DISCLAIMER The articles published in the Annual Reports of the Northern Nut Growers Association are the findings and thoughts solely of the authors and are not to be construed as an endorsement by the Northern Nut Growers Association, its board of directors, or its members. No endorsement is intended for products mentioned, nor is criticism meant for products not mentioned. The laws and recommendations for pesticide application may have changed since the articles were written. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. The discussion of specific nut tree cultivars and of specific techniques to grow nut trees that might have been successful in one area and at a particular time is not a guarantee that similar results will occur elsewhere.



NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING

WASHINGTON, D. C. SEPTEMBER 26, 27 and 28, 1923



CONTENTS

Officers and Committees of the Association 3

State Vice-Presidents 4

Members of the Association 5

Constitution and By-Laws 11

Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Convention 15

Report of the Secretary 19

Some Further Notes on Nut Culture in Canada, Jas. A. Neilson 24

Address by Dr. L. C. Corbett 28

Address by C. A. Reed 33

Commercial Nut Culture, T. P. Littlepage 36

Notes by Mr. Bixby 39

Address, Mrs. W. N. Hutt 41

Report of Chairman of the Committee on Incorporation 47

Minutes of First Meeting of Directors 50

Report of the Finance Committee 51

Address by Dr. Oswald Schreiner 51

Address by Dr. W. E. Safford 54

Extension Work in Nut Growing, Professor C. P. Close 60

Roadside Planting vs. Reforestation, Hon. W. S. Linton 61

Encouragement from Failures in Grafting, Dr. G. A. Zimmerman 64

Letter from F. H. Wielandy 76

The Chestnut, C. A. Reed 77

Report of the Committee on Nomenclature 81

Notes from an Experimental Nut Orchard 81

Appendix 88



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

President HARRY R. WEBER, Cincinnati, Ohio

Vice-President J. F. JONES. Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Secretary WILLIAM C. DEMING, 983 Main St., Hartford, Conn.

Treasurer H. J. HILLIARD, Sound View, Connecticut

DIRECTORS

JAMES S. MCGLENNON, DR. ROBERT T. MORRIS, WILLARD G. BIXBY, HARRY R. WEBER, DR. W. C. DEMING.

COMMITTEES

Auditing—C. P. CLOSE, C. A. REED.

Executive—HARRY R. WEBER, J. F. JONES, W. C. DEMING, H. J. HILLIARD, W. S. LINTON, J. S. MCGLENNON.

Finance—T. P. LITTLEPAGE, W. G. BIXBY, W. C. DEMING.

Hybrids—R. T. MORRIS, C. P. CLOSE, W. G. BIXBY, HOWARD SPENCE.

Membership—H. R. WEBER, H. D. SPENCER, J. A. SMITH, J. S. MCGLENNON, R. T. OLCOTT, W. G. BIXBY, J. A. NEILSON, W. C. DEMING.

Nomenclature—C. A. REED, R. T. MORRIS, J. F. JONES.

Press and Publication—R. T. OLCOTT, W. G. BIXBY, W. C. DEMING.

Programme—H. R. WEBER, R. T. OLCOTT, C. A. REED, R. T. MORRIS, W. G. BIXBY.

Promising Seedlings—C. A. REED, J. F. JONES, W. G. BIXBY, J. A. NEILSON.



STATE VICE-PRESIDENTS

Arkansas Prof. N. F. Drake University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

California Will J. Thorpe 1545 Divisadero St., San Francisco

Canada James A. Neilson Hort. Exp. Sta., Vineland, Ontario

China P. W. Wang Sec'y Kinsan Arboretum, 147 N. Sechuan Road, Shanghai

Connecticut Ernest M. Ives Sterling Orchards, Meriden

Dist. of Columbia Prof. C. P. Close Pomologist, Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

England Howard Spence The Red House, Ainsdale, Southport

Georgia J. M. Patterson Putney

Illinois Henry D. Spencer Decatur

Indiana J. F. Wilkinson Rockport

Iowa D. C. Snyder Center Point

Kansas James Sharp Council Grove

Maryland P. J. O'Connor Bowie

Massachusetts C. Leroy Cleaver 496 Commonwealth Ave., Boston

Michigan Dr. J. H. Kellogg Battle Creek

Missouri P. C. Stark Louisiana

Nebraska William Caha Wahoo

New Jersey C. S. Ridgway Lumberton

New York Mrs. W. D. Ellwanger 510 East Ave., Rochester

North Carolina C. W. Matthews N. C. Dept. of Agriculture, Raleigh

Ohio W. R. Fickes Wooster, R. No. 6

Oregon Earl C. Frost Gates Road, Portland, Route 1, Box 515

Pennsylvania John Rick 438 Penn Square, Reading

South Carolina Thomas Taylor 1112 Bull St., Columbia

Tennessee J. W. Waite Normandy

Utah Joseph A. Smith Edgewood Hall, Providence

Vermont F. C. Holbrook Brattleboro

Virginia D. S. Harris Roselawn, Capital Landing Road, Williamsburg, R. F. D. 3

Washington Richard H. Turk Washougal

West Virginia Fred E. Brooks French Creek



MEMBERS OF THE NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION

ARKANSAS *Drake, Prof. N. F., Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Dunn, D. K., Wynne

CALIFORNIA Thorpe, Will J., 1545 Divisadero Street, San Francisco

CANADA McRitchie, Prof. A. R., Arthur, Ontario. Neilson, Jas. A., Ontario Hort. Exp. Sta., Vineland.

CHINA *P. W. Wang, Sec'y, Kinsan Arboretum, 147 No. Szechuan Road, Shanghai.

CONNECTICUT Barrows, Paul M., Stamford, R. F. D. No. 30 Bartlett, Francis A., Stamford Bielefield, F. J., South Farms, Middletown Deming, Dr. W. C, 983 Main St., Hartford Gotthold, Mrs. Frederick, Wilton Hardon, Mrs. Henry, Wilton Hilliard, H. J., South View Hungerford, Newman, Torrington, R. F. D. No. 2, Box 100 Ives, E. M., Sterling Orchards, Meriden *Morris Dr. R. T., Cos Cob, Route 28, Box 95 Pomeroy, Eleazer, 120 Bloomfield Ave., Windsor Sessions, Albert L., 25 Bellevue Ave., Bristol

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Agriculture, Library of U. S. Dept. of Close, Prof. C. P., Pomologist, Dept. of Agriculture Greene, Karl W., Ridge Road, N. W. Gravatt, G. F., Forest Pathology, B. P. I. Agriculture *Littlepage, T. P., Union Trust Building Reed, C. A., Dept. of Agriculture Williams, A. Ray, Union Trust Bldg. Von Ammon, S., Bureau of Standards

ENGLAND Spence, Howard, The Red House, Ainsdale, Southport

GEORGIA Killian, C. M., Valdosta Parrish, John S., Cornelia, Box 57 Patterson, J. M., Putney Steele, R. C., Lakemont, Rabun Co. Wight, J. B., Cairo

ILLINOIS Brown, Roy W., 220 E. Cleveland St., Spring Valley Buckman, Benj., Farmingdale Buxton, T. C., Stine Bldg., Decatur Casper, O. H., Anna Clough, W. A., 929 Monadnoch Bldg., Chicago Falrath, David, 259 N. College St., Decatur Flexer, Walter G., 210 Campbell St., Joliet Foote, Lorezo S., Anna Holden, Dr. Louis Edward, Decatur Illinois, University of, Urbana (Librarian) Marsh, Mrs. W. V., Aledo Mosnat, H. R., 10910 Prospect Ave., Morgan Park, Chicago Mueller, Robert, Decatur Nash, C. J., 1302 E. 53rd St., Chicago Potter, Hon. W. O., Marion Powers, Frank S., 595 Powers Lane, Decatur Reihl, E. A., Godfrey, Route 2 Rodhouse, T. W., Jr., Pleasant Hill, R. R. 2 Shaw, James B., Champaign, Box 644 Spencer, Henry D., 275 W. Decatur St., Decatur Swisher, S. L., Mulkeytown Vulgamott, Chas. E., Cerro Gordo White, W. Elmer, 175 Park Place, Decatur

INDIANA Clayton, C. L., Owensville Copp, Lloyd, 819 W. Foster St., Kokomo Gilmer, Frank, 1012 Riverside Drive, South Bend Reed, W. C, Vincennes Staderman, A. L., 120 South 7th St., Terre Haute Wilkinson, J. F., Rockport

IOWA Adams, Gerald W., Moorhead Bricker, C. W., Ladora Pfeiffer, W. F., Fayette Snyder, D. C., Center Point Snyder, S. W., Center Point.

KANSAS Bishop, S. L., Conway Springs Fossenden, C. D., Cherokee Hardin, Martin, Horton Hitchcock, Chas. W., Belle Plaine Gray, Dr. Clyde, Horton Sharpe, James, Council Grove

MARYLAND Jordan, Dr. Llewellyn, 100 Baltimore Ave., Takoma Park Keenan, Dr. John F. Brentwood O'Connor, P. J., Bowie Perkins, H., 401 Nat. Marine Bank Bldg., Baltimore Wall, A. V., Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS *Bowditch, James H., 903 Tremont Bldg., Boston Bowles, Francis T., Barnstable Cleaver, C. Leroy, Hingham Center Collins, Geo. D., 388 Union St., Springfield Johnstone, Edward O., North Carver Sawyer, James C., Andover Wright, G. F., Chelmsford

MICHIGAN Banine, Chester H., Vandalia Charles, Dr. Elmer, Pontiac Copland, A. W., 670 E. Woodbridge St., Detroit Graves, Henry B., 2134 Dime Bank Bldg., Detroit Kellogg, Dr. J. H., 202 Manchester St., Battle Creek *Linton, W. S., Saginaw Penney, Senator Harvey A., 425 So. Jefferson Ave., Saginaw Wallace, Henry, Detroit

MISSOURI Crosby, Miss Jessie M., 4241 Harrison St., Kansas City Stark, P. C., Louisiana Youkey, J. M., 2519 Monroe Ave., Kansas City

NEBRASKA Caha, William, Wahoo Thomas, Dr. W. A., Lincoln

NEW JERSEY Brown, Jacob S., Elmer, Salem Co. Clarke, Miss E. A., W. Point Pleasant, Box 57 Franck, M., Box 89, Franklin Gaty, Theo. E., 50 Morris Ave., Morristown *Jaques, Lee W., 74 Waverly St., Jersey City Landmann, Miss M. V. Cranbury, R. D. No. 2 Marston, Edwin S., Florham Park, Box 72 Parry, T. Morrel, Riverton Ridgeway, C. S., Lumberton

NEW YORK Abbott, Frederick B., 1211 Tabor Court, Brooklyn Ashworth, Fred L., Heuvelton Bennett, Howard S., 851 Joseph Ave., Rochester Bethea, J. G., 243 Rutgers St., Rochester Bixby, Willard G., 32 Grand Ave., Baldwin, L. I. Bixby, Mrs. Willard G, 32 Grand Ave., Baldwin Brinton, Mrs. Willard Cope, 36 So. Central Pk., N. Y. City Buist, Dr. G. L., 3 Hancock St., Brooklyn Clark, George H., 131 State St., Rochester Cothran, John C., 104 High St., Lockport Corsan, G. H., 55 Hanson Place, Brooklyn Culver, M. L., 238 Milburn St., Rochester Diprose, Alfred H., 468 Clinton Ave., South, Rochester Dunbar, John, Dep't. of Parks, Rochester Ellwanger, Mrs. W. D., 510 East Ave., Rochester Gager, Dr. C. Stewart, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Gaty, Theo. E. Jr., Clermont Gillett, Dr. Henry W., 140 W. 57th St., New York City Graham, S. H., R. D. 5, Ithaca Hart, Frank E., Landing Road, Brighton Haws, Elwood D., Public Market, Rochester Henshall, H., 5 W. 125th St., N. Y. C. Hoag, Henry S., Delhi Hodgson, Casper W., Yonkers, (World Book Co.) *Huntington, A. M., 15 W. 81st St., New York City Jewett, Edmund G., 16 S. Elliott Place, Brooklyn Johnson, Harriet, M. B., 15th St. & 4th Ave., New York City Krieg, Fred J., 11 Gladys St., Rochester Lattin, Dr. H. W., Albion Lauth, John C., 67 Tyler St., Rochester Liveright, Frank I., 120 W. 70th St., N. Y. C. MacDaniel, S. H., Dept. of Pomology, New York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca McGlennon, J. S., 28 Cutler Building, Rochester Motondo, Grant F., 198 Monroe Ave., Rochester Nolan, Mrs. C. R., 47 Dickinson St., Rochester Nolan, M. J., 47 Dickinson St., Rochester Olcott, Ralph T. (Editor American Nut Journal), Ellwanger and Barry Building, Rochester Paterno, Dr. Chas. V., 117 W. 54th St., N. Y. City Pierce, H. Gordon, 103 Park Ave., N. Y. City Pirrung, Miss L. M., 779 East Ave., Rochester Pomeroy, A. C., Lockport Rawnsley, Mrs. Annie, 242 Linden St., Rochester Rawnsley, James B., 242 Linden St., Rochester Schroeder, E. A., 223 East Ave., Rochester Shutt, Erwin E., 509 Plymouth Ave., Rochester Snyder, Leroy E., 241 Barrington St., Rochester Solley, Dr. John B., 968 Lexington Ave., New York City Teele, Arthur W., 120 Broadway, New York City Tucker, Arthur R., Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Tucker, Geo. B., 110 Harvard St., Rochester Vick, C. A., 142 Harvard St., Rochester Vollertsen, Conrad, 375 Gregory St., Rochester Waller, Percy, 284 Court St., Rochester Wile, M. E., 955 Harvard St., Rochester Williams, Dr. Chas. Mallory, 4 W. 50th St., New York City *Wisman, Mrs. F. de R. Westchester, New York City Wyckoff, E. L., Aurora

NORTH CAROLINA Hutchings, Miss L. G., Pine Bluff Matthews, C. D., North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture, Raleigh Van Lindley, J., (J. Van Lindley Nursery Co.), Pomona

OHIO Beatty, Dr. W. M. L., Route 3, Croton Road, Centerburg Coon, Charles, Groveport Dayton, J. H., (Storrs & Harrison), Painesville Fickes, W. R., Wooster, R. No. 6 Hinnen, Dr. G. A., 1343 Delta Ave., Cincinnati Neff, Wm. N., Martel *Weber, Harry R., 123 East 6th St., Cincinnati

OREGON Frost, Earl C., Route 1, Box 515, Gates Rd., Portland

PENNSYLVANIA Althouse, C. Scott, 540 Pear St., Reading Anders, Stanley S., Norristown Baum, Dr. F. L., Boyertown Bohn, Dr. H. W., 34 No. 9th St., Reading Bolton, Charles G., Zieglerville Boy Scouts of America, Reading Druckemiller, W. H., 31 N. 4th St., Sunbury Fritz, Ammon P., 35 E. Franklin St., Ephrata Gribbel, Mrs. John, Wyncote Hershey, John W., Ronks Hess, Elam G., Manheim Hile, Anthony, Curwensville Horst, John D., Reading Jenkins, Charles Francis, Farm Journal, Philadelphia Jockers, Fred'k J., 4 E. Township Line, Jenkintown *Jones, J. F., Lancaster, Box 527 Kaufman, M. M., Clarion Leach, Will, Cornell Building, Scranton Mellor, Alfred, 152 W. Walnut Lane, Germantown, Philadelphia Minick, C. G., Ridgway Paden, Riley W., Enon Valley Patterson, J. E., 77 North Franklin St., Wilkes Barre Pratt, Arthur H., Kennett Square *Rick, John, 438 Penn Square, Reading Rittenhouse, Dr. J. S., Lorane Rose, William J., 413 Market St., Harrisburg, "Personal" Rosenberry, W. H., Box 114, Lansdale Rush, J. G., West Willow Smedley, Samuel L., Newton Square, R. F. D. No. 1 Smedley, Mrs. Samuel L., Newtown Sq., R. F. D. No. 1 Smith, Dr. J. Russell, Swarthmore Taylor, Lowndes, West Chester, Box 3, Route 1 Weaver, William S., McCungie Whitner, Harry D., Reading Wilhelm, Dr. Edward A., Clarion *Wister, John C., Clarkson and Wister Sts., Germantown Wolf, D. D., 527 Vine St., Philadelphia Zimmerman, Dr. G. A., Piketown

RHODE ISLAND Allen, Philip, Providence

SOUTH CAROLINA Taylor, Thos., 1112 Bull St., Columbia

TENNESSEE Waite, J. W., Normandy

UTAH Smith, Joseph A., Edgewood Hall, Providence

VERMONT Aldrich, A. W., Springfield, R. F. D. No. 3 Ellis, Zenas H., Fair Haven Holbrook, F. C., Battleboro

VIRGINIA +Dodge, Harrison H., Mount Vernon Gould, Katherine Clemons, Boonsboro, Care of C. M. Daniels, via Lynchburg, R. F. D. 4 Harris, D. S., Roselawn, Capital Landing Road, Williamsburg, R. 3 Hopkins, N. S., Dixondale Jordan, J. H., Bohannon Moock, Harry C, Roanoke, Route 5

WASHINGTON Berg, D. H., Nooksack Turk, Richard H., Washougal

WEST VIRGINIA Brooks, Fred E., French Creek Cannaday, Dr. J. E., Charleston, Box 693 Hartzel, B. F., Shepherdstown Mish, A. F., Inwood

* Life Member + Honorary Member



CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

Name. This society shall be known as the NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION.

ARTICLE II

Object. Its object shall be the promotion of interest in nut-bearing plants, their products and their culture.

ARTICLE III

Membership. Membership in the society shall be open to all persons who desire to further nut culture, without reference to place of residence or nationality, subject to the rules and regulations of the committee on membership.

ARTICLE IV

Officers. There shall be a president, a vice-president, a secretary and a treasurer, who shall be elected by ballot at the annual meeting; and an executive committee of six persons, of which the president, the two last retiring presidents, the vice-president, the secretary and the treasurer shall be members. There shall be a state vice-president from each state, dependency, or country represented in the membership of the association, who shall be appointed by the president.

ARTICLE V

Election of Officers. A committee of five members shall be elected at the annual meeting for the purpose of nominating officers for the following year.

ARTICLE VI

Meetings. The place and time of the annual meeting shall be selected by the membership in session or, in the event of no selection being made at this time, the executive committee shall choose the place and time for the holding of the annual convention. Such other meetings as may seem desirable may be called by the president and executive committee.

ARTICLE VII

Quorum. Ten members of the association shall constitute a quorum, but must include two of the four elected officers.

ARTICLE VIII

Amendments. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any annual meeting, notice of such amendment having been read at the previous annual meeting, or a copy of the proposed amendment having been mailed by any member to each member thirty days before the date of the annual meeting.



BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I

Committees. The association shall appoint standing committees as follows: On membership, on finance, on programme, on press and publication, on nomenclature, on promising seedlings, on hybrids, and an auditing committee. The committee on membership may make recommendations to the association as to the discipline or expulsion of any member.

ARTICLE II

Fees. Annual members shall pay three dollars annually, or five dollars, including a year's subscription to the American Nut Journal. Contributing members shall pay ten dollars annually, this membership including a year's subscription to the American Nut Journal. Life members shall make one payment of fifty dollars, and shall be exempt from further dues. Honorary members shall be exempt from dues.

ARTICLE III

Membership. All annual memberships shall begin either with the first day of the calendar quarter following the date of joining the Association, or with the first day of the calendar quarter preceding that date as may be arranged between the new member and the Treasurer.

ARTICLE IV

Amendments. By-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of members present at any annual meeting.



PROCEEDINGS

AT THE

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION

New National Museum, Washington, D. C.

September 26-27-28, 1923.

(In making up this report the transcript of the stenographer's full report has been unsparingly cut, in accordance with the vote of the convention. Copies of the full report are in the possession of the secretary.)

The Convention was called to order at 2 p. m., Sept. 26, 1923, in the New National Museum.

In his opening address the president spoke of the need for increased membership and improved financial condition. He also recommended a return to the old method of combining the secretary and treasurer in one office and that the secretary-treasurer should have a fair salary, suitable quarters, and adequate help. He spoke of his own efforts to increase the usefulness of the association and expressed his fears that they had amounted to very little. He quoted the statement of the editor of the American Nut Journal that what people want to know is whether they can make any money by the cultivation of nut trees. That statement led to a campaign to try to locate in the territory of the association groups of nut trees in profitable bearing. He felt satisfied that there are numerous paying nut orchards, and he recommended a continuance of the campaign for locating such orchards.

The president then went on to instance the experience of Mr. Frederick G. Brown of Salisbury, Mass., at whose place, about two miles from the ocean, there are two Persian walnut trees, 12 to 15 years old, one of them about a foot in diameter and twenty feet high, that have borne for two years. Peach trees will not live at this place. Two miles away at Newburyport is a tree a year or two younger that bore a half peck of nuts last year, and another tree 35 years old in bearing for 15 or 20 years. The nuts were spoken of as of high quality.

He referred to Edward Selkirk of North East, Pa., who has a grove of 250 trees about 22 years old of the Pomeroy variety. Last year the crop was one ton and brought in a little over $500.00. This year the crop is much larger. For best development of the trees the land should be given over entirely to their culture.

The president quoted a letter from E. A. Riehl of Godfrey, Illinois as follows:

My nut plantings are mostly young, many just coming into bearing, while many others have been top-worked to better varieties, so that money returns are not what they would be had I started out planting improved varieties. Part of my aim was to originate better varieties than we had when I began. In this, I think, I have been fairly successful.

My plantings consist mostly of chestnuts. These have sold readily at 35 to 40 cents per pound wholesale. It is rather a hard matter to give any idea as to profit, except that we gathered 23 pounds from one tree five years after topworking on a tree then about three inches in diameter. In 1920, the net return was $1,172.54, in 1921, $1,019.44, in 1922, which was about a half crop, $1,196.81. All this on land so rough no crop could be grown on it but pasture. This year's crop promises to be a full one.

As to walnuts, we have made no record of single trees. The Thomas, by actual test, gives ten pounds of meat to the bushel, which we sold to dealers last season at $1.00 per pound, and could not nearly supply the demand.

Walnut crop here a failure this season. Only a few Thomas trees have a crop.

If the meeting was after nut harvest, I would send the best chestnut exhibit that has ever been shown at any meeting.

H. C. Fletcher of Clarkson, N. Y., was quoted as estimating the nuts produced from two trees each year from 1911 to 1915 as $25 worth. (Presumably these were Persian walnuts, but this was not stated.) In 1916 and 1917 there were about six bushels of nuts, probably $75 worth. In 1918 a market basket full. In 1919 and 1920 about $40 worth, including some trees sold. In 1921 about $50 worth were produced and in 1922 $60 worth of nuts and $30 worth of trees.

In the president's own filbert nursery at Rochester over 300 pounds of fine nuts were produced for which 30 cents a pound were offered by grocerymen.

Mr. W. R. Mattoon of the Forest Service of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture spoke as follows:

Two years ago, when the Forest Service was planning to get up a bulletin on growing walnut trees for timber, we found the need to include information on the nuts also. Mr. C. A. Reed and I together prepared a manuscript on growing the walnut tree both for timber and for nuts.

It pays to grow walnuts in small groups and singly, rather than in large blocks, for while they have not proven altogether failures when planted in large quantities they have been disappointing. Many of the trees which we planted as close as 6 x 8 feet several years ago, have not given very satisfactory results because they have not had enough light and air. The black walnut grows singly in the forest, although there may be full stands of other trees around it. Our idea is to recommend planting the black walnut in spots around on the farm, in little inaccessible places and on the hillsides, where the soil is good; for the black walnut requires good soil, and we cannot find that quality in large patches, nor is it usual on slopes of ground. So we must put it here and there on the farm, along the fence rows and in various places, but not in groups. The farmer planting in this way becomes its wood which is used in the most expensive furniture. I believe that mahogany is the only other wood so valuable. On the other side of the world they have the mahogany tree for cabinet use, and here in America we have the black walnut, a cabinet wood that is not surpassed.

The present available publications on this subject are limited but we are referring people who inquire about it to Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 933, "The Black Walnut, Its Growth and Management." That is midway between a technical and a popular bulletin, and it comprises about the only available publication that we have at the present time on the subject of growing the tree. Farmers' Bulletin No. 1123, "Growing and Planting Hardwood Seedlings on the Farm", deals with the black walnut along with other trees. Another publication is Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 153, "Forest Planting in the Eastern United States," which considers the black walnut along with the other available trees for planting.

MR. OLCOTT: For a small orchard would it be proper to plant 160 to 180 feet apart?

MR. MATTOON: When planted in that way you would get nut production and at the same time, a timber growth. If pruned you get a good log at the base. The small, ten-foot logs from these trees pay as much as you would get for an 18 foot log of a taller tree. For forestry purposes, pruning is a desirable practice.

THE PRESIDENT: But for nut-bearing, what is your opinion?

MR. MATTOON: I should suppose that you would want your orchard trees to be as low-branched as possible, and with as full foliage as possible.

Mr. Bixby (acting as secretary) then read a paper by H. R. Mosnat of Morgan Park, Illinois in which he spoke of the number of doctors interested in nut growing and the need of all men of that character having a hobby of that kind. He thought that the taxes on many farms might be paid out of the profits of nut trees planted on the farms and along the highways. But these nut trees should not be seedling trees. The apple and the black walnut are said to be the only trees that grow in every state of the Union. Nuts were one of the staple foods of our ancestors. We should not be discouraged if we have not yet found the right nut for the East and the Middle West. We should seek them promptly because of the rate at which nut trees are being converted into logs. By next year, he said, he expected to have 25 varieties of black walnuts in his collection including some hybrids. Machines for cracking black walnuts by power are now practically perfect and one firm in that business has cracked about a million pounds in the last few years and expects to treble or quadruple its business this season if supplies can be secured. The trouble with most walnut cracking machines is that they crush instead of crack and small bits of shell are apt to stick to the meats. But there is machinery now to remove these bits of shell. There are wild black walnuts that run 16 to 18 per cent kernels, though the average is only 12-1/2%. It is not always the largest nuts that produce the greatest proportionate weight of kernels. The picking and cracking expense with black walnuts is very little greater than with pecans, but the final cleaning to render the meat absolutely free of shells has been very expensive. Cultivated black walnuts will of course give better results, because they have been selected for easy cracking, have kernels that separate readily from the shell, the product is uniform, and the nuts require much less grading before cracking than the wild black walnuts, where every tree bears nuts differing in size, as in almost every other quality. Figuring 50,000 pounds to the carload it will take about eight carloads of wild black walnuts to make one carload of kernels of the same weight. More and more English walnuts and pecans are being sold in the form of kernels, and black walnuts also will best be sold in kernels. These can be canned in vacuum glass or metal cans, and the housewife will use more nuts when she can get the shell-free meats with her favorite cooking utensil, the can-opener. Confectioners and bakers will take black walnut meats by the carload in preference to other nut meats because they have more flavor, and so "go further."

The growing of black walnuts in a commercial way will require education, but already there is a growing interest. Several of the large weekly publications have, within the last couple of months, carried full page, illustrated articles on black walnuts. One of these, in a magazine of general circulation which is over half a million, within a month resulted in almost one hundred letters asking for additional information, which shows that a great many people want to know more about the possibilities of black walnuts. This interest will certainly increase when profitable black walnut orchards are actually growing and paying good profits. Already men are putting in black walnut orchards or groves of several hundred acres, and one such planting of 1,600 acres is proposed, but it will be partly hardy pecans. This shows rapid development into a real industry of magnitude.



Report of the Secretary.

On March 1, 1923, the treasurer, Mr. W. G. Bixby, handed over to the secretary the funds and books of the association, saying that his time had become so much taken up that he was able to give too little of it to the duties of his office. Thus it became necessary for the secretary to assume the functions of the treasurer as well.

These functions were, in the first place, the payment of the obligations of the association from the funds available. The funds available for current expenses were not sufficient for the payment of these obligations. The secretary therefore took it upon himself to pay these obligations with funds of the association put aside for other purposes. These funds were money received from life membership payments that had been deposited in the Litchfield Savings Society, as a sort of contingent fund, and other funds from the same source held by the treasurer and handed over by him to the secretary. These two funds were completely used up in the payment of current expenses, as will appear in the detailed statement of the secretary.

These funds, however, were still insufficient to pay the current expenses, which were, chiefly, the expenses of the stenographer's report and transcripts of the thirteenth annual convention, at Rochester, and the cost of printing the annual report. The cost of printing the report was paid out of the available funds. The stenographer's bill, amounting to $169.00 originally, but reduced to $135.00 by the stenographer on representation by the officers of the association that the amount was excessive, was paid by Mr. Bixby personally, and the association is indebted to Mr. Bixby in that amount at this moment.

The second function that developed upon the secretary was the management of the membership lists and matters relating thereto, which, though perhaps essentially a duty of the secretary of an association such as this, had been managed by the treasurer since the time when he took over the duties of the secretary in 1918. This had involved quite an expenditure for clerical work. This clerical work would still be an expense to the association, had not one of our members, Mr. H. J. Hilliard, of Sound View, Connecticut, volunteered to do it. Mr. Hilliard was formerly connected with a bank, is entirely familiar with the keeping of accounts, is a man of means and leisure, and I shall take pleasure in offering his name to fill the vacant treasurership. Heretofore, this association has had to pay little or nothing for clerical work which has been done either by the secretary, or by the treasurer and his personal clerical force.

In accordance with the vote of the Rochester convention the secretary drafted two letters, one entitled, "To the State Vice-Presidents of the N. N. G. A. and All Members of the Association"; the other, "To All Women Members of the N. N. G. A. and to All Women Interested, or Interestable, in Nut Culture." Both of these letters were sent to all members of the association, and the letter to women was sent also to a considerable list of women not members. The results of these letters were, so far as the secretary has means of knowing, not over a half dozen letters of appreciation from members, one new woman member, and a letter of appreciation from another woman.

The secretary has reason to believe, however, that the letters were the means of stimulating several of the state vice-presidents to activity in the matter of getting new members, in writing articles for the press and in giving illustrated talks on nut growing. Among those who are known to have given such talks or articles, are Dr. Morris, Mr. Weber, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Turk, Mr. O'Connor, Mr. and Mrs. Corsan, Mr. Reed, Mr. Neilson, Wilkinson, Snyder, Matthews, Kains, MacDaniels, Fagan, Kaufman, Rick, Bixby, the secretary, and, doubtless, a number of others.

The secretary has a collection of slides on nut growing which he has lent two or three times to members for illustrating their lectures. It was necessary to provide a box for the safe transportation of these slides which the secretary purchased, at a cost to the association of $8.85. The secretary also furnished a typed, running commentary for these slides and, in one or two instances, has furnished negatives and photographs for making slides and illustrations. The secretary also offers to furnish outlines for lectures or articles, and has a small collection of nuts which is available for lectures.

If the funds were available, it would be possible to enlarge the collections of slides, illustrations and nuts for the use of members who wished to give talks or write articles.

Possibly the suggestion of the secretary was responsible for the formation of a subsidiary association in Rochester. On this a report is desirable from President McGlennon or Mr. Olcott. One or two other members have written of their intention to form subsidiary associations.

A leaflet was also issued by the secretary announcing Mr. Jones' offer to give seedling nut trees as a premium to new members. The demand for these trees not being up to expectation, Mr. Jones very generously sent out five such trees in place of the original offer of one or two. I hope that Mr. Jones will make a report of the number of trees thus distributed. Although the circular distinctly stated that these trees were premiums for new members, many members understood it as an offer for renewal of membership as well, and I think that in every such instance, Mr. Jones himself forgot and sent the trees. A few members, whose names came in too late, were disappointed in not getting trees. Mr. Jones has intimated that it may be possible to correct these omissions this fall. I hope that Mr. Jones will make a statement about this, and I hope also, that the association will not overlook Mr. Jones' liberality in distributing these trees entirely at his own expense.

There have been expressions of regret, and I am sure that many more have felt it, that it has not been possible to go on with the nut contests and the giving of prizes for new and valuable nuts. As there is not likely to be any one else willing to assume the really immense labor involved in the nut contests, conducted as Mr. Bixby has conducted them, I suppose that all we can do is to hope that circumstances will sometime again make it possible for Mr. Bixby to resume these very valuable services for the development of nut culture in the United States. I say intentionally "the United States," because I believe that these services have benefitted the whole country. This fact makes me the bolder in uttering the daring suggestion that perhaps, now that Mr. Bixby has shown the way, and developed exact methods that may be safely followed, which, if I do not misapprehend, is what it states that it desires before presuming to take up any new line of work, the Department of Agriculture itself might consider it a matter worthy of its attention. Professor J. A. Neilson, of the less cautious Canadian Department of Agriculture, is rendering very valuable services of this kind for the Dominion of Canada.

There is evidence that several more state agricultural institutions are giving attention to nut growing. (MacDaniels, at Ithaca; J. C. Christensen, University of Michigan).

There is no need of taking your time now to recapitulate the many things that ought to be done to promote the planting of nut trees and the scientific investigation of nut growing. Dean Watt's address, published in the 12th annual report, and the letter of the secretary to state vice-presidents, contain outlines for these things. The attention of the present convention is more particularly to be given to advocating nut tree planting on a production basis.

Regarding the campaign for new members, perhaps the chairman of the committee on membership will make some remarks. The present membership of the association is 337, if we drop no names this year for non-payment of dues. Of course, those who do not pay their dues should be dropped. But the association has never made any ruling as to how long names should be carried on the rolls. The secretary has been easy in sending copies of the annual reports to members in arrears, hoping that the conscience-stricken recipients would hasten to pay up. But there is no proof that such has been the case, and the secretary would recommend making a rule as to when a member is no longer in good standing, when he should be dropped from the rolls, and what members are entitled to copies of the annual report. The secretary would make the suggestion that there be an amendment to the by-laws to the effect that members who have not paid their dues within three months from the time of their first notification, be sent a second notification to the effect that they are not in good standing on account of non-payment of dues and are not entitled to receive a copy of the annual report; but that all privileges may be restored on payment of dues. At the end of three months from the sending of the second notice, the names of members not in good standing should be dropped. The annual report should be sent only to members in good standing.

Mr. Hilliard asked me what our fiscal year was. I answered that I did not think we had any. It would undoubtedly be a convenience if we are to have a bank man for a treasurer, and a ruling by the association would be in place.

Our accredited list of nut nurserymen is out of date and a new list should be issued. Recommendations as to changes in or additions to that list, should be considered by the members.

It is desirable that the annual reports of the association should be indexed and bound, but no hand has yet been found to do it.

Our ambitions have so far outstripped our sources of revenue that we have come to look on an annual deficit as a normal and defensible thing. I think it is indefensible. I think it is going to have a bad effect on our attendance and our morals if the members have to look forward to what amounts to a good big assessment at every convention. A deficit is not inevitable. The secretary-treasurer was able to report a surplus at the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh meetings. The income from membership dues should be enough to enable the printing of the annual report. But if not I should be in favor of not printing the report until funds were on hand to pay for it.

In rendering an account of the funds of the association I will first state that there is on hand, cash in bank, $84.89. This amount must be charged with the Bowditch hickory prize fund, $25, which leaves $59.89, cash on hand. We owe Mr. Bixby for paying the stenographer's bill, $135.00, and Mr. Olcott for printing, $24.58, a total of $159.58. This makes our deficit $99.69, practically just one hundred dollars.

It should be recalled that in arriving at this result it was necessary to use up our reserve fund from life memberships, amounting to $225.00. If we count that in with the deficit, it amounts to $325.00.

A detailed account of receipts and expenditures is herewith submitted. At the present moment, on account of a rush of other work, on account of difficulties of other kinds, and because of a division of the work between Mr. Hilliard and myself, I am unable to give the exact amount received from memberships and sale of reports and bulletins. This I hope to correct before the annual report goes to press.

RECEIPTS

Turned over by the Treasurer, Mar. 1, 1923: Money for current expenses $ 89.66 From life memberships 95.00 Bowditch hickory prize 25.00 From Litchfield Savings Society 130.00 Membership dues Sale of reports and bulletins

EXPENDITURES

Printing report $378.00 Misc. printing and postals 7.50 Clerical hire and postage 47.65 Postage, telegrams, carriage 38.09 Box for lantern slides 8.85 ———- $480.09

Due Mr. Bixby, stenographer's bill $135.00 Due Mr. Olcott, printing 24.00 ———- $159.58

The report of the secretary was adopted.

The following paper was read by the acting secretary as Mr. Neilson was unable to be present:



SOME FURTHER NOTES ON NUT CULTURE IN CANADA.

JAS. A. NEILSON, B. S. A., M. S., Extension Horticulturist, Hort. Expt. Station, Vineland Sta., Ont.

The nut culture activities outlined in the paper presented by the writer at the convention in Rochester were carried on as much as time and means would permit during the past year. The search for nut trees has been continued and has yielded some interesting results. Several valuable trees of kinds already noted have been located and additional species discovered. Among these were five pecan trees which have been growing on the farm of C. R. James at Richmond Hill, a small town fifteen miles north of Toronto. These trees were about fifty years old and appeared to be perfectly hardy, as far as growth was concerned, but owing to the northern location (43.45") seldom produced ripened nuts. The season of 1919, however, was longer and somewhat warmer than most seasons, and a fully ripened crop of nuts was gathered. The nuts are small with a thin shell and a fine sweet kernel. The largest tree in the lot is about 35 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 16" and a spread of branches equal to its height. Another small plantation of pecans was found at Niagara-on-the-Lake on the fruit farm of John Morgan. Some of these trees were of grafted sorts and others were seedlings. Both grafted and seedling trees were making a good growth and appeared to be perfectly healthy.

In as much as the pecan is native to a country having a longer growing season and higher average summer temperatures than southern Ontario, it is quite encouraging to find that these trees will even grow here, to say nothing of bearing nuts. This would seem to indicate that there are possibilities for some of the pecan-bitternut and pecan-shagbark hybrids in southern Ontario where the shagbark and the bitternut grow quite freely.

I also located two excellent shagbark hickories which have fair-sized nuts with thin shell and fine kernels. One of these trees grows about twelve miles west of Simcoe, Ontario, and produces quite a large nut with a shell so thin that it can be easily cracked with the teeth. This particular tree is about seventy feet tall and bore ten bushels of nuts in one season. I have records of several other good hickories and plan to inspect these at the earliest opportunity.

Several more good English walnuts have been located and examined. Among these there is one tree over seventy-five years old which at one time bore thirty bushels of ripe nuts.

A few good heartnut trees have been located at various points. One of these trees is about thirty-five feet tall, with a spread of nearly sixty feet from tip to tip of branches. The present owner harvested several bushels of good nuts in one season from this tree.

I bought with my own funds a bushel of nuts from this tree and sent them in lots ranging from six to thirty to interested parties in various parts of Ontario. Of course I know that this is not in accordance with the best nut cultural principals, but I thought it was one way of getting nut trees started. If these nuts do not reproduce true to type, they will serve as a good stock for budding or grafting with the best introduced heartnuts later on. Another good heartnut was located almost on the outskirts of Toronto. At five years from planting this tree bore one-half bushel of fine, thin-shelled nuts.

In my last paper I stated that filberts had not done well in Ontario. I am glad to state that I will now have to retract that statement and inform you that good filbert trees have been found near Ancaster, which is close to Hamilton. These trees were about fifty years old, the largest specimen being nearly a foot in diameter at the base and about 25 feet tall. The trees bore well, but on account of the hordes of black and grey squirrels very few nuts were harvested. A fine lot of filberts was also found at Tyroconnell, a small hamlet on the north shore of Lake Erie, in Elgin County. These trees are nearly fifty years old and bear excellent nuts. Much to my surprise I found a fine clump of filberts growing quite near the campus of the O. A. C. at Guelph. These trees were introduced from England about sixteen years ago and at first they did not appear to be hardy, but eventually they established themselves and are now doing well in growth and fruitfulness. I was somewhat amused to think that I was searching so diligently for valuable nut trees all over the Province and did not even know of the existence of these trees, until a year and a half after I made my initial attempt to discover valuable nut trees.

I will have to correct another statement made at the last meeting, to the effect that almonds do not grow well in Canada except on Vancouver Island. Since then I have found a few, good, hard-shelled almond trees growing and yielding well in the Lake Erie country. This leads me to believe that almonds can be grown, with reasonable success, anywhere in the peach belt, particularly in the lake district.

In addition to my efforts to locate good trees I persuaded the authorities at the O. A. C. to establish small plantings of some of the best black walnuts, hickories, Japanese walnuts, and Chinese chestnuts. I also obtained about five bushels of Chinese walnuts and one bushel of Chinese chestnuts from northwest China for testing at the experiment stations, and by other interested individuals. Owing to the length of time the nuts were in transit the majority of them were unfit for germination. A few have grown, however, and we hope to get good results from these.

A collection of nuts containing 60 plates and 21 different species was prepared and exhibited at the Royal Winter Fair at Toronto and also at the Livestock Show at Guelph. I was in attendance almost constantly at Toronto, and endeavored to give all the information possible on nut culture. Both exhibits attracted a great deal of attention and called forth favorable comments from visitors and the press.

Experimental plantings of English, Japanese, Chinese, and American walnuts, filberts and hickories, have been established at the Horticultural Experiment Station. Mr. W. J. Strong pollenated about 200 black walnut blossoms with pollen of the English walnut. Apparently a good number (approximately 75%) have set fruit.

A graduate of the Ontario Agricultural College, who has become interested in nut culture, procured 2,000 black walnut seedlings from the Forestry Station at St. Williams. These trees were budded, in August last, with local grown English walnuts, but unfortunately only a few buds took. An attempt will be made next spring to whip graft the trees that did not set buds this summer.

There is a marked increase in the interest in nut culture shown by the public during the past year. This is shown by numerous requests for information and addresses on nut growing and by the public endorsement of nut culture by three important horticultural organizations. The Ontario Horticultural Council, the Federal Horticultural Council and the Ontario Horticultural Societies Convention each passed a resolution asking the Dominion Department of Agriculture to appoint a man to investigate the possibilities of nut culture in Canada. No definite action has been taken as yet, but it is expected that an appointment will be made in the near future.

We are giving the boys and girls of Ontario an opportunity to assist us in our work by hunting for good nut trees, and as an incentive we have offered prizes of $5.00 each for the best specimens of our various native and introduced nut trees. This should bring results, because if there is anyone in this wide world who knows where good nuts are, it is the small boy.

The work during the past year has generally been encouraging, but like every other line of human endeavor there have been disappointments. For example, one bushel of Chinese walnuts was stolen, and a number of good specimens of other kinds mysteriously disappeared from my exhibition collection.

Another disappointing feature has been the apathy, and even hostility, shown by some officials. I do not intend, however, to let these difficulties discourage me in the least, but plan to carry on and preach the gospel of beauty and utility as exemplified in our best nut trees.



ADDRESS BY DR. L. C. CORBETT

U. S. Department of Agriculture

The work in nut culture by the Department of Agriculture antedates the present Bureau of Plant Industry, and to confine the history of the work to the present Bureau of Plant Industry would not quite do the subject justice.

From the time of the beginning of fruit work in the Department of Agriculture, in 1885, nuts have received more or less attention. After the formation of the Bureau of Plant Industry, in 1901, special appropriations were received from Congress for the support of nut investigations, and individuals were appointed to that service in the department. Mr. C. A. Reed, whom you all know very well, was the first appointee of this service, devoting his whole time and attention to the work. He has been with the department for several years, and has given his time exclusively to the nut problems of the country. Naturally, the nut problems are not confined to any geographic area, but are nation-wide; but certain of the plants which have entered into the problems of nut culture have demanded more attention than others, for reasons that are the same as in fruit culture. The older fruits, those better known and longer in cultivation, whose problems are better understood, require less attention from the grower and from the experimenter than do the newer ones in the field.

Nut culture in America, as I understand it, not being a nut culturist myself, consists of two types of projects. We have one type that has long been practiced by man, that we imported from European countries and established on this continent. People have cultivated these nuts more or less intensively for generations, and many of the problems have been worked out, so far as Europe is concerned. Of course, when introduced in America, new problems confronted the growers here. The other type of nut industry is based upon indigenous nuts of which we know little, either from the orchard standpoint or as to the varieties concerned. Our native nuts, particularly the pecan, have forced themselves upon the attention of investigators of the department to much greater extent, perhaps, than any other nut with which we have to deal. Being a native, indigenous plant, not yet under cultivation, there is immediately presented the problem of the choice of varieties, adaption to changed conditions, and all of the problems arising in connection with a rapidly developing commercial industry; certain enthusiasts soon become enamored with the possibilities in the southern parts of the United States for pecan culture, and they immediately transplant it into new and untried regions, and as a result their problems have become legion.

The work of the Department of Agriculture in nut culture has developed really around the growing industries of the country; primarily, around the pecan, and secondly, around the almond and the walnut, for these are the more important, commercially. Naturally, the most pressing problems arise in connection with growing industries; they have growing pains which have to be eased the same as with small boys.

The Department of Agriculture has therefore found itself in the position of seeking answers to numerous questions which have been made in connection with these developing industries. I believe that we have contributed very materially to the knowledge of varieties, particularly as regards their adaptation to different geographic locations. We have also assisted the industries to solve some of their problems of cultivation, particularly of propagation, and also the problems growing out of the maintenance of soil fertility. With a new crop, in a new environment, it is always a problem to know how to manage the soil, and this is one of the leading lines of activity in the field, at the present time. In the Bureau of Plant Industry, two offices, that of Horticulture and Pomology and that of Soil Fertility, are co-operating in the solution of the soil fertility problems in the pecan regions.

Of course, as the industry developed and became established, the natural enemies of the pecan and of the other nut trees asserted themselves, as a result of which there have been set up investigations in the Bureau of Plant Industry to study the life histories of the various fungi that attack pecans; and outside of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Bureau of Entomology has been devoting time to the study of the control of insect enemies. So that, at the present, the department is so organized that three or four important lines of attack are being made upon problems of these industries. Thus, while at the beginning of the Bureau of Plant Industry, in 1901, there was no single, individual person devoting his time and attention to the problems of nut culture, at present there are quite a group of individuals giving their whole time. I feel we are making progress in the work, and while we may be lagging very much behind what we should like to do, we are assisting as best we can, and are at least keeping in sight of the industry, as it goes forward.

I will not try to go into details about the work we are carrying on, because it is better to tell of what we have accomplished than to tell what we hope to do. We have a man on the Pacific Coast giving his whole time and attention to the study of breeding and of the cultural problems of almonds. Besides this, we have two men giving all of their time to pecans; and during the last year, there has been established near Albany, Georgia, a station devoted to the cultural problems of pecans. One gentleman is continuously on the ground with the work, and two others devote more or less of their time to it.

Now, while these problems connected with the industries are the ones occupying most attention, the workers in the Department of Agriculture have not been unmindful of other native nut-bearing plants, such as the native black walnuts, the hickories and the chestnut up to the time of the very destructive attack of blight. The chestnut, however, has not passed out of our sphere of activity, because at the present time, (and I think you will see tomorrow at the Bell Station, some interesting possibilities in the future of chestnut culture in this country), the Chinese forms, which are much more resistant to blight, bid fair to give us a progeny to make it possible for us also to have a chestnut industry from the horticultural standpoint.

Probably the day of timber supply from our native chestnut is at an end. We hope not, but it looks that way at the present time. The possibilities of growing trees from China, the mollissima, or hybrids of them, bids fair to place the chestnut industry so that we can contend with the blight. We probably will not have immune varieties, but those which are able to live with the blight. That, it seems to me, is a very important consideration, because chestnuts have always been an important nut in our eastern markets, and are important in the European markets as well. While the larger forms of southern Europe will probably not be of value to us here, if we can establish a nut industry with nuts of fair quality, as large as our native sweet chestnuts, based on the Chinese species, the mollissima, then we will be making progress. You may see some of these trees at Bell Station which are eight or ten years old; they are bearing quite abundantly, and some of the chestnuts are really very palatable and of satisfactory size.

In addition to this breeding work with chestnuts, there is under way intensive breeding work with almonds which has for its object the development of those more hardy than those now in cultivation in California. This almond industry, though large, is handicapped because of the late frost injury, and it is desirable to get those which will bloom later and withstand lower temperatures.

The varietal problem with pecans will be ever with us, as long as varieties are found in the wilds and as long as people continue to plant seedlings in different localities. That is one of the subjects that is being given considerable attention.

In addition, the relative productivity of the plants to use as mother plants is an important one. In the work of the Department of Agriculture in connection with citrus fruits, it has been found that the individual bud carries over into its progeny the ability to produce fruit not only of a given type, but also the productivity of the parent to the progeny. A long series of records of the behavior of individual trees have been secured; we are building up a mass of information on which to base selections for better parent trees than any available at the present time. If the pecan behaves like the citrus fruits of California, we will be able in the future to have strains and varieties which will be very much less variable than those at the present time.

The propagation, selection, disease and cultural work covers the field that is handled by the Bureau of Plant Industry. We always like to dream of the future, and we are pleased to have the dreams come true. We must have in mind the possibility of better black walnuts than we have at present; and after the great inroad into the industry made at the time of the War, when the trees were used for timber purposes, there should be a greater effort on the part of the people in the northern districts to propagate black walnuts, not only for nuts but also for timber. The black walnut is a very great asset not only for timber and for ammunition purposes, but for food as well.

The hickory tree is in the same class as the black walnut—it is a valuable timber tree as well as nut tree. No other timber is as valuable for the construction of wheels as hickory, and while the "disc wheel" has served a useful purpose in railroad car construction, it is not likely that it will replace hickory altogether in the construction of wheels of motor vehicles. We are veritably a nation on wheels and we will always be looking for material with which to carry us through the country. As I have said, we are a nation of people on wheels, and if your propaganda did nothing more than to stimulate an increased interest in the production of hickory for timber purposes, it would be accomplishing a great result. But I believe that there are varieties among the hickories which should be to the North what the pecan is to the South. There are those which are very large and those which are thin-shelled, and those of fine flavor; as a food product I think the shellbark is second only to the pecan. And I should hail the day with great interest when there are good, recognized varieties of hickories corresponding with the best varieties of pecans. I believe they will be found and developed.

I have told you something of what we are doing and of what we hope may result. I hope that you will all visit the offices of the Department carrying on this work, and that you will get acquainted with the men handling the various projects, and tell them what your troubles are, that they may know how to proceed, and that they may discuss with you the best ways of attacking and handling the problems with which you are confronted.

Prof. Lumsden of the Federal Horticultural Board spoke of the chestnut bark disease and the fact that our experts advise us that within the period of twenty-five years the destruction of the native American chestnut will have been accomplished. The tanners and related interests of the country are now scouting around to find some species of tree to use as a substitute for tanning operations. Castanea mollissima is capable of developing into a good sized tree. From an economic standpoint the texture of its lumber is good, while the quality of its fruit is fair, and as an ornamental tree it has a future. It has resistance to the chestnut bark disease. It may become a substitute for C. dentata. Several crosses have been made between C. dentata and C. mollissima and some of them show considerable merit. Selection of these hybrids will have to be made for two purposes, namely wood production and fruit production.

Corylus colurna, the Constantinople filbert, is destined to become popular as an ornamental. On the Pacific Coast a bacterial blight occurs in some sections on corylus. A great work can be done in this country by the Northern Nut Growers Association by publishing bulletins advocating plantings of nut bearing trees for a three-fold purpose, timber, food, and beauty.

Communications were read from Miss Frances L. Stearns, Instructor in Botany of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Junior Colony, asking information about planting nut trees, and from Mr. J. A. Young, Secretary of the Tree Lovers Association of America, asking the association to adopt their slogan and to co-operate with it in urging the more intelligent planting of trees, shrubs and flowers.

The evening session on Sept. 26th was called to order at 8:10 and a moving picture reel, "The Almond Industry in California," loaned by the Dept. of the Interior, was shown. Following that an address with lantern slides was given by Mr. C. A. Reed of the Dept. of Agriculture, on his recent trip to China.

MR. REED: In 1910 certain Americans in China conceived the idea of exporting the walnuts produced in that country to America. The experiment proved so successful that they continued to do so, and shipped their walnuts to this country year after year. The business built up very rapidly, until the war broke out when, for the time being, the industry was forced to a standstill. But as soon as the war was over the business picked up again, and had assumed such proportions, about two years ago, that American growers wanted to know how much longer the Chinese would be able to send walnuts over here. Most of the nuts from China were of inferior quality to those produced in this country. Records of the exports showed that there had been an increase from China each year; but as to the methods used, the extent of orcharding, or the growth in planting, etc., the matter had not been written up, and the consuls had not the remotest idea. It was finally decided by Congress, therefore, that a special appropriation for an investigation should be made. So a special trip was made to China to ascertain, first of all, the probable trade from there for the next ten or twenty years. Our people felt that more walnuts would be coming here, and they wanted to know about this before they planted any more here. It fell to my lot to make the trip, a year ago this summer.

We went first to Honolulu; then to Manila and Japan, and finally to China. We went into the section just to the right of Tientsin. By superimposing a map of China over that of the United States you may see that China more than covers this country; China is considerably larger than the United States.

Our basic point was Peking, which is in about the same latitude as Philadelphia. We found that walnuts were grown all through this section of China, not very much farther north than Peking, but not much farther south than Shanghai. There are walnuts cultivated here, in the Chinese way, over a great area; but we were convinced that the exportation of walnuts to this country was not likely to increase, for the business has apparently reached its height. American trade takes the best nuts; the second best go to Canada, the third to Europe and the fourth and fifth to Australia.

Our first expedition into the country was almost directly north of Peking. We went down the railroad about 15 miles, to Shaho, where we employed donkeys and a ricksha, and rode across country some 12 or 15 miles. Here we found a very excellent Chinese hotel, and surrounding orchards of perhaps 300 trees. Some of the consular reports in China stated that this place was one of the three sections in which the finest shipments of nuts were produced.

We next went to the east of Tientsin where we found quite a number of orchards and trees claimed to be from 150 to 200 years of age, although we found, after travelling a short time and inquiring from the Chinese farmers, that the figures they gave to us were probably inaccurate. We finally ceased to ask the Chinese farmers for figures of that sort. It was very interesting to note the difference in Chinese and American methods. For instance, in China, the land may be owned by one or by several people, who will lease the land or the trees, or perhaps even an individual tree, for a period of years. White marks placed on the trees indicate their ownership.

Young walnut trees were very scarce. We were told in one province that Chinese merchants, who had been forced out of Russia because of economic conditions there, and had lost everything, had come home and were seeking something with which to make money. They were already planting a considerable number of walnut trees, and were growing crops under the trees, planting crops of millet first, and then of soy beans later in the season. Another crop they use is called kaolin (pronounced "gollin" in this country).

Very few of the trees are ever pruned systematically, or taken care of; the Chinese seem to have no idea of this. Of course, the rainfall there is at a different time of the year than ours. Fall, winter and spring, in North China, are practically without rain. Consequently, the atmosphere is very dry.

Here and there we found trees that struck us so favorably that we made notes with the intention of going back to the trees to get scions for propagating purposes for this country. We were told that one of these trees had borne 800 pounds of nuts. I suppose, however, if that was so, it was green weight, and included the hulls. This tree was on the grounds of the Y. M. C. A., about 80 miles below Shanghai, the farthest south we went. The tree had been planted by missionaries, and had made splendid growth. There were not many walnuts south of that point, however. In the province of Shanshi the soil is of a washed nature, subjected to rains, and we found there huge gorges that had evidently been forming for centuries. All of the soil there, that is not too uneven to be cultivated, is terraced; and along the sides of the terraces walnut trees are planted. We usually found tunnels along the sides of the terraces. These were dug around the bank so that the water would run through the tunnels instead of over the terrace.

We saw no indications of blight. We thought we saw it in one case, but when we examined the nuts, it proved to be nothing but insects working on the hulls.

Wherever we went, we were told by the Chinese that they harvest their walnuts at about the time of the year which in America would be about the first week in September. We found, however, that the nuts were off of the trees and assembled on the ground for sorting and drying, long before that. They were put in windrows covered with millet straw and left for ten days, after which time the hulls were chipped off with knives and the nuts immediately washed and put on the market. I was particularly struck with the mechanical motion with which the Chinese men worked; it was just as regular as a machine. This was the first time that characteristic came to my attention, and afterwards I was struck with the same thing everywhere.

Each farmer takes his products, whatever they may be, to a common town called "market town," and there they are bought by the local merchants, or the "compradors." The exporters are missionaries and foreigners who make no effort to buy from the farmers, for the tradesman, or comprador, can get the nuts at a better figure than can the foreigners. The tradesman gets his commission in addition. The baskets of nuts are carried on poles placed over the shoulders of the Chinese.

One of the principal walnut centers of Chantung Province is 25 miles from the railroad, and we made quite an effort to reach it. An agricultural missionary, a Mr. Gordan, made the trip there with me, and we found it a badly infested section. We arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon and took about one hour going around to see the nuts. There were places within the wall where nuts had been assembled, and we made estimates as to the number of pounds. I think there were from 100 to 150 sacks of nuts in a pile.

Many of the women and children grow walnuts and these crops are inspected and sorted before being shipped to Peking. In the early summer, we saw quantities of apricot kernels being transported to the market and sold as almonds. We had understood that China was quite an important almond-producing country, but I doubt if there are any almonds in China. I did not see a tree, nor did I get an indication that there were any there.

One of the largest chestnut trees that I saw measured eight feet and would have been valuable for timber purposes. It was in one of the very attractive little orchards of chestnut trees in the north of Shansi and northeast of Tientsin. We understood that there were very large orchards to the north, but you might say that there is no such thing as a large orchard in China. We counted about 100 trees in such orchards, and we made notes as to their bearing habits. We found the chestnuts of pleasing quality, of a fair size, and not quite as large as European nuts but larger than the American. We did not see many of the trees which had been allowed to develop normally. They are not of special value in China, and consequently, the branches are removed as high as possible, and often the tops are cut out.

The Chinese have a species of native peanut which is very shrivelled and hard; but missionaries from this country have introduced there the American peanut, which is now grown so extensively that Chinese exports have disturbed our market conditions considerably.

The Chinese allow nothing to go to waste. When the peanuts are removed from the ground and cared for, the soil is sifted so that no peanuts will be lost. The American peanut grown there is served in little butterdishes on the hotel tables, as a delicacy.



THURSDAY MORNING SESSION, SEPTEMBER 27

Meeting called to order by President McGlennon, 10:15 a. m.

The president appointed as Nominating Committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year, Dr. Robert T. Morris, Prof. C. P. Close, J. S. McGlennon.

Mr. T. P. Littlepage, of Washington, D. C., then spoke on the subject of Commercial Nut Culture.

This is a very difficult subject to discuss, for the reason that, as yet, there are very few facts upon which to base any conclusions about commercial nut culture in the North.

First, let me say that the principal point upon which we base our opinion that nut culture in the North has commercial possibilities, is the fact that growing throughout many sections of the North are thousands of nut trees, pecans, walnuts, hickories and butternuts, many of which grow very fine nuts. It would be a repudiation of all known laws of natural science to conclude that trees budded and grafted from these desirable parents would not grow and bear the same as they do. Therefore, we are perfectly safe in concluding that if there are successful nut trees growing, others also will grow. Let us proceed to consider some of the requirements.

First, there is the soil requirement. But before considering the soil requirement, I might add that we must keep within reasonable latitude of the homes of the native trees. This subject has been fully covered in previous reports of our association, and I do not care to go into a detailed discussion of it, except to say that prospective planters of commercial orchards should read the previous reports of the association on this subject, and keep in mind that somewhere north of the home of the parent trees, is a line north of which these trees will not bear. This line is dependent upon several things, altitude, topography and other elements. As an example, I merely mention that orange orchards flourish in California at the Philadelphia latitude.

Going on with the question of soil, upon this subject alone might be written a whole volume. But a few points are essential. Most nut trees require a deep, well-drained soil that is not swampy or seepy, and over which there are no overflows during the summer season. Pecans grow along the river bottoms where there are heavy overflows in the winter, but such an overflow in the summer would probably kill the trees. Nut trees seem to flourish well on land that is underlaid with clay as a subsoil. In fact, almost any kind of good farm land is suitable for some of the different kinds of nut trees, provided it does not come within the restrictions above mentioned. The better the land, however, the more successful will be the growth of the trees, and I very much doubt whether it pays to put any kind of desirable tree on undesirable land. I have heard it said of pedigreed stock that about ninety percent of the pedigree is in the corn crib, five percent in the man that does the feeding, and five percent in the blood. Perhaps these percentages might be subject to some variations. I shouldn't reduce the corn crib requirement, and I think about ninety percent of the success of our nut trees will depend upon the land.

The next point to be considered is the question of varieties and, in this connection, it is essential to remember that nuts are produced to be sold and eaten; therefore, it is important to keep in mind the requirements of the consuming public. Upon this question also have been written many thousands of pages which, when all summed up, simply amounts to this: get the best varieties that will bear in your particular locality. This can be determined to some extent by what native trees are growing in your particular locality, although not entirely so. In many sections of the country, there are no native pecan trees, and yet these trees flourish very successfully when brought from some other section. On this point the prospective planter of commercial orchards should seek the best advice obtainable.

The third requirement for a commercial nut orchard is cultivation and attention. Many of the nut trees will grow and bear without any attention whatsoever, but they will take your time for it. I have seen wild pecan trees that were not over twelve or fifteen feet high at twenty-five years of age. I have seen cultivated trees larger than that at eight years of age. A tree responds to care and cultivation the same as corn or potatoes or any other of the cultivated crops. The lack of cultivation is just as detrimental to them as to these crops. Young pecan trees should be hoed five or six times each summer, and when they get to be four to seven years of age, there ought to be a constant, clean cultivation, from early spring until late in the summer, followed by a good cover crop to be turned under the following spring at the beginning of the cultivating period. They should also be given plenty of good, commercial fertilizer.

If the prospective planter of commercial nut orchard has enough faith and hope and follows the suggestions given above, he will not be dependent upon charity in his old age.

DR. JORDAN: I am interested as an amateur pecan grower, and I would like to ask what varieties will be of most profit, commercially, that can be grown with a reasonable hope of success in the northern latitude.

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MR. LITTLEPAGE: The question is a very difficult one to answer, but the important thing is to stick to the kind that grows the best in your locality. The Posey is grown in Lancaster County, Pa. The parent Posey tree grows in Indiana, and I had the pleasure of naming it. That tree is a good bearer, and it is the thinnest-shelled northern-grown pecan with which I am familiar. It is a very beautiful nut, with the exception that frequently one side of the kernel will not fill out as it does on the other sides. It is not defective, but simply deficient. It will have one full sized kernel but it is not perfect in shape. I myself do not think this a very serious objection.

The Major is a fine bearing pecan, but the question is whether it is large enough to be good commercially. The Niblack is the highest flavored pecan.

The following letter from Mr. J. F. Jones, vice-president of the association, was then read:

I am very sorry not to be able to attend the meeting this year. My son, who has the overseeing of the outside work and, in my absence, the general work, is incapacitated, due to an operation for appendicitis last week and, with a number of men at work on particular jobs, I cannot get away.

I am sending a few nuts which may be of interest to visitors. About half of my young pecan trees are bearing this year and a few trees are quite full. So far, Busseron shows up the best in bearing, with Posey second, and Niblack third. The English walnuts are a good crop. Mr. Bush has a big crop of these, and older trees in general have a good crop. The Rush hazel is bearing a big crop as usual. So far this is the only variety in any species to bear heavy annual crops here. The weather, seemingly, has no effect on the setting of the nuts. Last spring we had it down to 10 above zero when this was in bloom, but it set a full crop from both hand and natural pollenization. Hybrids of this and the best large fruited Europeans which have come into bearing are very promising, but it is too early to judge as to their bearing.

Put me down for new memberships or cash as last year, or for my part in any arrangement that may be decided upon to take care of the indebtedness of the association, or to advance its usefulness. I shall also be glad to extend the offer of two nut trees as last year, to new members, if it is thought this will help in securing the new members. Offerings this year would be Stabler black walnut seedlings, Chinese, Mayette, Franquette, Eureka, etc., in the English or Persians. Also seedlings of the Rush hazel, if wanted.

Having been nominated vice-president of the association two years ago, it may be understood that I am in line for the presidency this year upon the retirement of our honorable president Mr. McGlennon. If so, I wish to ask the nominating committee not to consider my name as I cannot accept this responsibility. With the vast amount of correspondence incidental to supplying information to those wanting to engage in the growing of nuts or nut trees, and growing and selling nut trees, experimental work and breeding new types and varieties, I have my hands full and could not do this position justice. We also have members in the association better fitted for this position who can give it better thought and attention, and who can advance the association and the interests of nut growers more than I can, while I can be of more benefit to the association and the nut industry in general without taking on the duties imposed by any official position.



NOTES BY MR. BIXBY

Thursday, Sept. 27

Trip by automobiles to Mr. Littlepage's farm at Bowie, Md., and to the U. S. Experiment Station at Bell.

Mr. Littlepage has an orchard of 275 trees covering thirty acres of pecans and Stabler black walnuts, the first pecan trees being set in 1914, and the Stabler black walnuts some three years later. Now both are starting to bear, a few nuts having appeared last year, and a very few nuts the year before.

The trees are growing finely, the leaves have a fine dark green color, and nuts were noticed in clusters, the pecans being in clusters of 2, 3, 4 and 5; and the black walnuts in ones and twos.

That the orchard has been given good care is evident. Commercial fertilizers and green manures have been used. A winter cover crop of rye was grown last fall and plowed under this spring, and a summer cover crop of soy beans was grown this summer and will be plowed under this fall.

The varieties noticed in bearing were the Major, the Greenriver, Stuart, Busseron and the Indiana. Of the above, all are northern varieties, excepting the Stuart, which is a southern variety which has given evidence elsewhere of being able to grow and to bear further north than almost any other southern variety.

The pecans are set in blocks, the earlier ones being set 60' x 60'. Mr. Littlepage became convinced after his first plantings that this was too close, and the last planting of pecans was 100' x 120'.

The black walnuts are planted along two fence rows, the trees being fifty feet apart, the total length of the rows being about three-quarters of a mile. The peculiarity of the Stabler black walnut of bearing some nuts where the kernel is in one piece, that is where one lobe of the kernel has not developed, was noticed in some of Mr. Littlepage's trees. There is going to be, in future years at Mr. Littlepage's place, an opportunity to study this peculiar behavior of the Stabler black walnut, that could be carried on at the parent tree only with great difficulty, because of the inaccessibility of the tree, in the first place, and the inaccessibility of the flowers, owing to their great height above the ground, in the second.

At Bell Station was seen Dr. Van Fleet's work on chestnuts. Some ten years ago Dr. Van Fleet began this work for the purpose of getting something that should be blight proof, or at least strongly blight resisting and that would furnish the nuts which the chestnut blight is rapidly making impossible of production. With this end in view, some ten years ago Dr. Van Fleet planted nuts of the Chinese chestnut, Castanea mollissima, and planted out the seedlings. He also procured from the place of J. W. Killen, at Fenton, Md., nuts of Japan chestnuts that had withstood the blight up to the time the nuts were planted. The first thing to be found out was how well these would resist the blight. None were found to be immune, although the trees are still alive after ten years exposure. Dr. Van Fleet's ambition was to get a blight-resistant chestnut the size of the Japan chestnut with the delicious flavor of the chinkapin. This, as yet, has not been accomplished, although some very good nuts much larger than chinkapins were seen. One interesting fact noted as to resistance was that the Japan chestnut, which is not generally supposed to be as resistant as the Chinese chestnut, was at Bell Station apparently standing up just as well.

* * * * *

At the evening session, Thursday, Sept. 27, a rising vote of thanks was given to Mr. and Mrs. Littlepage for their hospitality of the afternoon. The president then introduced Mrs. W. N. Hutt, editor of the Progressive Farm Woman, of North Carolina.

Mrs. Hutt quoted H. G. Wells as saying, "The primeval savage was both herbivorous and carnivorous. He had for food hazel nuts, beech nuts, sweet chestnuts, earth nuts and acorns." She went on to say:

In Spain and Southern France, the chestnut is now used much more than in the past. You should know in what appetizing forms they are cooked. It is a question how you should cook the chestnut if you do not want to spoil its flavor. Should you steam it, boil it, or what? When you want it in bread, or when you use the tasteless forms, it is first steamed or boiled, and later is mashed up and made into bread, or mixed with cheese or tomatoes. But if you want to develop the flavor, then roast it, pick it out from the shell and crush it, using almost no other flavor with it.

Have you ever realized how much we depend on the walnut in cooking? Take the pecan, or perhaps almost all of the nuts; the flavor is diminished by cooking. But the walnut is the one nut that gains in flavor by being cooked. This means a great deal for the popularity of the walnut.

A friend of mine was captured by the Germans, and was sent out each day into the forests to gather acorns to be used in the prisoners' food. The friend said that many a time he thought he would rather die than to have to eat or gather any more acorns.

Farmers' Bulletin No. 712, "The School Lunch," by Caroline Hunt, has been especially valuable in the preparation of the school lunch with nuts. There is a man who comes to North Carolina every winter, who will tell you that he lives on ten types of nut oils and nut butter.

The great mass of people out through the country are not yet ready to comprehend this; but once they are educated to the value of nuts, the demand for them will be unlimited.

As to the question of economy, the prices should not go up any farther; they will not be used enough until they become cheaper. With many boys and girls in a family, a dollar's worth of nuts, at $1 a pound, will not go far. If we could get nuts at more reasonable prices it seems to me that women would consider them more than they do for food. They want them not only for their parties, but in everyday life.

We should popularize nuts through newspapers. It pays to advertise, and little notices in the paper are much more far-reaching than any other way of telling the story of the nourishment to be found in nuts.