have in my brief case a translation of

the French book on walnut culture, and there is a section on root

stocks. This was a publication issued about 1941, and according to that

book, _Juglans Nigra_ is the best stock they have for general use in

France. They have reported no difficulty on this. A second one they were

trying of the American walnuts, with some promise, was _Juglans major_,

the Arizona black walnut.

DR. CRANE: The reason why I asked, as I reported in previous

meetings--they are having very serious difficulty in Oregon and in parts

of Washington with graft union trouble which is known as "black line."

All or practically all of the walnuts in both Oregon and California and

also what few are grown in Washington have been propagated on the

Northern California black walnut, _Juglans Hindsii_. No graft union

trouble evidence shows up before the tree has been grafted about 8

years, and then such cases are very rare. But after the trees or the

grafts attain an age of 15 years or more, graft union failures are

numerous. For three years now we have been making surveys in the State

of Oregon, and we have surveyed tree by tree, year after year, the same

orchards, the same trees, and our observations now go into the

thousands, and we find that this black line is a terrifically serious

thing. In some orchards 22 per cent of the trees will develop black line

in one year's time. So, you see, at that rate it would only take you

five or six years with a good bearing orchard until you wouldn't have

any.

DR. MACDANIEL: Is that always with the Franquettes?

DR. CRANE: That is not only true with Franquettes but also with other

varieties in California, even in Contra Costa County.

MR. STOKE: Where those trees are so grafted, does it tend to overgrow,

or just the opposite?

DR. CRANE: No, it appears much like our _Crenata-mollissima_ chestnut

graft union failure.

MR. STOKE: Is there a tendency for the top to be more vigorous, to have

more growth, or vice versa or is growth uniform?

DR. CRANE: It may be uniform. Depends somewhat on the varieties and the

seedlings. There may be some overgrowth or some outgrowth, but there is

only one test for it, and that is at the graft union. With an axe or

knife and you cut out a strip of bark across the union. It may look

absolutely perfect, but if there is a black line developed there that is

just like a lead pencil line between the stock and the scion, the tree

is on the way out. It's just a matter of time. Ultimately the bark

between the stock and scion will split, and you get infolding, just like

on the chestnut.

One of the reasons that they have propagated their trees on Northern

California black walnut was that they had the idea that the Northern

California produced a stronger, more vigorous seedling and that they

grew much faster than seedlings of the Persian walnut. And, furthermore,

somebody at some time circulated the idea that Northern California

walnuts were immune to infection by the mushroom root rot fungus. We

have surveyed thousands of trees of Persian on Persian roots, and we

have never found a single case of black line developing or graft union

failure as long as it's a Persian on Persian, and we find the same

percentage of infection from mushroom root rot fungus on Persian as on

Northern California black.

MR. CHASE: In other words, we should watch our stocks and perhaps try

out some _Regia_ on _Regia_?

DR. CRANE: That's right.

MR. CHASE: Now, folks, we could talk for a long time, but let me make

one request before we close our panel: I would be interested in

receiving from any member pictures, good, glossy photographs of the

newer Carpathian varieties so that we can perhaps publish them in the

newsletter and give some folks an opportunity to see what these nuts

look like. Some of the folks who never come to a meeting never see a

sample and just read about it. It's much better if we can show them a

picture now and then. So if you have some good pictures, or plan to take

some good pictures, remember, I'd like to have a copy.

TUESDAY EVENING BANQUET SESSION

PRESIDENT BEST: We will now hear from the Resolutions Committee, Mr.

Davidson.

MR. DAVIDSON: Before reading any resolutions, I have been asked to read

a letter that came to Mr. Chase dated August 16th of this year, from Dr.

W. C. Deming:

"Mr. Spencer B. Chase, Secretary, NNGA.

"My Dear Child and Grandchildren:" What a beautiful greeting, that.

"This is to let you know that your father and grandfather still

holds a house at this hospital and rejoices in your vitality and in

your coming convention but especially in the energy and ability of

your secretary who gets out those wonderful Nutshell letters which

are so stimulating to all nut growers.

"More than 20 years ago I planted an Italian chestnut tree on the

grounds of this hospital. The main trunk was killed by blight, but

many shoots have come and now it appears to be flourishing because

there are no other chestnut trees near. About that time I grafted

nut trees commercially in Westchester County, New York at the

Westchester Country Club, asking and getting $50 a day for my

services and material and never a kick. But I have forgotten the

results and the name of the beneficiaries. From my home in

Litchfield, Connecticut, my sister, aged 85, saved for me--that is,

saved from the squirrels--a double handful of nice chestnuts--no

other chestnut tree nearby--and three green walnuts, Carpathians.

Both were from my grafts.

"I shall never forget the NNGA and your splendid services. Ever

faithfully devoted, Dr. W. C. Deming."

A beautiful letter.

Now, then, the Resolutions Committee recommends that we send this

letter;

"Dear Dr. Deming:

"Once more we are happy to greet you and to wish you well. Today

the representatives of more than a thousand members of your thought

child, the Northern Nut Growers Association, are here gathered in

Rochester, New York, to carry on the work in which you had so large

a part in starting. It must be a source of great satisfaction to

you to be able to see so important a project which you helped to

start continuing and expanding fruitfully. We envy you.

"May your tribe increase. Affectionately, the Northern Nut Growers

Association."

Now, shall I go on with the rest of the resolutions, and perhaps you can

act on them all at once.

"_Be it Resolved_: That we hereby acknowledge our longstanding

indebtedness to the men of the United States Department of

Agriculture and of similar departments of the various states who

have so faithfully and efficiently upheld the work of this

Association. Without their loyal help, doubtless our efforts would

languish or suffer severely. It is such a spirit as theirs that

continues to make America the great pioneer it has always been."

"_Be it Resolved_: That the members of this Association acknowledge

with deep appreciation the outstanding' hospitality of the City of

Rochester at the hands of its representative Park Commissioner

Wilbur Wright, Dr. Roy B. Anthony, Mr. Harkness, and their helpers

who have done so much to make the visit of this organization not

only welcome but extremely enjoyable and informative. We shall

always remember Rochester's exceptional hospitality and its

generously free provision of so beautiful a meeting place. This is

sincerely appreciated."

"_Be it Resolved_: That this Association extends to Mr. George

Salzer, Mr. Victor Brook its thanks for their work which has

resulted in so pleasant and profitable a meeting here in Rochester;

also to many others due our thanks, to Dr. McKay for organizing a

splendid program, to Mrs. Negus for organizing the registration, to

Mrs. Gibbs and finally to our outstandingly efficient officers who

have so skillfully organized our work and the Association's

expansion."

"In order to correct a tendency toward increasing confusion arising

from the too great multiplicity of names and nut varieties, the

Resolutions Committee offers the following motion: We move that the

President be authorized to appoint a self-perpetuating Northern Nut

Growers Association Committee on Variety Nomenclature, and we

recommend to our members that they refer to this committee for its

official approval any new nut discoveries they may wish to name

and to propagate." That is in the form of a motion, which, I

believe, requires a second and some action.

PRESIDENT BEST: I think we had better act first on this motion of Mr.

Davidson's about this committee for naming of nuts, and then we can have

another motion to accept the resolutions. Is there a second to that

motion that we have a committee on nomenclature of nuts?

DR. MACDANIEL: Mr. President, I second that motion.

PRESIDENT BEST: Is there any discussion?

DR. CRANE: I wanted to suggest that the motion should provide that the

committee use the rules of nomenclature approved by the American

Pomological Society.

DR. MACDANIEL: I will accept that amendment, Mr. President.

(A vote was taken on the amendment, and was passed.)

MR. MACHOVINA: Is that a proposal to amend the by-laws of this

organization? It would, if it's a self-perpetuating committee.

MR. DAVIDSON: May I suggest you withdraw the word "self-perpetuating."

The idea, Mr. Best, was to make this a permanent committee, if possible.

That was the reason for putting that word in there, but if it is an

abridgment of the constitution, we don't want to do it, of course.

MR. KINTZEL: I'd like to know what the rules of nomenclature of the

American Pomological Society are.

DR. MACDANIEL: The rules cover about two pages. I can give you the gist

of it, I think. One provision is that the discoverer or introducer of a

new variety has the privilege of selecting a name for it. Another rule

is that it shall not duplicate a name given previously for a variety of

the same class of fruit or nut. The name should preferably be one word

or, at most, two words, without hyphens, without possessives. That a nut

not be named for a person without his permission during his lifetime.

That covers the meat of it.

MR. CHASE: Such a committee would give official status and recognition

to your discovery. I believe it would prevent, on a large scale, such

things as this Morning Star hardy English walnut. In other words, we'd

have a committee to examine a nut sample from your tree, anybody's tree,

pass on it and see that the name that you select meets the requirements

of this American Pomological Society's rules of nomenclature, which are

quite reasonable. I think it is an excellent step that we should take at

this time.

MR. CALDWELL: Mr. President. The variety we are using is not a variety,

it's a clone. Maybe we had better get together with taxonomists and

botanists. That's all they are, selections, they are not varieties, in

the botanical sense, even though the term has been badly misused by the

nut growers. I don't see why we should continue with mis-application of

a term just because somebody set up rules for application of names.

DR. CRANE: Mr. President, I want to get this straight. This Association

is talking about horticultural varieties, not botanical varieties. A

correct term for a horticultural variety is a clone.

The American Pomological Society is over a hundred years old, and they

have followed all types of experiences and usages, and they are up to

date, and we can't follow any better pattern than what the American

Pomological Society has done all down through the years. The Northern

Nut Growers Association would be the laughing stock of the world who are

in the know if they don't adopt the rules of nomenclature as set forth

by the American Pomological Society.

MR. SLATE: Mr. President, we already have a committee on Varieties and

Standards. I don't see why that committee can't be revived. If we set up

another committee by resolution, we are duplicating the work of that

committee, or overlapping. I'd like to see this matter referred to the

Committee on Varieties or Judging Standards and possibly report another

year. I am not in favor of setting up this committee at the present

time.

I would like to amend that motion to refer this matter to the present

Committee on Varieties and Judging Standards.

DR. MCKAY: Second that amendment.

DR. MACDANIELS: There is one other angle to this. The International

Committee on Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants, has during the past year

published a report. I think it would be only wise for us to delay our

action on this matter until our committee at least gets the opportunity

to study the suitability of this international code for nomenclature of

cultivated plants and see how it applies to our situation. In other

words, I am complete in accord with Mr. Slate's motion.

MR. DAVIDSON: I would suggest that we refer it to that committee and

think about it for another year.

(A vote was taken on the amendment, and it was passed.)

PRESIDENT BEST: The motion of the Resolutions Committee is now referred

to the Committee on Varieties and Judging Standards.

MR. STOKE: I move we proceed with the adoption of the resolutions that

were presented before the motion.

(Motion seconded and passed.)

PRESIDENT BEST: We'd like to hear from the Nominating Committee.

MR. SLATE: For president the Nominating Committee proposed R. B. Best. I

think he is about one of the best presidents we have ever had. For

vice-president Gilbert Becker of Michigan. For treasurer W. S. Clarke of

Pennsylvania, and for secretary, our very efficient and very effective

Spencer Chase of Tennessee.

PRESIDENT BEST: Are there further nominations?

A MEMBER: I move nominations be closed.

A MEMBER: Second the motion. (Motion passed.)

DR. CRANE: Mr. President, I move that the Secretary of the Association

be instructed to cast a unanimous ballot for the nominations made by the

Nominating Committee. Seconded and passed.

PRESIDENT BEST: Is there any further business to come before the group?

Spencer Chase here has an item.

MR. CHASE: Now, for the feature of the evening, that honor which is

bestowed upon the most deserving member of the organization, I will call

on Mr. Wilkinson for the comments about the Big Nut. Mr. Wilkinson.

MR. WILKINSON: Four years ago at Beltsville, Maryland, Dr. Crane made a

suggestion that someone ought to be the King Nut of the Association. If

I remember, Mr. Stoke immediately took the floor and nominated Dr.

Crane, and he was unanimously elected the Big Nut. One year later he

bestowed that honor on Spencer B. Chase. The next year Mr. Chase passed

it on to Dr. Colby. One year ago Dr. Colby passed it on to me. Now it's

my duty to pass this on to someone else tonight.

Well, I didn't know just exactly how to do it, so I fell back on my

friend, Mrs. Negus for her suggestion. She suggested that the King Nut

should wear a crown, so I said, "Now, that's your suggestion; I will

leave it up to you." So here is the crown she made, with an ornament

from the Chief pecan, which in my opinion today is the king nut of the

Northern Nut Growers Association.

I don't know whose head she measured to make the crown, she didn't tell

me, but it looks to me like it would just about fit George Salzer.

(Applause.) George, it's a pleasure that I pass that on to you as I

received it, and I hope you will wear it for a year or longer (putting

crown on Mr. Salzer's head).

MR. SALZER: Well, they can't say I am big-headed. Why, honestly, folks,

my very good friends of the Association, honestly, I don't know what to

say. This is the greatest honor that I ever thought would come to me. I

always refer to myself as one of the buck privates in the rear rank, and

here I am the King Nut. I will assure you, every one of you that I

really appreciate this, I honestly do, right from the bottom of my

heart.

Ever since I have been a member of this organization and attended the

meetings, I have had the finest times, most pleasant associations and

the closest friends I ever had in my entire life right here among you

people. Thanks a million.

MR. CHASE: Now I think we are entitled to a few words from our new and

best president, Mr. Best.

PRESIDENT BEST: Ladies and gentlemen, it is quite a responsibility to

take this job on again. It's the first time that I have ever questioned

your judgment about anything, but I think there are other people here

that could have done the job better than I could.

When I was asked if I would accept if I were elected, I turned to my

wife, and I said, "Are you willing to do the work again for another

year?" and she said, "Yes, I suppose I'll have to." And I said, "Well,

then, I will accept." There is a lot more truth in that than there is

poetry. Honestly, we just don't give these officers that work for us

enough recognition. There is a whole page of them, as you know, about 11

committees, and all those folks have all done a fine job, at the expense

of their work at home. I am not talking about myself, because I don't do

any of it, I have it done, as I explained. But Carl Prell made a great

sacrifice when he handled the Northern Nut Growers business in a very,

very fine, thorough, business-like way.

I ought to give you a good example of what salesmanship really means and

how it operates. This morning Carl was going down to the museum in a

taxi. The taxi man professed an interest in nuts. Well, what did Carl

do? Did he say, "Well, that's all right, but I can't get into that?" No,

he said, "Man, you ought to belong to the Nut Growers Association. The

fact that you don't know anything about it, that's nothing. Come right

into the museum here, and I will show you the exhibits," and he took the

taxi man in, and I don't know whether he sold him a membership, but he

passed him on to the next man. He's got him going out to see

Irondequoit, and we, are going to get a sale there. That's the spirit

that it's going to take to get this job done.

I am reminded of a little story in Kipling. You know the story about the

sergeant in India. He was a sergeant in the cavalry. They had been out

in the hills, and the weather was hot, and they had an awful, awful

time. Well, when the men came in and lined up, this sergeant got off his

horse and he said, "Well, boys, I realize it's been hot, I know you

sweat. But," he said, "from here on in this campaign we are not going to

sweat, we are going to lather." That's what it's going to take to get

this 2,000 members that we have set for our goal. It's going to take a

lot of hard work, and our job is not to peer into the dim future, but to

attack those problems which are right with us every day and ask some of

our friends to join the Nut Growers Association. We are all widely

separated in different walks of life, and each in his own world is just

apt to see things a whole lot like the goldfish in a bowl. That is, he

will see it twisted and distorted. So when all is said and done, it's up

to us to support these committee heads and help get this job done.

A preacher had in his congregation an old lady who was ill. On one of

his visits to her she appeared to be growing weaker all the time, and

fearing the worst he said as he left her, "Well, sister, I suppose that

we will meet Up There." And she looked at him and she said,

"Well, Parson, it's up to you." So from here on out now it's up to you.

Thank you. (Applause.)

MR. CHASE: Now I think we ought to have just a brief word from Gilbert

Becker, our new vice-president. Mr. Becker.

MR. BECKER: This was really a great surprise to me. It is humbly I tell

you this, because I was on the Nominating Committee myself, and that is

a very embarrassing position to be in, to find that I, as a member of

Nominating Committee, appear as an officer. But it was a pleasant

surprise, and in doing vice-president work I shall try my best, and I

shall surely spend much time and much thought to it. Thank you.

(Applause.)

MR. CHASE: Now, Bill Clark, will you come up here for a few words? Bill

will succeed Carl Prell as Treasurer and handle your finances during the

coming year.

MR. CLARK: Friends, I thank you for this honor and that you should have

enough confidence in me to trust me with your funds for the coming year.

I will do the best I can, and thank you very much.

MR. CHASE: There will be a joint meeting of the new officers and old

officers immediately after we adjourn.

George Salzer says the last time we met in Rochester was 1922, and we

figure the next time we will be here is 1984.

(Whereupon, the meeting was adjourned.)

Walnuts in Lubec, Maine

RADCLIFFE B. PIKE, _University of New Hampshire, Durham, N. H._

In the 1930's, when the Wisconsin Horticultural Society distributed

seeds of the Carpathian Walnut from Poland, my brother secured some and

we planted them. From these nuts we now have four trees, one of which

has been bearing for the last four years.

Lubec, Maine is located at the extreme eastern tip of the United States

just a few miles south of the 45th parallel. The site where the trees

are planted is on a peninsula extending out into the Bay of Fundy which

gives very low summer temperatures and moderate winter temperatures. The

night temperature in the summer is usually in the 50 deg.s F. with day

temperatures rarely reaching 80 deg. F. Winter temperatures seldom go to

-10 deg. F. and only lower than this about once in ten years. During the

early summer, fogs are usually heavy and continuous. Day length is, of

course, longer in the summer than in most of the United States but it is

similar to that of the Northern tier of States from the Great Lakes

West.

The trees have grown well being about 18 feet tall and even more in

spread. They are multiple trunked having never been pruned. The foliage

is remarkably clean and glossy and has not been bothered by insects or

disease and it ripens and turns yellow in the late fall before killing

frosts at the end of October. Excessive late terminal growth is usually

winter-killed but this sort of growth has not been as great since

bearing started. The staminate flower buds are more likely to be winter

killed than the pistillate but the whole of them have never been

entirely killed.

The trees do not leaf out until mid-June, after the danger of killing

frosts is over. They have not been frost injured at any time in the

spring. The nuts ripen and are shed from the husks in late September and

early October while the tree is in full foliage. The nuts are shed

perfectly clean with husk either falling separately or remaining on the

tree. The nuts will germinate and seedlings have been raised. In 1953,

one tree bore 315 nuts. This number represents just a fraction of the

pistillate bloom, for while this tree is self fertile, the catkins bloom

for a much shorter period than the pistillate blossoms, the latter

extending over nearly a month.

In the same year that the above Carpathian variety of _Juglans regia_

was planted, my brother and I also planted some _Juglans mandshurica_

secured from F. L. Skinner of Dropmore, Manitoba which had originated in

Harbin, Manchuria. The resulting trees agree well with many of the

specimens in the Herbarium of the Arnold Arboretum at Boston labelled

_Juglans mandshurica_. These trees have done remarkably well in Lubec,

the trunks being 8-9 inches in diameter, while the height is 15 feet or

more and the spread 20 feet. They have borne annually since 1939. They

are planted less than 1000 feet from the ocean exposed to the summer

storms, winter gales and salt spray. These trees leaf-out a month

earlier than the Carpathians yet the foliage has only been partially

frost injured once. Wind whipping sometimes injures the leaves in early

summer while they are still tender but this sort of injury has never

been serious.

The nuts are borne in clusters of up to six and the shells are hard and

thick. The flavor of the kernels is excellent having more character than

the butternut yet not as strong as the black walnut. Cracking is easy

with the Hershey nut cracker. The kernels resemble our American

butternut in shape which may account for the fact that _J. mandshurica_

is sometimes called the Oriental butternut.

The nuts germinate well and make trees quickly. In one case, I had

mature nuts five years after planting the seed. This particular tree was

unusually vigorous having leaves 36 inches long and 23 inches wide.

In my experience, _J. regia_ and _J. mandshurica_ do not hybridize

easily if at all, at least with the individuals and under the conditions

with which I have been working. After several attempts I now have two

progenies of reciprocal crosses of which a few seedlings seem to show

hybridity in the vegetative parts. However, there is such a range of

characters in the herbarium specimens labelled _J. mandshurica_ that

there will be a doubt in my mind until I see the mature trees, or it may

be possible that some of the herbarium specimens may have been collected

from naturally occurring hybrids, as the two species overlap in their

distribution in Manchuria. If the best vegetative and fruiting

characters from these two species can be combined the result should be

good for our northern sections.

My Thirty Years Experience With Nut Trees

CARL WESCHCKE, _St. Paul, Minn._

From time to time I have submitted articles for our annual report, as

well as other publications, which had to do more or less specifically

with certain species of nut trees, but since there are so many species,

and since most nut growers are interested in at least two or more, it

might be well to bring the story up to date of how a nut orchard might

be viewed or evaluated after twenty years.

Thirty years ago we did not have knowledge which has been gained by the

experimenters in the nut growing industry in the interim. Therefore no

one could foresee what the future would be. We hopeful ones of that era

planted trees and experimented with seeds from all over the world

because we thought nut trees deserved a place not only in the orchard

but in the dietary needs of the human being as well. Many of the wisest

and most respected experimenters of this era have passed beyond this

life; however, their lives were made much more interesting because of

their horticultural activities.

Here in the midwest in the 45th parallel we have established probably

what would be considered the practical northern limits of nut tree

cultivation. When I purchased trees it was by the hundreds, and

sometimes thousands, because I knew from reading Luther Burbank's works

that this work had to be done on a rather large scale in order to make

any kind of an adequate test.

Let us start by taking the most obvious species, the black walnut,

which, because of its native hardiness, and public popularity might have

succeeded the best in a commercial way if everything had gone right. I

have planted at least five hundred black walnut trees altogether; these

included the Thomas, Ohio, Ten Eyck and Stabler, and later on the

Patterson, Rohwer, Pearl, the Throp, Adams and others were added. The

Ohio probably produced the first nuts, with the Thomas a close second.

For a few years I was able to make good reports on the Stabler and its

behavior but since that, our severe test winters of recent years have

wiped them out and have substantially proved that the only one of the

older varieties which can be trusted in this territory is the Ohio, and

although derogatory things have been said of the Ohio because of its

hull, I am inclined to put it high on the list because of its fine

cracking quality and excellent flavor, also it has been a prolific

variety, bearing good crops most of the years.

The Thomas grew faster, and the nuts were considered a better commercial

product when hulled, but, alas, it could not take our winters nearly so

well, and today the Thomas has a poor physical appearance although it

shows tremendous power of recovery and seldom a tree will die entirely.

The Ten Eyck was a negligible experiment, and the Stabler as mentioned

before, is much too tender for this climate. The Rohwer and the

Patterson from Iowa did much better and even in an off year, like this

one, some of these trees had fairly good crops. I like the Patterson the

best of these--it is a roundish nut that cracks quite well and the

kernels are on the sweet side.

The Throp was a curiosity and we did not have any of our grafted Throp

trees bear.

Pearl has borne several crops of good nuts; they are large but are

inclined not to ripen in time.

Vandersloot was considered the largest nut of any variety at one time.

It has a very rough appearance but aside from its size it is of no

particular interest as compared to others.

Adams, a long narrow type of nut similar to the Ohio, but still more

elongated, was one of the best crackers I have ever seen, but did not

seem to be prolific although it has lived and demonstrated its

hardiness.

I am patenting a new walnut at this time which I consider the best for

our locality. Some day it may produce well in orchard form if trees

become available. One thing is certain about it--it is very hardy and is

reasonably easy to propagate.

And so we can conclude the walnut chapter by saying that at least we

have some giants in the orchard to show for our trouble and expense,

which bear nice edible walnuts in favorable seasons. When comparing this

with the wild butternut crop from butternuts in the adjacent woods,

which has consistently failed each year for the last ten years, it is

quite encouraging.

It was my hard luck to have an uncongenial soil for my experiments in

chestnuts, and the knowledge of this came so late that I thought the

chestnut was not meant to succeed in our territory. So I put my efforts

on hickory nuts and filberts. Both of these succeeded to a degree and

with my present knowledge and experience on hickory nuts I would not be

a bit afraid to start an orchard on good deep clay or other

satisfactory soil which hickories like, using grafted trees of

Bridgewater and Weschcke.

A few Kirtland and Deveaux No. 2 would be planted for extra pollination

and the extra variety in nuts. There are of course many other varieties

of hickories that have succeeded in this territory but those above

mentioned, have possibilities of commercial success in orchard

formation.

The hickory is a difficult tree to transplant and I would advise that

grafted trees be dug with a ball of dirt for shipping, similar to an

evergreen, as I have found that, with the greatest of care and

experience, the hickory is very slow to re-establish itself unless

handled that way.

The hybrid hazels are perhaps the hardiest and certainly bear the

earliest of any of the nut trees. My own hybrids show great

possibilities for commercial enterprise, but as yet no nurserymen are

carrying these varieties and I have not found help enough to promote

them myself.

I am convinced that had I spent as much time with the chestnuts on

favorable soil as I did with hickories that they would probably head the

list of successful nut trees growing. Recently I have purchased an

adjoining piece of property which has the necessary well-drained, sandy

or gravelly soil, which chestnuts seem to like, and I have started my

chestnut orchard there along with a sprinkling of hickory and walnut

trees, merely as a matter of test.

This year the chestnuts are again putting on a fair crop for the number

and the size of the trees involved. As yet, in order to get a reasonable

number of nuts for planting, I have to cross-pollinize them by hand, and

I was surprised and pleased this year to find one Chinese chestnut tree

with staminate bloom, allowing me to make a cross pollinization with an

American sweet chestnut and a Chinquapin type chestnut, which grows to

be a tall tree. These crosses ought to insure trees with a great degree

of hardiness, and should the blight ever strike this territory in the

future they should be highly resistant as well. A few of my chestnut

trees produce nuts that may be the size of the best Chinese chestnuts,

but I am just as fond of the smaller and sweeter chestnuts of the

several Chinquapin type trees which seem to be consistent bearers and

certainly are prolific. There are three trees in a close group which are

strains of the European chestnut combined with American chestnut. These

bear rather large nuts and usually every year have a few and of high

quality. It is conceivable that by crossing this hybrid with Chinese

pollen that something unusual could be produced.

The pure Chinese strain has not proved hardy in this territory and I

have never matured a pure variety. However, there are dozens of

seedlings that are not old enough to prove whether there might be a

hardy specimen among them that may at some time in the future be relied

upon for this species of chestnut.

One other species of nut requires a little space here since it has shown

that it can bear crops and is hardy enough to be included among the

hardy nuts. It is the Gellatly heartnut. It is very subject to the

butternut curculio, but in spite of that it continues to grow quite well

when grafted on black walnut,--a difficult piece of propagation,

however. A tree in St. Paul, on the boulevard, thrives next to a large

butternut, and bears nuts practically every year which the squirrels

delight in cutting down while still green. This tree is not bothered by

the curculio since the curculio does not infest the large butternut near

it.

In summing up the whole situation, I would say that my experiments over

thirty years quite adequately prove that the walnuts, hickories, hybrid

hazels and chestnuts can most certainly be set out in orchard form and

in favorable locations. However, pecan, hiccan, English walnuts and

almonds have not proved hardy enough to indicate that they can be relied

upon for steady crops of nuts although in some instances varieties show

a great hardiness such as the Rockville hiccan. Of course the native

butternut is perfectly hardy and prolific but until such time as the

butternut curculio ceases to be a major pest we cannot expect to have

good crops of them.

Growing American Chestnuts and Their Hybrids Under Blight Conditions

ALFRED SZEGO, _Jackson Heights, N. Y._

An interesting group of young American chestnut trees growing on my land

near Pine Plains, N. Y. has been under observation since 1946. As they

are growing closely together which suggests a common parental origin, we

have named this group the "Dutchess Clone" for reference purposes. This

name was chosen merely because Pine Plains is situated in Dutchess

County.

Their reaction to the deadly chestnut blight was studied at great length

and at different seasons. Sometimes branches were inoculated with the

fungus to test resistance more precisely. It was learned that blight

resistance, in this group of trees, was at an apparently low ebb from

March until May. After this period the fungus seemed to make almost no

progress at all. This might suggest that the resistant substance was

manufactured by the leaves. Of course, such conclusions cannot be

accepted in a scientific sense without an involved system of checks and

measurements.

Pollination problems are exactly the same as with our Chinese Chestnuts

that we are more familiar with today. Unlike the latter, in the

American, species the bloom is concentrated near the top of the tree.

The burs are so high up as to create difficulties if we intend to

anticipate nature and harvest our crop prematurely. The burs open during

the month of October with or without frost. High temperatures in 1953

did not interfere with the harvest. The best method of harvesting is to

use a long slender pole with a metal hook at the extreme end, and by

gently pulling and twisting, remove the burs from the tree.

Unless this is done promptly before the nuts fall, the rodents will get

almost every nut.

Tree growth is about 2 to 3 feet per year in height. At present some are

nearly 40 feet tall. Bearing starts at about 12 years of age. The nuts,

three in a bur are somewhat wedge shaped and average 5/8 of an inch in

diameter. One tree has nuts almost an inch in diameter. This is

definitely worth propagating and I will gladly furnish scions in the

spring free to anyone who is interested. These are probably

incompatible with Chinese understocks, but may be grafted on European

and some Japanese seedlings.

As we are listed as cooperators with the U.S.D.A., Division of Forest

Pathology, Beltsville, Md., we prepare semi-annual reports for Dr.

Frederick H. Berry and also send a portion of our American chestnut seed

to him. In this way we insure the continuation of the "Dutchess" clone

after our lifetimes.

The American chestnut is not as sweet as Chinese chestnut but is much

finer in texture and richer in subtle pleasing flavor. We would say that

the quality is higher. _Castanea dentata_ has the most uniformly

delicious nuts. It is excelled, however, by many individuals of _C.

pumila_. In our opinion these possess the highest quality nuts in the

entire genus.

Our American chestnuts hybrids, especially those with _C. Sequinii_, are

very interesting. The latter make a dwarf tree that bears incredible

amounts of small chestnuts. They have pollination problems to be solved

and the nuts are seldom filled. Pollen sterility is a common feature

with them. They are also everbearing.

Some Northern strains of Chinese chestnut seem barely hardy but promise

to survive. Of the grafted varieties we have, Abundance is the most

vigorous. "Nanking" has winter-killed here and it has been replanted

this year. These are very blight resistant, and rarely lose a branch to

this disease after winter injury. The Japanese behave in much the same

way.

We have many obscure chestnut species and hybrids growing here. They are

grown for study, hybridizing purposes, and as a source of supply to

interested members. When mature, we hope to obtain some cash crops from

our Chinese and Japanese Chestnut trees. Blight in Europe will no doubt,

in about 5 years more, reduce imports of chestnuts thus creating higher

prices and a more favorable market.

Chinese chestnuts do not keep well when stored using standard commercial

practices. European chestnuts are shipped in barrels and kept in open

fruit boxes for weeks at a time in front of fruit and vegetable stores

in New York City. Storekeepers never moisten these believing that rot

would result. These are viable even in January and sometimes as late as

March. Will our present Chinese chestnuts keep as well under these

conditions? We think not. American Chestnuts can be kept in bulk only.

We are continually striving to obtain by selection and subsequent

hybridization, the best chestnuts that can be grown in our severe

climate. The Chinese chestnut has performed miracles in the Southeast,

but we regret that it is not the answer to our problems. Only a long

period of seed selection will turn up better trees of this species.

Prolonged heat and drought caused us much concern this year. Some one

year old seedlings died outright but older trees only suffered varying

degrees of defoliation. In some areas, the subsoil was reported powder

dry to a depth of six feet. Even the native forest trees dropped much

foliage and went into premature dormancy. Oddly enough, the American and

Japanese chestnuts suffered much less defoliation than the common

Allegheny chinkapin, _C. pumila_. _C. henryi_, a rare species, a native

of China, and the several chinkapins native to the Gulf Coast seemed

inherently adjusted to drought and heat, and thrived without apparent

damage. The Ozark tree chinkapins did well also.

Hybrid hazels and choice native seedlings have been set out here in the

last few years. We are adding a few every year and planting them between

chestnuts to prevent the latter from forming extensive root grafts. This

is done in anticipation of oak wilt, which has not yet made its

appearance here.

Experiences and Observations on Nut Growing in Central Texas

KAUFMAN FLORIDA, _Rotan, Texas_

In view of my membership in the Association for some twelve or fourteen

years it would be quite reasonable to expect of me more observations in

connection with nut growing in my area than I'm able to make. Though

I've followed the proceedings of NNGA with great interest, the

difficulty of earning a living (from farming) and putting a little

something aside has caused me to neglect and put off from year to year

the planting of the kind of experimental orchard I've long hoped for. I

have lately acquired a reasonably well situated plot of land and,

barring a continuation of the drouth of the past two or three years,

plan to put out a few young trees next year.

My original interest in nut trees sprang from the hope that a tree

combining beauty, utility and long-life might be found to replace the

Chinese elm--a "weed tree" if there ever was one. In spite of many

shortcomings the Chinese elm (along with two or three other equally

undesirable trees) is to be found in most homestead plantings in my

area.

Here, in my locality of north-west central Texas, the total rainfall

ranges from a low of about twelve inches in some years to a high of

about forty-two inches in others, and the annual average is about

twenty-one inches. Our principal limiting conditions in nut tree growing

is want of sufficient rainfall, though late spring frosts following a

period of balmy weather would be a hazard in some instances. It appears

to me that if a nut tree planting in this part of the country is to

live, every drop of water that falls must be conserved; if it is to

thrive, additional water falling on adjacent uplands and carried down in

flash floods must be diverted to it. Terraces and retainer dams are

usually essential. Cultivation and weed control are necessary. The

addition of a mulch helps.

I have tried the Chinese chestnut here. The plants arrived in good

condition and had excellent care with what I believe was adequate water

and fertile soil. They put out in April and grew off most encouragingly

until about July, and then, in an interval of about a week, every tree

withered and died as though from heat and drouth. But until other

evidence to the contrary comes in, I shall strongly suspect that the

real trouble was that the Chinese chestnut demands an acid soil and is

highly allergic to even a slight alkalinity. My impression is that the

soil here has a reading of about pH 7-7-1/2.

Experience and observation here on the western fringe of the native

pecan belt lead me to believe the pecan, black and Persian walnuts do

well when they can be irrigated, or when they are planted on a site

where a first class water conservation system can be devised and

properly constructed.

The black walnut has not been damaged by any insect, disease or mineral

deficiency of the soil that I know of. A very limited and inconclusive

experience with Clark, Thomas, Myers, Mintle, Sifford, Snyder and

Sparrow varieties led to the suggestion that the Thomas might be a

slightly more thrifty tree.

The pecan (both nut and tree) seems more subject to insect damage than

the walnut. It is also sensitive to a zinc deficiency in some soils. But

a proper mineral and insecticide spray usually serves to control these

problems when they occur.

I have observed only one named variety of Persian walnut--a Mayette. The

tree was a vigorous grower and precocious in putting on nutlets, but to

my knowledge never bore staminate blooms and over a period of several

years matured only one nut. No other Persian walnuts grew in the

locality and I assumed the matured nut must have been pollinized by a

black walnut. The tree never seemed damaged by late spring frosts or

other cause.

A few members of NNGA have manifested an interest in the honey locust

and the Chinese jujube. Both of these trees grow well in this region

with a minimum of care. The Oriental persimmon, like the nut trees,

requires more than casual attention and ordinary growing conditions.

The Chinese jujube, a little known but hardy and attractive tree may

deserve more attention in the southwest. I have trees of the Li and Lang

varieties which bear annually and have never been bothered by insects or

disease. I am not overly enthusiastic about the fruit but understand it

"compares favorably with the fig and date in food value. Dried jujubes

carry more protein than dried figs or dates and more (50%) sugar than

figs."--T.A.E.S. Bulletin no. 41. But the jujube has the disagreeable

habit of sending up root sprouts which are a nuisance to destroy and,

because the tree is grafted, the sprouts are worthless seedlings. It has

occurred to me that this bad feature of the jujube might be partly

offset if cuttings of the improved varieties could be made to grow by

means of some of the root inducing chemicals.

Propagation of the Hickories[1]

F. L. O'ROURKE, _Department of Horticulture, Michigan State College_

The genus _Carya_ comprises all the hickories and pecans found in the

United States. The eighth edition of Gray's Manual of Botany lists the

following species as being native to the United States:

[1] The survey of literature pertaining to this review was completed in

August, 1952.

_Carya aquatica_--Water hickory, Bitter Pecan

_Carya cordiformis_--Bitternut, Swamp Hickory

_Carya glabra_--Pignut

_Carya illinoensis_--Pecan

_Carya laciniosa_--Shellbark, Kingnut

_Carya ovalis_--Sweet Pignut, False Shagbark, Red Hickory

_Carya ovata_--Shagbark

_Carya pallida_--Pale Hickory

_Carya texana_--Black Hickory

_Carya tormentosa_ (C. alba)--Mockernut

Nut growers are interested primarily in the pecan and the shagbark,

although a few selections have been made of the shellbark species. The

bitternut is quite often used for rootstocks for the shagbark and

shagbark hybrids.

Hickories, like other nut and tree species, do not come true from seed,

so superior selected clones are propagated by budding and grafting on

other trees known as rootstocks. These rootstocks are produced from

seed.

Seed Propagation

Investigations by Barton(1) showed that some seedlings were produced

when the nuts were planted immediately in a warm greenhouse without

pretreatment, but that germination was markedly increased when the nuts

were held in a cool moist environment from one to four months before

bringing into the greenhouse. She also found that fall planting of

hickory nuts resulted in a good stand of seedlings the following spring

if the soil was mulched, but that the freezing and thawing of

unprotected ground resulted in an exceedingly poor stand of seedlings.

Burkett(6) advocated stratifying pecan seed over winter in moist sand

and planting in moist soil in the very early spring. He observed that

thin-shelled nuts germinate more quickly than thick-shelled ones, and

warned against "damping-off" fungi which often killed young seedlings.

Brison(5) stated that some nurserymen prefer seed of certain pecan

varieties as Riverside and Burkett for rootstock purposes as these

produce strong vigorous seedlings. He reported that while the pecan seed

does not have a rest period, germination is increased by stratifying in

moist sand for 2 to 3 weeks or soaking in water, changed daily, for 4 to

5 days previous to planting.

Propagation by Layering

No records are available in regard to any hickory species or variety

other than pecan having been propagated by any method of either soil or

air layering. The writer(14) while experimenting with aerial layering in

1945 found one instance of root production on a hickory where the branch

was girdled at the base of the one-year wood. This method offers

possibilities, especially now that polythene plastic is available for

retaining moisture in the moss about the girdle or wound on the layered

branch.

Gossard(9) reported success in producing roots from the tops of small

grafted and budded pecan trees by trench layering and from older trees

by aerial layering with marcot boxes. He indicated that a favorable

combination of etiolation, moisture, rooting medium, and a root-inducing

chemical was desirable for successful rooting.

Propagation by Cuttings

Hardwood cuttings of pecan were rooted by Stoutemyer and O'Rourke(23) in

1938 by first callusing the bases of the cuttings in warm moist peat

moss, and then treating with an aqueous solution of indole butyric acid

before planting. Both roots and shoots grew well for three to four weeks

and then the shoots wilted and died. It was observed that the roots were

thickened and presented an abnormal appearance. Trials during succeeding

years gave no better results and the experiments were discontinued.

Cuttings taken from native hickories during these same years failed to

produce roots.

Romberg(17) reported a small measure of success in rooting hardwood

stem cuttings to which young seedlings had been grafted by the inarch

method. The influence of the seedling on the nourishment of the cutting

was gradually diminished by girdling caused by a copper wire which was

tied about the seedling stem.

Apparently root cuttings of pecans and other hickories have never been

tried. In 1896 Corsa(7) observed that "when the lateral roots of the

pecan are broken by the plow, the ends of these roots frequently send up

thrifty shoots." Such a response would indicate that adventitious shoots

may arise from roots and that root cuttings may be successful.

Propagation by Grafting

A search of the literature failed to reveal a discussion of any method

of bench grafting with hickories, although presumably it must have been

tried. Propagators may have been discouraged in using bench graft

methods by the sparse roots usually found on two-year seedlings. It is

suggested that undercutting and root pruning the seedlings several times

while in the nursery row should produce a more adequate root system

which would transplant well after grafting. Brison(5) remarked that

bench grafting is not used in the propagation of pecans in Texas on

account of transplanting difficulties.

Commercial nurserymen now prefer to bud hickories and pecans rather than

to graft, but formerly Reed(15) reported the whip-and-tongue method was

used on thrifty one-year seedlings in the nursery row. It is conceivable

that the cleft graft could be used at this stage when the diameter of

stock and scion are quite similar but no record of its use is available.

Top-working or grafting in the branches is commonly practiced on

seedling trees and sometimes used to change varieties in the orchard.

Reed(15), Sitton(19), Rosborough et al(18), MacDaniels(11), and

Stoke(22) have described various methods that have proven successful.

Practically all agree that the bark graft or a modification thereof is

best. Morris(12), Benton(3), MacDaniels(11), Wilkinson(25), and others

have shown that a greater per cent of survival is secured when the

stocks are cut 10 days to 2 weeks before grafting. During this time the

stubs heal somewhat and excess bleeding is decreased. It has been

reported by Becker(2) that the success of walnut grafting is greater

when the grafts are set just after the leaves are full grown but no such

data is available for hickories. The use of paper bags or other shading

device over the scion is advocated by Morris(13), MacDaniels(11),

Shelton(20) and others.

Propagation by Budding

Patch budding is now almost universally used by commercial nurserymen in

the propagation of hickories and pecans. Patches are usually cut with a

double-bladed knife although some use the rectangular Jones

patch-budding tool. The "plate" or "skin" bud is also used to some

extent. The thick bark of hickories and pecans discourages the use of

the shield or "T" bud.

Budding is usually done in late summer with mature buds of the season

growth which remain dormant until the following spring. Occasionally

dormant budwood taken in winter is held in cold storage until the bark

of the stock slips in the spring. These spring-set buds are forced the

same season by cutting the stocks back shortly after setting.

Patch-budding is described by Reed(15) and by Rosborough et al(18).

Reed(15) mentioned that it may be advisable to make the cuts in the

stock from one to three weeks before the bark is removed so that the

healing process may be under way at the time the bud patch is inserted.

Storage and Handling of Scions and Budwood.

Shelton(20) reported an easy and unique method of keeping scions moist

by storing in a closed container with a small amount of sodium sulphate

(Glauber's salt). Slightly moist peat moss is an excellent packing

material. Brison(4) reported that a temperature of 32 deg. F to 38 deg. F in

storage is satisfactory for keeping the buds dormant, and that a few

days from 80 deg. F to 85 deg. F will stimulate cambial activity so that the

patches will "slip" easily when cut. Scionwood is sometimes dipped in

wax, paraffin, or plastic resin before storing in order to prevent loss

of moisture and guard against pathogenic organisms.

Waxes and Wound Dressings

Sitton(19) used a large number of variously formulated waxes on pecan

and found that the most successful from the standpoint of graft survival

was one composed of 10 parts rosin, 2 parts beeswax, and 1 part filler

such as kieselguhr, talc, or aluminum powder. Under Louisiana conditions

a light-colored wax was preferable to dark colored one. Asphalt

emulsions were not satisfactory.

Rootstocks and Interstocks for Hickories

Reed(16) summarized the rootstock studies at Beltsville, Maryland, by

stating that pecans were best on pecan seedlings and that shagbarks were

successful on either shagbark or pecan rootstocks. He reported a lack of

congeniality between shagbark and bitternut hickory. Smith(21), however,

found that pecan stocks were unsuccessful for shagbarks as few scions

lived and growth of those which survived was poor. He also reported that

bitternut was practically as good as shagbark for shagbark varieties.

He stated that pignut was absolutely useless as a stock for shagbark.

Weschcke(24) reported that shagbark varieties grew well on bitternut but

also indicated that a slow growing variety would be stimulated in growth

by working on pecan stocks which are more vigorous in growth than the

other hickories. Dunstan(8) reported that pecan provides a perfectly

satisfactory rootstock for shagbark, shagbark hybrid, and hican

varieties. A number of varieties have been tested over a period of

several years with favorable results as shown by lasting unions and

better than average yields.

The Fairbanks hybrid has often been used as an intermediate stock

between bitternut and some shagbark varieties and Last(10) has stated

that the variety Rockville is useful for interstock purposes on account

of its exceptional vigor.

Nursery Problems

Hickories and pecans have long tap-roots with few branches and hence do

not transplant well. Some few have grown the seedlings for one year in

beds underlain with wire screen netting or have undercut the seedlings

to promote branching of the roots. The stocks must grow two years from

seed to attain a diameter permitting of patch budding and must remain

one or two years more to allow the scion to form a tree. The resulting

plant is large in both root and stem and requires careful handling in

digging, shipping, and planting in the permanent location. The

vicissitudes which befall the production of the northern hickories are

often so great as to discourage nurserymen who otherwise would grow

them. This is an unfortunate fact but a real one, as the would-be

purchaser often learns when he attempts to buy named varieties of

hickories. The situation with the pecan is much better, due perhaps to

the greater demand for such trees but also to the greater ease of

propagation in general nursery practice.

Conclusions

Good varieties of hickories bear good nuts and more people should plant

good trees which should be produced by nurseries with well-branched

fibrous root systems so that they will transplant easily. Research is

needed to determine practical methods of propagation which will permit

of inexpensive quantity production of superior named varieties of

shagbark and shagbark hybrid hickories.

Literature Cited

1. Barton, Lela V. Seedling production in _Carya ovata_, _Juglans

cinerea_, and _Juglans nigra_. Cont. Boyce Thompson Institute 8:1-5.

1936.

2. Becker, Gilbert. Notes from Southwestern Michigan. Rpt. North.

Nut Grow. Assoc. 28:135-136. 1937.

3. Benton, Wm. A. Report on propagation of nut trees. Rpt. North.

Nut Grow. Assoc. 29:90-92. 1938.

4. Brison, Fred R. The storage and seasoning of pecan budwood. Texas

Agric. Expt. Sta. Bul. 478. 1933.

5. ----. Personal correspondence. 1952.

6. Burkett, J. H. The pecan in Texas. Texas Dept. of Agric. Bul.

111. 1932.

7. Corsa, W. P. Nut culture in the United States. U. S. Dept. Agric.

Div. of Pomology. 1896.

8. Dunstan, R. T. Personal correspondence. 1952.

9. Gossard, A. C. Rooting pecan stem tissue by layering. Proc. Amer.

Soc. Hort. Sci. 38:213-214. 1941.

10. Last, Herman. Personal correspondence. 1952.

11. MacDaniels, L. H. Some experiences in nut tree grafting at

Ithaca, N. Y. Rpt. North. Nut Grow. Assoc. 28:52-55. 1937.

12. Morris, R. T. Top working hickories. Rpt. North. Nut Grow.

Assoc. 11:105. 1920.

13. ---- Nut growing. 1931. Macmillan, New York.

14. O'Rourke, F. L. Unpublished data. 1945.

15. Reed, C. A. Nut-tree propagation. U. S. Dept. Agric. For. Bul.

1501. 1926.

16. ----. Hickory species and stock studies at the Plant Industry

Station, Beltsville, Md. Rpt. North. Nut Grow. Assoc. 35:88-121.

1944.

17. Romberg, L. D. Use of nurse seedlings in propagating the pecan

from stem cuttings. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 40:298-300. 1942.

18. Rosborough, J. F., F. R. Brison, C. L. Smith, and L. D. Romberg.

Propagation of pecans by budding and grafting. Texas Ext. Ser. Bul.

B-166. 1949.

19. Sitton, B. G. Pecan grafting methods and waxes. U. S. Dept.

Agric. Circ. 545. 1940.

20. Shelton, E. M. Glauber's salt for humidity control in scion

storage. Rpt. North. Nut Grow. Assoc. 28:70. 1937.

21. Smith, Gilbert L. Our experience with root stocks. Rpt. North.

Nut Grow. Assoc. 40:62-64. 1949.

22. Stoke, H. F. Grafting methods adapted to nut trees. Rpt. North.

Nut Grow. Assoc. 37:99-102. 1946.

23. Stoutemyer, V. T. and F. L. O'Rourke. Unpublished data.

1938-1940.

24. Weschcke, Carl. The importance of stock and

scion relationship in hickory and walnut. Rpt. North. Nut Grow.

Assoc. 39:190-195. 1948.

25. Wilkinson, J. Ford. Preparation of stocks for propagation. Rpt.

North. Nut Grow. Assoc. 28:65-66. 1937.

A Root Disease of Persian Walnut

G. FLIPPO GRAVATT, _U. S. Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md._

On three recent trips to southern Europe I noted large numbers of dying

Persian (English) walnuts, _Juglans regia_, in France and Switzerland

and scattered trees in other countries. Dying of Persian walnuts from a

root disease of undetermined cause has been reported from various

European countries for many years. The extensive dying of mature Persian

walnut in a number of areas in southern France is very serious. Farmers

and orchardists are discouraged from planting the Persian walnut even

though it is a very profitable tree when not attacked by the root

disease. In area after area I noted that the farmers had scattered their

Persian walnut trees, separating them as much as possible or planting

them along the boundary of fields instead of in orchard plantings. They

had found too frequently that solid plantings of walnut die from the

root disease. The total number of Persian walnuts in southern France has

decreased alarmingly in the last sixty years. In Tessin Province in

Switzerland many unhealthy Persian walnuts were noted this past summer

showing the same symptoms as in southern France.

Studies By French and Italian pathologists have indicated that the

fungus _Phytophthora cinnamomi_ is the most likely cause of this dying

of walnuts. I was informed that it is worse on soils inclined to be wet

or poorly drained at certain times of the year, conditions favorable for

attack of many hosts of this Phytophthora. The work reported by B. S.

Crandall and me in Phytopathology, March 1945, showed there was a rather

direct relation between soil conditions and _Phytophthora cinnamomi_

damage to black and Persian walnut seedlings. Long periods of heavy

rainfall were very favorable for an epidemic outbreak of this fungus on

walnut and other nursery stock. Another species of _Phytophthora_, _P.

cactorum_, has also attacked black walnuts in nurseries in eastern

United States; this fungus has also been reported on Persian walnuts.

We are interested in receiving reports of the dying of Persian or black

walnuts in orchards or rows of trees in the Eastern half of the United

States. Persian walnuts suffer from winter injury in many areas and

sometimes this injury is confused with the root disease. However, where

there are indications of continuing dying of walnuts year after year

with a progression from one part to another of the planting, we would

like to receive a report.

Some root diseases are difficult to diagnose, especially when the small

roots are the parts affected.

The symptoms of the root disease of the Persian walnut in Europe are in

many ways very similar to those of the Phytophthora root disease of

chestnut and chinkapin in this country as described in the report by

Gravatt and Crandall in the Northern Nut Growers Association Proceedings

for 1944. In some cases Persian walnuts die slowly and in others death

is rapid, with the entire tree browning in summer. Some trees will show

less green color than normal during the summer and gradually die over a

year or two. Trees in different stages of dying can be seen in the same

planting.

Persian walnuts in the Western States in recent years have been dying

from a disease of undetermined cause. Dr. Paul W. Miller and others have

reported on the black line graft union failure, _Armillaria mellea_ and

dying of roots from undetermined causes. As _Phytophthora cinnamomi_, an

imported fungus, is a comparative recent invader of many parts of the

west, Dr. Miller is giving the fungus some attention as a possible

parasite. On some hosts, this fungus attacks primarily the very smallest

roots at certain favorable times of the year, which makes determination

of its role as a parasite rather difficult.

Factors That Influence Nut Production

W. B. WARD, _Extension Horticulturist, Purdue University, Lafayette,

Ind._

The profitable production of fruit on nut trees under cultivation has no

doubt been influenced by several factors. Assuming that the present-day

seedlings and propagated varieties are winter hardy and the tree of

bearing age, 10 to 15 years old, one may expect a reasonable harvest. It

is somewhat disappointing to the owner of a single nut tree or for the

grower on a semi or commercial basis to find that the tree or several

trees have failed to set fruit.

The commercial fruit grower of apples learned, many years ago, that

certain varieties when planted in solid blocks failed to set

satisfactory crops. Rather than lose several years of growth and

expense, the better growers top-worked the trees with a good pollinizer.

The result was a profitable harvest of red and yellow apples, or

varieties of different maturity. The peach grower liked the looks of a

very fine peach and after a short trial found that the variety was not

hardy enough to withstand the winter and early spring temperatures. The

experiences of the commercial fruit growers could be well used by the

nut grower. Only trees adapted to local conditions should be planted

regardless of the recommendations of the nurseryman. Hardiness of wood

and bud, ample production of pollen, reasonable climate during the

growing season, and the control of insects or diseases determine, for

the most part, the success of the harvest.

Soils and Fertility

The nut trees require good drainage and a good supply of moisture. A

reasonably fertile soil should be selected for a planting site but

through mulches, manures, and commercial mineral fertilizers any soil

may be built up to a high state of fertility. A weak tree has little

chance and may come into bearing too late to be of value for the present

owner. The annual growth should be checked each year and, unless 10 to

12 inches of growth has been made the previous year, some means of

stimulating more growth should be employed. The hickory, pecan and black

walnut, as a rule, make little new annual growth while the Persian or

Carpathian walnut, heartnut and chestnut ordinarily produce good annual

growth and an abundance of good foliage grown where it counts the most,

on the new wood.

Those who have observed the growth habits of nut trees know that the

catkins are found on last year's growth, or two year old wood, and the

fruiting flowers at the end of the present season's growth. There are

times when the new growth developed in a matter of a few days to

sometimes as long as two weeks. During the period of prolongation of the

new growth and the formation and receptiveness of the pistillate flower

much can happen. The catkins shed pollen when the temperature and

atmospheric conditions are normal. Many times the pollen is dispersed

before the pistillate flowers are formed.

Cross vs Self-Pollination

There is no assurance that a nut tree which fruits on the average of

eight out of ten years will continue to do so in the future.

Occasionally trees take on an alternate year bearing habit that could be

caused from injury, insect or disease damage, or the relocation of plant

food. The nut trees on their own roots should do better than when

grafted or budded. The compatability of stock and scion is yet to be

worked out and any constriction at the union may alter the fruiting

habits.

The possible sources of pollen for hickory and pecan are from

self-fertile trees, seedlings, and various natural crosses that may or

may not produce edible fruit. The walnut family, which includes the

black and Persian or Carpathian walnut; butternut and Asiatic nut

(heartnut) have been used as pollinizers on the Persian walnut with some

success. The butternut is the first to shed pollen in Indiana with the

catkins dropping, in some years, by late April and the first week in

May. Some years the black walnut has produced the peak pollen from May

5th to 12th but during the spring of 1953 the Thomas, Stabler, Rowher,

Ohio and Stambaugh dropped the pollen from May 18th to 22nd. The Asiatic

walnuts were in full bloom on May 14th and 15th. The above dates do not

correspond to observations of other years, except for the butternut. The

pistillate flowers on the Persian walnuts were fully opened by May 16th.

The catkins of the Persian trees had dried by May 12th. Catkins from the

Asiatic walnuts were kept fresh and distributed throughout two Persian

walnut trees and by mid-afternoon a heavy rain came. On May 18th a few

catkins were again removed from the Asiatic walnut and only enough for

one Persian walnut tree were found and hung in the tree. The first tree

has no fruit while the second tree has a fair crop in the making.

A letter from H. F. Stoke, Chairman of the Survey Committee on the

blossoming dates of the Persian walnut said: "Payne, Lancaster and

Broadview staminate flowers were out on April 9, 10 and 11. The

pistillate flowers of McKinster, Caesar and Crath #1 were receptive on

April 11, 10 and 10." The above dates were over a month before spring

came to Indiana. Whether or not the Stoke varieties in Virginia would do

the same in Indiana or elsewhere is still the problem.

The black walnut varieties mentioned previously set very few fruits at

Lafayette this year while a promising new variety, Sol, from Ferd

Bolten, Linton, Indiana, has a full crop, and has been a consistent

producer for the past several years.

How Many Pounds per Tree

Throughout the Middle West the elm, native chestnut and some of the oaks

are dying from disease troubles. The homemaker wants to plant a tree

that will provide shade, fit well in the landscaping of the home, be a

clean tree and yet be fruitful and bear early.

The age of the tree and the growth has much to do with production. Some

pecan varieties have produced several hundred pounds per tree and the

same for black walnuts with hickory, butternut and chestnut in smaller

quantities. There are four Persian walnut trees growing in Franklin,

Indiana, that are 20 years old and have fruited continuously for the

past 10 years. The trees were seedlings, two of which are very promising

for distribution. Tree #1 produces an average of 10 pounds; tree #2, 15

pounds; #3, about 40 pounds and #4, 100 pounds. Good pollination under

common growing conditions of the Midwest and a good variety acclimated

for general planting will no doubt make a host of good friends and a

wonderful contribution from the members of the N.N.G.A.

Rootstocks for the Walnut in France[2]

J. C. MCDANIEL

[2]This is a translation, by Dr. R. T. Dunstan, of the section on

"Rootstocks" in Chapter XI of _Les Noyers_, by two Doctors of Pharmacy,

P. Peyre and E. Lancosme. This 447 page book with 140 figures was

published in 1942 by Jouve et Cie, 15, rue Racine, Paris, and is a very

complete treatise on the subject of walnuts.

The French experience with the eastern black walnut and the related

Arizona walnut as rootstocks is interesting, as is the discussion of one

method of propagation, where dormant whole-root grafts are started in

pots under glass. This differs somewhat from the indoor grafting

procedures described in our recent Reports by Mr. Stephen Bernath and

Dr. Philip Brierley. (Incidentally, Dr. Brierley tells me that he got

uniformly good grafts--96 to 100% growing--in his 1953 experiment. The

use of growth substance powder did not significantly increase the

"take". The controlling factors seem to be the use of healthy scions and

rootstocks, followed by high enough temperature and humidity to promote

rapid callusing of the grafts.)

The "old Royal Walnut" of the French is, of course, what we call Persian

(or English) walnut, and not Luther Burbank's "Royal Hybrid", the

unfortunately named cross of two black walnuts, _J. nigra_ x _J.

hindsii_. _J. torreyi_ is a synonym for _J. major_, the Arizona walnut.

Rootstocks fulfilling two essential conditions should be chosen, those

capable of adapting themselves to soil and climate where they are to be

planted and of resisting diseases that may attack them under unsanitary

conditions or under too intense cultivation. Among the numerous

varieties tested, two deserve attention as choice rootstocks, one

native, the other American = _J. regia_ and _J. nigra_.

_J. regia_, our old Royal Walnut, so common in France, is excellent when

planted in new, light and fertile soils, preferably clay-lime or

clay-silicon.

But as the roots are very spreading it is important to stir the soil

well but slightly and avoid deep plowing, for it is well known that

through accidental injury to the roots the various "armillaria" enter

the trees to develop the "pourridie" or "pus disease", or "circle

disease". It is better, then, to use a rootstock immune to this malady

so wide-spread among our native walnuts.

_J. nigra_ enjoys this happy advantage of offering no foothold to this

parasite, so harmful to its sister species. It accommodates itself well

in many soils in which _J. regia_ will grow, even dry and gravelly, but

prefers soils which are fresh, open, rich, and especially, deep. Its

roots are long and vertical and their development stops in contact with

an impermeable layer of soil.

It produces specimens magnificent in height and rapidity of growth.

Color of bark differs, though diameter of tree is more or less the same.

This slight objection may be easily avoided by grafting regia on nigra

at ground-level when wood is well matured and in mild weather.

Proof that this species of walnut is resistant to "pourridie" was given

in a report to members of the Congress of Grenoble in 1936 by Mr. Bourne

of Saint Marcelin. "At Blache de Vinay, we are told, some black walnuts,

planted more than thirty years ago in an infested field, have shown full

resistance. One tree, grafted at ground-level and planted too deep, was

infected many years ago by the "pus" above the graft on the _J. regia_

part. The diseased part was treated as was the custom then, with

sulphuric acid, etc. The wound healed and the rootstock remained

absolutely clean. A photo by Mr. Roy, Director of Agricultural Services

at Isere, establishes this absolute proof.

Other varieties of walnut have been tested as rootstocks--_cinerea_,

_cordiformis_, and _Siebodiana_, but only the first seems to have given

any satisfactory results.

Reporter Bourne concludes, "The primary purpose of our research on

rootstocks will be to obtain a hybrid of _regia_ x _nigra_ that will

combine the resistance of nigra to the "pourridie" and regia's habit of

vegetating late in spring.

By virtue of the ability of the female element to transmit its rusticity

and vegetative form it seems, _a priori_, that we shall get a good

rootstock by crossing _nigra_ as mother by Franquette (sic) and then if

need be, by backcrossing to Franquette in the second generation.

There exists a 4th type of walnut graft, dating from 1880, which if done

intelligently, permits the rapid multiplication of the walnut--the root

graft.

In a short but very interesting report to the Nut Congress of Grenoble

in October, 1936 by Mr. Leon Treyves, and very kindly sent on to us, the

author says, "This procedure, devised by my family around 1880, consists

of grafting on one year old roots, branches from selected, vigorous

trees, either by cleft or English grafts, whichever gives best fit of

scion (which is generally smaller than root) and stock. Graft is then

tied with raffia and waxed to avoid all contact with air and placed in a

moderately heated frame. After a month of this treatment the graft has

taken. Then it is gradually accustomed to open air and the frame is

removed. In the fall or the following spring the graft may be planted in

its permanent location or in nursery row.

This system presents numerous advantages:

1. Rapidity, since the plants can be grafted after one year,

instead of three or four.

2. Economy of time and expense, since considerable numbers of grafts

can be made rapidly and in limited space.

3. More rapid development of growth and fruiting. Saplings of 1 to 2

meters planted in winter of '28-'29 measured in October '36 25-27

cm. in circumference at one meter from ground. Trees two and three

years old, still in nursery, are bearing one to two normally

developed fruits.

The author indicates that he uses _nigra_ for stocks, "since that is the

only one that has proved its adaptation to grafting and its resistance

to the "pus disease"."

At the time he gave his paper in '36 Mr. Treyves announced that he was

continuing his grafting experiments on _J. Sieboldiana, cordiformis_ and

_torreyi. [J. torreyi_ = _J. major_--J. C. McDaniel.]

Mr. Treyves, whom we cannot thank too much for his favor, was kind

enough to set forth the preliminary techniques of his method of

root-grafting. We give a resume of them here.

1. Preparation. Plant nuts well-spaced in rows in good soil, convenient

to irrigation, if needed. Clean nuts of good quality, previously

stratified, should be planted in winter. Plants are lifted before the

following spring and heeled in. For scions wood of 7-8 cm. is cut from

young, healthy and vigorous trees and passed to the grafter at the same

time as the roots, which have been previously lifted, washed and cut off

at the crown or a little below. Scion, bevelled, is set either in

English or cleft graft, tied with raffia or with a numbered wool strip,

waxed and potted in rich but light soil, moderately firmed around roots.

Pots are then set in some homogeneous material (waste tan-bark or

sawdust) and left in a moderately heated bed.

2. Care. Watering. Temperature of beds should be kept constant around

grafts and they should be watered every other day. Of course, grass and

mold should be prevented.

As soon as grafts begin to grow (usually around 15 days) the pots are

gradually removed from sawdust, and when plants have made 15-20 cm. of

growth (after 30-40 days) they are slowly hardened to air and sun,

replanted in well-shaded beds, properly watered and cared for until they

are set in nursery row.

3. Planting in nursery. The following spring they are set 60 cm. apart

in nursery rows 1 m. apart in well-manured and well-prepared plots.

Usual care during growth. With the 2nd year plants attain 1-1/4-1-1/2 m.

and it is not uncommon to discover a nut. The 3rd year they make 2-1/2

m. at least with 8-12 cm. of girth and are ready for transplanting to

permanent site.

4. Soils and situations. Mr. Treyves tells us that the walnut plantings

in "lower Gresivuaudan" are on old alluvium of the Isere Valley and in

limy marl soils of the upper slopes. A little farther away in Savoy, the walnut is

vigorous in Jurassic or clay limestone soils. The same is true in

Dordogne, in Correze, and in the Lot, where soils are of similar origin.

Walnuts are found at an average altitude of 600 m. but grow up to 1200

m. in Savoy, and particularly in Switzerland.

The best exposures are SW, W, and SE, sunny slopes, well protected from

the north wind and late frosts.

Mr. Treyves has personally some plantings of walnut in Sologne, (where

calcareous soils are lacking) and in Champagne, where the soils lack

lime. He has noted that these trees grow and fruit normally.

Cultivation. It is important to keep soil around isolated trees well

stirred and to increase the area of cultivation as the rootspread

increases.

5. Rootstocks. For the present the plants chosen for stocks have come

from nigra, the only one that has proved itself in the matter of "take".

It does well in moist soils.

Mr. Treyves has personally tried to graft Mayette and Franquette on

_Torreyi_. He has found the "take" and the union perfect. But even

though vegetation is promising we must wait 22 years for a full test.

He proposes to lest all the "rootstocks placed at his disposal in order

to acclimatize the good French varieties to all the soils which suit

these stocks. Grafting on _J. Torreyi_ will be useful to a [_sera utile

a un_] stock that grows in dry soil, like _nigra_.

"But that is a matter we shall have to examine again in ten years, first

as regards vegetation and then in 20 years as concerns fruit

production."

Since these experiments date from '36 at the time of the Grenoble

Congress we have only 13 years to wait to learn what sort of fruit these

trees will bear and only 5 to see how they behave vegetatively.

It remains, then, only to wish "good luck" to our kind and devoted

correspondent and to thank him for his valuable documentation.

Pictorial Record of Grafting at Climax, Michigan

W. M. BECKERT, _Jackson, Mich._

Top-working black walnuts to Persian Walnuts has long been practiced by

various members of this organization. It is hoped by this series of

Kodachrome slides that a record of such top-working by one of our

members would be of interest and also show the details of just how the

work is done under actual field conditions.

Mr. Gilbert Becker, of Climax, Michigan, has been quite successful in

top-working black walnuts. Needless to say, these pictures were taken to

show how an expert goes about grafting black walnuts. Mr. Becker was

contacted as to when he would do his grafting and he mentioned that on

May 80, 1953, he would be top-working his stock. Plans were made to be

present on that date and we were fortunate in having bright weather for

taking the pictures.

The first two slides show Mr. Becker removing the scionwood from his

storage pit, selecting the scions and preparing to go out to do the

grafting. On the way to the trees that were to be grafted, the pictures

for the next two slides were taken to show the stage of leaf development

and the length of the catkins of the Thomas Black Walnut, so members in

other sections of the country can see how far out in leaf the Thomas

variety was when the grafting was done.

The following series of slides show how Mr. Becker top-works the black

walnuts.

First, removing that portion of the stock, note he used a pruning saw,

makes a cut at the point where he wants to graft. He uses the bark slit

method. The scion is shaped by one stroke of the grafting knife; a long

slanting cut is made and the scion inserted in the stock. Just prior to

placing the scion, the bark of the stock is slit, two cuts with the

point of the knife, approximate width of the scion and down along the

bark to the length the scion is to be inserted, then the scion is

placed. The next step is to cut off the little sliver of bark which is

pushed out, at the point where it does not contact the scion. In this

tree, two scions were placed, the scions being wrapped tightly with

waxed muslin which was prepared beforehand, using strips about one-half

inch wide. Enough was used to firmly bind the scions to the stock.

Please note that a small piece of wax muslin was placed on the inside of

the scion to prevent the wax from going down between the scion and

stock. The final step is waxing the scion and brushing with hot wax, in

order to prevent the scion from drying out; to provide shade, Mr.

Becker, in this case, used grass and made a hood over the scion, tying

it with string.

The following slides show the same procedure of grafting other trees.

You will note in one case he has climbed up into the branches of the

tree. To shade the scions, he used aluminum foil, folded around the

scion and tied with a rubber grafting strip. In all these pictures the

scions used were Colby.

Mr. Becker is very adept, quick, and does the grafting so that it

actually seems effortless. His technique is so fast, there is very

little chance of the scion drying out before it is placed.

On July 26th, I returned to Climax and the grafts were successful, as

you can see by the following series. The one failure was the first tree

that was grafted, and which had the grass for shading of the scion.

Rock Phosphate for Nut Trees

HARRY P. BURGART, _Union City, Mich._

My soil is of the sandy type and I have to watch the mineral content

rather closely for nitrogen and phosphate deficiencies. Winter-killing

of one year black walnut and pecan seedlings is serious during seasons

when our winters are less severe than usual and during winters when we

had had plenty of snow cover for protection. This worried me a great

deal and I decided there must be a deficiency. Soil tests repeatedly

showed a lack of phosphate.

I applied ground rock phosphate to my larger bearing English walnut

trees and there has not been the least sign of winter injury since.

Many of my smaller nut trees have been bearing earlier for me since I

have been using the phosphate. Customers who come here often remark at

the way some of my little grafted trees are bearing crops and I tell

them that I believe in keeping plenty of phosphate in the soil for root

growth and nut production.

I am writing this brief article thinking that it might help solve the

problems of other nut growers who have repeatedly been having trouble

with winter-killing of their Carpathian, or English walnut trees.

Phosphate seems to prevent a late sappy-condition from causing winter

injury.

I prefer to apply the phosphate and nitrogen early in April or early

May. Fall applications of any kind of fertilizer are apt to cause winter

injury. I usually scatter the rock phosphate around the trees using

about four handfuls around a first year tree. Then I turn over the sod

bottom with a shovel, which puts the phosphate down where the roots can

get it. I use the phosphate around all the young trees we set out and

seldom lose a tree as the phosphate encourages the starting of new

feeder roots on the nut trees.

A Report From Southern Minnesota

R. E. HODGSON, _University of Minnesota, Southern School and Experiment

Station, Waseca, Minn._

We have 20 odd Carpathian walnut trees growing from nuts planted about

1931. So far, I have never seen a flower on any of them. They grow up 6

or 8 feet in a year and that seems to be their difficulty. They do not

stop growing in time to harden off before cold weather comes. I think a

lot of the winter killing is also due to sun scald which would indicate

an inability to retain dormancy during a January thaw. Some of the trees

have lived through two winters with only minor damage and then when the

right conditions come along, they are killed to the ground. Wrapping the

trunks with aluminum foil has not solved the problem. I have purchased

one or two grafted trees which were recommended as more hardy but so far

they have had the same experience as the one I grew from nuts.

Black walnut and hickory do well here and I have a hiccan perhaps 20

feet tall but it has never borne any nuts. Chinese chestnuts are not

entirely hardy and grow very slowly. This year I set out about 20

American chestnuts from Minnesota grown seed and I hope that we are far

enough from other trees of this variety to escape the blight. Tree

growing is just a hobby and lately there has been very little time for

hobbies.

Chestnut Breeding

Report for 1953

ARTHUR HARMOUNT GRAVES and HANS NIENSTAEDT, _The Connecticut

Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut_

The chief aim of this breeding work, which has been carried on now

without interruption since 1930, is to develop a tall timber type of

chestnut by breeding the American species with the blight resistant but

comparatively low-growing Japanese and Chinese chestnuts, _Castanea

crenata_ and _C. mollissima_, respectively. Practically all trees of our

valuable American chestnut of any appreciable size have now been killed

to the ground by the blight fungus, _Endothia parasitica_. Shoots

arising from the base of the old stumps often live long enough to bear

pollen, and this we have lately been forced to use in our breeding work

with the disadvantage that we can not know definitely the nature of the

genotype of the pollen parent. American pollen from a good phenotype

near Washington, D. C., was kindly furnished us in the early 30's by the

then Office of Forest Pathology of the U.S.D.A., and this stock is now

incorporated with our older Japanese-American and Chinese-American

hybrids.

As indicated in the following pages, we are not neglecting the

nut-bearing potentialities of the chestnut tree.

Weather Conditions in 1953

The disastrous ice storm of the 9th and 10th of January caused slight

damage to some of the Chinese trees. Their numerous, more or less

horizontal branches and characteristically brittle wood make them prone

to damage of this sort; nevertheless, only a few branches were lost.

After a comparatively warm February, the warmest since 1925, March

brought us more rain than for any March in the 81 years records have

been kept[3]--a total of 10.78 inches. This was all to the good, as

later events proved. Because of the preceding warm February the ground

was for the most part unfrozen, so that, instead of running off, the

water was largely absorbed in the soil, and thus added to the water

table. The precipitation of April was again heavy--5.6 inches--the

normal per month for this area being about 3-1/2 inches. After an

unusually good growing season in May, June and July, about the middle of

August a long drought of nearly 10 weeks duration commenced. The

conditions were similar to those in 1952, except that in that year the

drought began later, in October. However, the large amount of water in

the soil from the spring rains prevented serious consequences, just as

in 1952 the heavy rainfall in August and the normal one in September

mitigated any serious results from the later drought of that year.

[3] Weather records are taken from the monthly reports of the municipal

airport at New Haven, Conn., and are compared with the New York City

records for the same period, kept by the U. S. Weather Bureau at 17

Battery Place, New York City.

Hybrids of 1953