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



Affiliated with

THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY



REPORT

of the proceedings of the

Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting

DOWNINGTOWN, PA.

SEPTEMBER 11 and 12, 1933



INDEX

Officers, Directors and Committees 3 State Vice-Presidents 4 List of Members 5 Constitution 8 By-Laws 9 My Butternut, A Poem, by J. H. Helmick 10 Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth Annual Convention 11 Address of Rev. G. Paul Musselman 11 Report of the Treasurer 13 J. F. Jones' Experimental Work in Hybridizing Filberts and Hazels—Miss Mildred Jones 14 Commercial Cracking of the Black Walnut—H. F. Stoke 16 Walnut Notes for 1933—C. A. Reed 20 Is Information of General Orchard Fertility of Value in the Nut Grove—Prof. F. N. Fagan 25 Forward March of the Nut Cultural Project in Michigan—Prof. James A. Neilson 28 Notes on the Filbert Orchard at Geneva, N. Y.—Prof. G. L. Slate 34 Developing a Walnut Grove as a Side Line by a Bee-keeper—L. K. Hostetter 37 Nut Trees as Used in Landscaping—Dr. Lewis E. Theiss 39 My Experience in Growing Nut Trees on the Home Lawn—M. Glen Kirkpatrick 42 Developing a Thousand Tree Improved Black Walnut Grove—C. F. Hostetter 43 Tribute to Mr. Bixby 45 Message to Dr. Morris 46 A Black Walnut Grove and Why—Dr. Frank L. Baum 47 Nut Contests 48 Filbert Pollinization 48 Green Shoot Grafting of Trees—Dr. R. T. Morris 49 Communications from: Robert T. Morris, M.D. 49 Prof. A. S. Colby 53 J. U. Gellatly 54 Notes on the "Tour," Tuesday, September 12, 1933 55 Notes on the Banquet, Tuesday evening, September 12, 1933 56 Address of Al. Bergstrom 57 Reports of Standing Committees 57 Reports of the Resolutions Committee 57 List of member nurserymen having budded and grafted stock 58 Exhibits at the Convention 59 Attendance 60 Books and Bulletins on Northern Nut Growing 62 Advertisements—"Hobbies Magazine" 63



OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

President. FRANK H. FREY, ROOM 930, LA SALLE ST. STATION, CHICAGO, ILL.

Vice-President. DR. G. A. ZIMMERMAN, 32 SOUTH 13TH ST., HARRISBURG, PA.

Secretary. GEO. L. SLATE, STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, GENEVA, N. Y.

Treasurer. NEWTON H. RUSSELL, 12 BURNETT AVE., SOUTH HADLEY, MASS.

DIRECTORS

FRANK H. FREY, DR. G. A. ZIMMERMAN, GEO. L. SLATE, NEWTON H. RUSSELL, CARL F. WALKER, PROF. J. A. NEILSON.

EDITOR OF PUBLICATIONS

DR. W. C. DEMING.

COMMITTEES

Executive. FRANK H. FREY, DR. G. A. ZIMMERMAN, GEO. L. SLATE, NEWTON H. RUSSELL, CARL F. WALKER, PROF. J. A. NEILSON.

Auditing. ZENAS H. ELLIS, CARL F. WALKER.

Finance. T. P. LITTLEPAGE, DR. W. C. DEMING, H. R. WEBER.

Press and Publication. DR. W. C. DEMING, KARL W. GREENE, DR. J. RUSSELL SMITH, ZENAS H. ELLIS, GEO. L. SLATE.

Membership. NEWTON H. RUSSELL, MISS DOROTHY C. SAWYER, J. U. GELLATLY, JOHN W. HERSHEY, D. C. SNYDER.

Program. PROF. J. A. NEILSON, DR. W. C. DEMING, C. A. REED, H. BURGART, KARL W. GREENE.

Hybrids and Promising Seedlings. DR. G. A. ZIMMERMAN, PROF. N. F. DRAKE, MISS AMELIA RIEHL, H. F. STOKE, J. F. WILKINSON.

Survey. CARL F. WALKER, DR. A. S. COLBY, H. F. STOKE, J. F. WILKINSON.

Exhibits. J. W. HERSHEY, MISS MILDRED JONES, H. BURGART, PROF. A. S. COLBY.

DEAN OF THE ASSOCIATION

DR. ROBERT T. MORRIS, OF NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT.

FIELD SECRETARY

ZENAS H. ELLIS, FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT.

OFFICIAL JOURNAL

NATIONAL NUT NEWS, 2810 S. MICHIGAN AVE., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.



STATE VICE-PRESIDENTS

Arkansas Prof. N. F. Drake

California Will J. Thorpe

Canada J. U. Gellatly

China P. W. Wang

Connecticut Dr. W. C. Deming

Dist. of Columbia L. H. Mitchell

England Howard Spence

Illinois Prof. A. S. Colby

Indiana J. F. Wilkinson

Iowa D. C. Snyder

Maryland T. P. Littlepage

Massachusetts James H. Bowditch

Michigan Harry Burgart

Minnesota Carl Weschcke

Missouri P. C. Stark

Nebraska William Caha

New York Prof. L. H. MacDaniels

New Jersey Lee W. Jaques

Ohio Harry R. Weber

Pennsylvania John Rick

Rhode Island Philip Allen

Vermont Zenas H. Ellis

Virginia Dr. Russel J. Smith

Washington D. H. Berg

West Virginia Dr. J. E. Cannaday

Wisconsin Lt. G. H. Turner



NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION

List of Members as of January 1, 1934

Abbott, Mrs. Laura W., Route No. 2, Bristol, Pennsylvania. Adams, Gerald W., R. F. D. 4, Moorehead, Iowa. Aldrich, A. W., Route 3, Springfield, Vermont. Allen, Edward E., Hotel Ambassador, Cambridge, Mass. Allen, Philip, 178 Dorance St., Providence, R. I. Andrews, Miss Frances E., 245 Clifton Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. Anthony, A. B., Sterling, Illinois.

Ballock, J. S., 1559 Main Street, Springfield, Mass. Bartlett, Frances A., Stamford, Connecticut. Baum, Dr. F. L., Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Bennett, F. H., 19 East 92nd St., New York, N. Y. Berg, D. H., Nooksack, Washington. Betz, Frank S. (Personal), Betz Bldg., Hammond, Indiana. Bixby, Mrs. Willard G., 32 Grand Ave., Baldwin, N. Y. Bontz, Mrs. Geo. I., Route No. 2, Peoria, Illinois. * Bowditch, James H., 903 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. Boyce, Daniel, Rt. 4, Winterset, Iowa. Bradley, Homer, c/o Kellogg Farms, Rt. 1, Augusta, Mich. Brown, Daniel L., 60 State Street, Boston, Mass. Brown, Roy W., Spring Valley, Illinois. Bryant, Dr. Ward C., 31 Federal St., Greenfield, Mass. Buckwalter, Alan R., Flemington, New Jersey. Burgart H., c/o Mich. Nut Nursery, Rt. 2, Union City, Michigan.

Caha, William, Wahoo, Nebraska. Canaday, Ward M., Home Bank Building, Toledo, Ohio. Cannaday, Dr. J. E., c/o Charleston Gen. Hosp., Charleston, West Virginia. Chipman, G. F., "The Country Guide," Winnipeg, Man., Canada. Close, Prof. C. P., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Colby, Arthur S., University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Collins, Joseph N., 335 W. 87th St., New York, N. Y. Cooley, Ralph B., Hotel Kimbal, Springfield, Mass. Crysdale, Stanley A., R. D. 5, Auburn, N. Y. Curtis, Elroy, Brookfield, Conn.

Deeben, Fred, Trevorton, Pennsylvania. Deming, Dr. W. C, 31 Owen Street, Hartford, Conn. * Drake, Prof. N. F., Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Elfgren, Ivan P., 11 Sheldon Place, Rutland, Vermont. * Ellis, Zenas H., Fair Haven, Vermont. Ellwanger, Mrs. W. D., 510 East Ave., Rochester, New York. Ettari, Oscar A., 71 North Ave., New Rochelle, N. Y.

Ferris, Major Hiram B., P. O. Box 74, Spokane, Wash. Fickes, W. R., Route 7, Wooster, Ohio. Fontaine, Arthur, 21 Highland Ave., Ludlow, Mass. Frey, Frank H., Room 930 La Salle St. Station, Chicago, Ill.

Gable, Jas. B., Jr., Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. Gage, J. H., 107 Flatt Ave., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Galbreath, R. S., Huntington, Indiana. Garber, Hugh G., 75 Fulton St., New York City, N. Y. Gellatly, J. U., Box 19, West Bank P. O., Gellatly, British Columbia. Gerber, E. P., Route No. 1, Apple Creek, Ohio. Graham, J. W., Walnut Orchard Farm, Ithaca, N. Y. Greene, Mrs. Avice M., 2203 Ridge Rd., N. W., Washington, D. C. Greene, Karl W., 2203 Ridge Rd., N. W., Washington, D. C. Gribbel, Mrs. John, Box 31, Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

Hahn, Albert G., Rural Route No. 6, Bethesda, Md. Hale, Richard W., 60 State Street, Boston, Mass. Hammond, Julian T., 3rd, D.D.S., Newtown, Pa. Harman-Brown, Miss Helen, Croton Falls, New York. Harrington, F. O., Williamsburg, Iowa. Hartzell, B. F., Shepardstown, West Virginia. Healey, Scott, R. F. D. No. 219. Otsego, Mich. Healy, Oliver T., c/o Michigan Nut Nursery, Rt. 2, Union City, Michigan. Helmick, James H., Columbus Junction, Iowa. Hershey, John W., Downington, Pennsylvania. Hilliard, H. J., Sound View, Connecticut. Holden, Frank H., 56 West 45th St., New York City, N. Y. Hostetter, C. F., Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. Hostetter, L. K., Route No. 5, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. * Huntington, A. M., 3 East 89th St., New York City, N. Y. Hutchinson, Galen Otis, 691 Main Ave., Passaic, N. J.

Iowa State Horticultural Society, Des Moines, Iowa. Isakson, Walter R., Route No. 1, Hobart, Indiana.

Jacob, C. M., Stockbridge, Mass. Jacobs, Homer L., c/o Davey Tree Exp. Co., Kent, Ohio. * Jaques, Lee W., 74 Waverly Place, Jersey City, N. J. Jones Nurseries, J. F., Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Kaan, Helen W., Wellesley, Mass. Kaufman, M. M., Clarion, Pennsylvania. Kellogg, Dr. J. H., 202 Manchester St., Battle Creek, Mich. Kelly, Mortimer B., 21 West St., New York City. Kendrick, Mrs. Jay G., 44 Main St., Shelburne Falls, Mass. * Kinsan Arboretum, Lang Terrace, North Szechuan Rd., Shanghai, China. Knox, Loy J., c/o First National Bank, Morrison, Ill.

Lamb, Gilbert D., Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. Lancaster, S. S., Jr., Rock Point, Maryland. Leach, Will, Cornell Building, Scranton, Pa. Lester, Henry, 35 Pintard Ave., New Rochelle, N. Y. * Lewis, Clarence, 1000 Park Ave., New York City, N. Y. Little, Norman B., Rocky Hill, Conn. * Littlepage, Thos. P., Union Trust Bldg., Washington, D. C.

MacDaniels, L. H., c/o Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. McIntyre, A. C., Dep't of Forestry, State College, Pa. Mehring, Upton F., Keymar, Maryland. Meyer, Dr. R. C. J., 1815 Third Ave., Moline, Ill. Middleton, M. S., District Horticulturist, Vernon, British Columbia. Miller, Herbert, Pinecrest Poultry Farms, Richfield, Pa. Mitchell, Lennard H., 2219 California St., N. W., Washington, D. C. * Montgomery, Robert H., 385 Madison Ave., New York City, N. Y. * Morris, Dr. Robert T., R. F. D., Stamford, Connecticut. Morton, Joy, Lisle, Illinois.

Neilson, Jas. A., c/o Michigan State College, East Lansing, Michigan. New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.

Orner, George D., 751 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood, N. J. Otto, Arnold G., 4150 Three Mile Drive, Detroit, Michigan.

Paden, Riley W., Rte. 2, Enon Valley, Penna. Park, J. B., c/o Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Peters, E. S., 4241 Folsom Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Pickhardt, Dr. O. C, 117 East 80th St., New York City, N. Y. Porter, John J., 1199 The Terrace, Hagerstown, Md. Pratt, Geo. D., Jr, Bridgewater, Connecticut. Purnell, J. Eiger, Box 24, Salisbury, Maryland. Putnam, Mrs. Ellen M., 129 Babson St., Mattapan, Mass.

Reed, C. A., Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Richardson, J. B., Lakeside, Washington. * Rick, John, 438 Pennsylvania Square, Reading, Pa. Riehl, Miss Amelia, Godfrey, Illinois. Rowley, Dr. John C., 1046 Ashburn Ave., Hartford, Conn. Russell, Newton H., 12 Burnett Ave., So. Hadley Falls, Mass. Ryan, Henry E., Sunderland, Mass.

Sawyer, Dorothy C., c/o Living Tree Guild, 468 4th Ave., New York. Sefton, Pennington, 94 Lake Ave., Auburn, N. Y. Schlagenbusch Bros., Rt. 3, Fort Madison, Iowa. Schlemmer, Claire D., Rt. 2, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Schmidt, A. G., Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Schuster, C. E., Horticulturist, Corvallis, Oregon. Scott, Harry E., P. O. Box 191, Petersburg, N. Y. Sherer, J. F., c/o C. T. Sherer Co., Worcester, Mass. Slate, George L., State Agri. Exper. Station, Geneva, N. Y. Smith, Dr. J. Russell, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Smith, Leon C., 60 Day Ave., Westfield, Mass. Snyder, D. C., Center Point, Iowa. Spence, Howard, The Red House, Ainsdale, near Southport, England. Spencer, Mrs. May R., 275 West Decatur St., Decatur, Ill. Stark Bros., Nurseries, Louisiana, Missouri. Steffee, Jno. G., 317 6th Ave., New York City, N. Y. Stiebeling, Mrs. Anna E., 1458 Monroe St., Washington, D. C. Stocking, Frederick N., 3456 Cadillac St., Detroit, Michigan. Stoke, H. F., 1421 Watts Ave., Roanoke, Virginia. Stover, Jacob E., Springwood Farms, York, Pa. Strickland, C. H., Snow Hill, Maryland.

Taylor, C. W., 1723 Eye St., Eureka, California. Theiss, Lewis Edwin, Muncy, Pennsylvania. Thorpe, Will J., 1545 Divisarero St., San Francisco, Calif. Tice, David, Savings Bank Building, Lockport, N. Y. Turner, Lt. G. H., 932 Prospect Ave., Portage, Wisconsin.

University of Illinois Library, Urbana, Illinois.

Van Meter, W. L., Adel, Iowa. Von Ammon S., c/o Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.

Walker, C. F., 2851 E. Overlook Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Watson, John F., 16 Dumont Apart, Lynchburg, Va. * Weber, Harry R., 123 East 6th St., Cincinnati, Ohio. Weidhass, William H., Gaston St., Easthampton, Mass. Wellman, Sargeant, Windridge, Topsfield, Mass. Went, Robert E., 551 McDonough St., Brooklyn, N. Y. Weschcke, Carl, 1048 Lincoln Ave., St. Paul, Minn. Wigglesworth, Alfred. Wilkinson, J. F., Rockport, Indiana. Williams, Dr. Chas. Mallory, Stonington, Connecticut. Williams, Moses, 18 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. Windhorst, Dr. M. R., University Club Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. * Wissman, Mrs. F. de R., 9 W. 54th St., New York City, N. Y. * Wister, John C., Clarkson Ave. and Wister St., Germantown, Pa. Wright, Ross Pier, 235 West 6th St., Erie, Pa.

Zimmerman, Dr. G. A., 32 So. 13th St., Harrisburg, Pa.

* Life Member.



CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

Name. This Society shall be known as the NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION, INCORPORATED.

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 this 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 exhibits, on hybrids, on survey, 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 two dollars annually. Contributing members shall pay ten dollars annually. Life members shall make one payment of fifty dollars, and shall be exempt from further dues and will be entitled to same benefits as annual members. Honorary members shall be exempt from dues. "Perpetual" membership is eligible to any one who leaves at least five hundred dollars to the Association and such membership on payment of said sum to the Association will entitle the name of the deceased to be forever enrolled in the list of members as "Perpetual" with the words "In Memoriam" added thereto. Funds received therefor shall be invested by the Treasurer in interest bearing securities legal for trust funds in the District of Columbia. Only the interest shall be expended by the Association. When such funds are in the treasury the Treasurer shall be bonded. Provided; that in the event the Association becomes defunct or dissolves then, in that event, the Treasurer shall turn over any funds held in his hands for this purpose for such uses, individuals or companies that the donor may designate at the time he makes the bequest or the donation.

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-third vote of members present at any annual meeting.

ARTICLE V

Members shall be sent a notification of annual dues at the time they are due, and if not paid within two months, they shall be sent a second notice, telling them that they are not in good standing on account of non-payment of dues, and are not entitled to receive the annual report.

At the end of thirty days from the sending of the second notice, a third notice shall be sent notifying such members that unless dues are paid within ten days from the receipt of this notice, their names will be dropped from the rolls for non-payment of dues.



MY BUTTERNUT

The butternut crop is always sure And raised at easy cost, There is nothing it will not endure, It is never harmed by frost.

The hopper and the cabbage worm Care not to chew its leaves, Comes weather hot or wet or cold, This sturdy tree ne'er grieves.

It has no fear of 'tater bugs, Or cultivation's errors, The measly scale from San Jose, And Green bug bring no terrors.

No squash bug races o'er its frame, Nor caterpillar weaving, It is never doped with Paris Green, Yet never found a grieving.

It has no use for bumblebees, No nodules on its feet, But when the frost is on the pumpkin Oft has the hay crop beat.

If you wish a crop that always comes Without an "if" or "but," The surest thing in all the list, Just plant a butternut.

JAMES H. HELMICK Columbus Junction, Iowa



Report of the Proceedings

at the

Twenty-fourth Annual Convention

of the

Northern Nut Growers Association

Incorporated

SEPTEMBER 11, 12, 1933

DOWNINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

The first session convened at 9:00 A. M., September 11th at Minquas Fire Hall, with President Walker in the chair.

The President: "This is the opening of the 24th annual convention and I will introduce at once for his address of welcome, Rev. G. Paul Musselman."

Rev. G. Paul Musselman: "Thank you, Mr. Walker. It is my most pleasant duty to welcome you to Downingtown. Downingtown is quite an appropriate place for a convention because it is a place where we try to prepare beforehand for things we believe are going to happen, and try to get ready to prevent other things from happening."

Less than a mile from here to the north are stretches through the woods of infantry breastworks. Occupying that woods and those breastworks was the regiment under the command of Col. Stewart. The British were down by the Brandywine to the south, and it was supposed the British would do the logical thing, which they never do, and come up to take Downingtown, which was at that time the most important industrial area in the United States. It was the arsenal of the Revolutionary War. It has continued to grow in its industrial manufacturing until it is now important in paper manufacturing.

That we are still trying to prevent nasty things from happening is strikingly evident in the fact that we have not had to call for help to take care of the people suffering from the depression. The Community Chest had, in the beginning, adopted a policy of preparing for an emergency by creating a fund for this purpose and has been able to do its work without any other than the usual annual drive for funds.

The first paper mill in America was established by Mr. Rittenhouse and after that paper mills began to be built in this valley. We have gone through a great cycle. The farms in this community used to be farmed for money, later interest was shown in the mills and the farmer farmed without money. Again they are being farmed with money by the industrialists and bankers and city men who are coming out and buying up these old farms for country places. I am happy to state that the farms are coming into their own again. It is this class of people that are interested in such things as nut trees as something new and different.

It is Downingtown's faculty of being prepared for what is to come that makes it a particularly appropriate place for your convention. It is always a little ahead of the parade. We are proud of our local nut nursery which, in line with the spirit of the town, is just a little ahead of the parade. You too are a little ahead of the parade, so in that spirit I welcome you.

The Burgess has directed me to welcome you to Downingtown. I trust your stay will be interesting and helpful and we shall count it a privilege for you to call upon us for any further services you may require. I hope I shall be able to go on the bus trip with you but I am very busy and cannot make any promises for the moment. So, welcome!

Dr. Zimmerman: Fellow members of the convention! I am sure that it has been a pleasure to receive the fine welcome that Rev. Musselman has given us and I wish to assure him that it is a pleasure to be here. We are particularly glad to be in this district which is a land of plenty compared with other parts of the country which have suffered greatly from the depression. I am sorry that I do not live here.

We nut growers have been in the habit of thinking of growing nut trees on land which is good for nothing else, so that it is interesting to find nurseries using this good land and making a success of nut tree growing. In fact nut culture had its beginning in this district through Mr. Rush, and Mr. Jones and then Mr. Hershey.

I do not wish to take any more of your time as we have a heavy program and a lot of good speakers, and if they can add anything to nut culture, I shall be happy indeed.

Dr. Zimmerman: We welcome members of the Penna. Nut Growers Association. It is their field day tomorrow in connection with ours and we welcome them to this convention.

The President appointed the resolutions and the nominating committees.



TREASURER'S REPORT

Balance September 1, 1932 as reported to Washington Convention $ 8.79 Stamps and Canadian money redeemed by Treasurer 3.42 Balance in Litchfield Savings Society 15.94 _

Receipts $28.15 $ 28.15

Profit on Bus Trip at Washington 15.00 Memberships @ $3.50 old rate. No Nut News 21 @ $3.50 73.50 Memberships @ $4.00 new rate. No Nut News 3 @ $4.00 12.00 Memberships @ $4.50—$3.50 to Assn. $1.00 to Nut News 2 @ $4.50 9.00 Memberships @ $5.00—$4.00 to Assn. $1.00 to Nut News 43 @ $5.00 215.00 Memberships @ $5.00 without Nut News 3 @ $5.00 15.00 Membership @ $10.00—Mr. Ellis 10.00 Membership @ $10.00 with Nut News—Mr. Neilson 10.00 Miscellaneous Receipts 9.00

Total Receipts $396.65 $396.65

DISBURSEMENTS

Refund to D. C. Snyder $ 2.00 Programs Washington Convention 25.00 Paid National Nut News 38.00 Membership American Horticultural Society 3.00 C. A. Reed. Expense Washington Convention 6.70

Total $ 74.70 $ 74.70 Balance to account for $321.95 Litchfield Savings Society $ 15.94 Cash on hand or in bank 306.01

Total $321.95 $321.95



J. F. Jones' Experimental Work in Hybridizing Filberts and Hazels

By MILDRED JONES

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

The first crosses of the hybrid filberts were made in the year 1919. The small plants when taken from the nursery row were set 5 x 8 feet with the thought in mind of taking out every other bush in the rows when they began to crowd, and in case they were of value they could be transplanted to a permanent place. It was not thought that many of the plants would bear superior nuts promising enough to keep longer than to observe the type of nuts the bushes bore. The first lot of plants, which were mostly of the Barcelona cross, bore in the fall of 1924.

The object in view mainly was to produce, if possible, a variety or varieties that could be made a commercial proposition here or elsewhere in the eastern U. S. Not very much was thought at the time about the flavor or the quality of the kernel. The main thought was to get away from the corky substance adhering to the kernel of the most of the filberts. Barcelona, the main commercial nut in the West, has a lot of this, which makes the kernel unattractive and is probably more or less injurious to the digestive system because of the tannin content. After this fault was eliminated it was going to be necessary to work for size and quality of the nut.

The filbert blight has not been found on our place, so not much stress was put on the point of producing a blight-resistant or blight-free filbert. Probably if we had the filbert blight we would consider it more seriously.

The method used in crossing these hybrids was to remove the catkins on the pistillate plant at any time before they developed and scattered their pollen. The wood containing the catkins to be used for pollinating was observed closely in order to bring it in at the same time with the Rush pistillates by cutting and holding back in a cold cellar after the catkins were swelling well. This was the Barcelona which blooms very early.

The Italian Red, Cosford and Giant De Halles bloom later than the Rush so this was another problem. These were forced by cutting and putting in a sunny window. In cutting wood for pollinating, the cuttings should be large. The stored up starch in the wood then gives the catkins more to draw on. Apparently the filbert catkins and pistillates develop entirely from the stored up starch in the wood and do not draw on the roots at all. This being so it was figured they would develop just as well off the bush.

The last pollinating on the Rush was done in the spring of 1921. The catkins appeared to be all right and the limbs were cut and stored in the cellar. These were taken from the DuChilly. Finding they did not respond promptly to warmth it was seen that the catkins were drying up and getting stiff. As Father was very anxious to use this variety he tried soaking the limbs in water and then exposed them to the sun. Some of the catkins only swelled and then appeared to stop. The soaking was then repeated making it several hours and again they were exposed to the sun and warmth. Most of them developed nicely after this treatment. As those on the bush dried up and turned black it was thought probably the pollen used after treated as just mentioned was not good, but the pistillates developed promptly after being pollinated and the bush produced a large crop of nuts. I suppose these had been injured in the winter, but it would seem surprising that they could be made to develop artificially and the pollen be good.

It was found that Rush crossed Cosford made the largest nuts but the kernels of these nuts were not of the best quality.

On our eastern market I think it will be found that the longer type nuts will bring the premium in price. I find in selling the nuts that people mostly desire the longer nuts, but will take the other nuts if they cannot get the longer ones.

This past spring we tried to graft several of the most promising hybrids in the older block of trees. We used the modified cleft graft method and we set the grafts on layered plants of the Barcelona filbert which were lined out in April. We grafted them in May after the layers had started to grow. Out of 200 plants grafted we have growing 16 nice plants from 18 to 24 inches tall, an 8% stand. The roots of the Barcelona layers died also on the grafts that failed to live. I believe the main trouble in this experiment was that there was not enough root system to carry the graft rather than the fault of the grafting, as most of the grafts started to grow. We should have tried grafting on layers established one year and we will try this next spring.

We have several very promising filberts in the older block of bearing plants. The Buchanan, No. 92, was named for President Buchanan, the only President of the U. S. from Pennsylvania, whose home is in Lancaster. No. 200 is also an excellent plant and was classed by my Father as one of the best in the collection. This plant has not been given a name as yet. I would like to have a name suggested that would be suitable. These two plants just mentioned bear nuts very much the shape of Italian Red. The kernels come out with little or no corky substance on the kernel. The flavor is very good and the plants have borne very well. We have a plant called "B." Letters were given to the plants where mice got in the seed beds and mixed the nuts. The nut of this plant is more the shape of Barcelona and is very good. It also bears well.

In the younger block of plants we have quite a few promising plants but these must be tested further before we can say anything definite for or against them.

I notice considerable leaf burn in the block of hybrids since the severe storm we had two weeks ago. Quite a few of the nuts were knocked off too but there is still a good crop which you will see tomorrow.

Since my Father died we have not done any hybridizing. We hope to do so in the future as the work is very interesting.

Mr. Stoke: Year before last I bought 2 lbs. of supposedly stratified nuts. I planted them but only one or two came up. This year they have made a pretty fair start so I know it takes two years to germinate. It seems as though it sometimes takes three years because these were stratified for a year and it took them two years to come up after I had them planted. I think you could probably get some stratified nuts from Carlton Nursery Co., Carlton, Oregon. I sent to Carlton for mine but they were shipped by someone else. It is my belief that the Carlton Nursery Co. controls the supply, so you will have to write to them for them.

I have three or four dozen trees out of the first planting. They were planted in a very crowded position among walnut trees but are doing surprisingly well. The trees are now three years old and are shoulder high.

Prof. Slate: I planted some Turkish hazel nuts. They have been planted two years and have not yet come up, but I believe they will next year, as they take two years to germinate.

The following is a list of houses where seed of different species can be obtained. Submitted by the courtesy of Miss Jones:

Sources of CORYLUS

CHINENSIS Hillier Bros., Winchester, England. Vilmorin & Co., Paris, France.

CORYLUS COLURNA Carlton Nursery Co., Carlton, Ore.

C. TIBITICA Forest Experiment Station, Dehra Dun, British India.



Notes on the Commercial Cracking of Black Walnuts

By H. F. STOKE, Roanoke, Virginia

A year ago I reported to this body an experiment in the commercial production of black walnut kernels by factory methods, including the use of a power-driven cracking device. During the past year the experiment was continued, with the variation that the shelling was done as a home industry rather than as a factory operation. Ten families were furnished with hand-power cracking devices and the whole nuts were delivered to their homes. The workers received 10c per pound for cracking and picking out the kernels and in addition retained the shells for fuel. Forty-five thousand pounds of nuts were used in the experiment for which a uniform price of $1 per hundred weight was paid.

The more efficient and conscientious workers produced as high as 15% of kernels per unit of whole nuts, which was slightly better than the production by factory methods. The general average, however, was around 12-1/2%, or about the same for both methods. As to quality of product there was no appreciable difference. It is necessary to exercise greater care in the selection of workers where the work is done in homes without supervision than in the factory. By actual experience it was found that some workers would produce less than half the percentage made by the more efficient workers. Such workers were dropped.

Where relatively small quantities of nuts are to be shelled there is little to be chosen between the home-industry method and such factory method as was used by me. The cost of delivering the nuts to the homes may be roughly set over against the cost of operating a factory. Based on the hours of work required to produce a given quantity of kernels, the factory method is more efficient. On the other hand, the home worker will work for a smaller wage per hour. Where large quantities of nuts are available, commercial cracking by machine methods will be increasingly used in the future, especially if economic conditions so far improve that people will no longer work for starvation wages. Point is given to this observation by the fact that local buyers paid from 8 to 15c for country-produced kernels last season, while my bare cost, without overhead or profit, was 20c per pound.

* * * * *

The most notable advance that has come to my attention during the past year in the way of commercial production of black walnut kernels is that contributed by Mr. C. E. Werner, President of the Forest Park Nut Company, of Ottawa, Kansas. Mr. Werner, who is 84 years of age and a veteran inventor with several notable inventions to his credit, has designed and built a machine that seems to mark a new era in black walnut kernel production. This machine, which is mounted on a truck, is not only used for the local operations of the company, but is moved from place to place in the performance of custom work, after the manner of a grain threshing outfit. Mention is made in company correspondence of cracking twenty thousand bushels of nuts for one customer in southwest Missouri. The following details were supplied by the manager of the company.

The machine has a capacity of from 75 to 100 pounds of kernels per hour. As they come from the machine they carry not more than 10% shells, and run from 28 to 30% full quarters. After being hand cleaned the net recovery of kernels represents from 10 to 11-1/2% of the weight of the whole nuts. Custom work is charged for at the rate of from 3 to 5c per pound for the kernels produced. The cost of the final hand cleaning and packaging is given as 2c per pound, which makes a total production cost of from 5 to 7c per pound.

The operation of the machine may be briefly described as follows: The nuts are run through a revolving screen which separates and cleans them from all adhering husk and grades them into three sizes. They then pass through the cracker and thence, by conveyor belt, to the picker. This ingenious device holds the broken nuts with soft rubber rolls while a set of fingers literally pick the kernels from the shells. Careful sifting is the last step as the kernels leave the machine, after which they are hand-picked to remove any remaining pieces of shell. The owners advise that the machine has been built primarily for their own use, and has not yet been offered for sale. They would, however, consider building the machines for sale.

While the subject assigned me did not include the marketing of kernels, I cannot refrain from stating that no commodity is in greater need of orderly, organized marketing. In the meantime I would urge the small producer to cultivate his own local market as far as possible and refuse to produce at unprofitable prices.

Cracked black walnuts make an excellent supplementary feed for growing chicks and laying hens.

I advertised in the Rural New Yorker, The American Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens. Mr. Hershey advised me I would go broke advertising but I wanted to see what would happen. The Rural New Yorker gave the best results. I got $1.25 for a 2-lb. package. The kernels were in clean, first-class condition. I noticed some were advertised as low as 95c for two pounds. Some people in answering my advertisement said they had bought others that were not in first-class condition. I had no complaints about mine. In Better Homes and Gardens I did not get enough orders to pay for my advertising. I would not advise anyone to advertise there or in the American Magazine, as I got very poor results. I even got a bad check. The Rural New Yorker was very satisfactory.

The prices I paid locally were from .05 to .08 and sometimes .10 to .15 to old customers. Twelve and a half cents was the average price. I think maybe I should have advertised in a confectioners' journal in order to reach a large consumer source, but I felt at the time that I was using the only way I had of reaching a market.

This carton (showing a mailing container) is a 2-pound carton which I used in shipping in response to mail orders. It makes a very nice package that is received in good condition. I might add that the contents are 50 cubic inches.

Question: Do you use a paper bag inside?

Mr. Stoke: I line it with wax paper. I made a form and fold the wax paper around it to get the size. This makes a neat lining and then I just pour in the nuts and fold the top down.

Mr. Graham: Do you notice much difference in the kernels?

Mr. Stoke: Not in black walnuts. I found a few nuts which I could not use. The best nuts I found this year were in and about our locality.

Mr. Smith: Did you try offering prizes? Mr. Hershey and I once got almost tipsy testing a lot of walnuts in a prize contest.

Mr. Stoke: No. The best nuts I got would score not higher than the Thomas. They were brought in by different people and mixed together so that I was unable to tell their source.

The President: Do you do your separating of kernel and shell by hand?

Mr. Stoke: Yes. I use sieves, too. I use first a 3/8 x 3/4 inch mesh. It will take out most of the shell. Then for a minimum size, the best is 8 mesh to an inch, as used by the Forest Park Nut Co., Ottawa, Kans. This is smaller mesh and eliminates the smaller bits of shell.

Mr. Hershey: Did you have any correspondence with those people?

Mr. Stoke: I was interested in their machine for cracking nuts and I wrote the company a letter. Two or three months later I received a letter from Mr. Werner, a son of Mr. C. E. Werner, and who signed himself as Len Werner of the Werner Steel Products Co., and I received details and facts about the machine. He asked me if I would be interested in buying a machine or renting on a basis of kernel production. The younger Mr. Werner said they built the machine for themselves but could supply orders if they came in.

Miss Sawyer: Did you get any information on the price?

Mr. Stoke: No, none whatever. It seems to be taken from place to place mounted on a truck and cracks the nuts right on the job.

Mr. Reed: Do you have any difficulty in cracking nuts when they are dry?

Mr. Stoke: The nut cracks best when not too wet or too dry but just right. If too dry, they are too brittle and you break up the kernels too much, also get too many spalls of shells. If wet you have other troubles. In the South and Southwest the summers get hot and so some nuts get rancid. The sweet type that have less oil seem to stand up better.

Question: Do you ever steam nuts before cracking?

Mr. Stoke: No, I haven't. To keep them in a damp atmosphere is also not good. Nuts should be kept dry while in storage. Kernels should also be kept in a dry place. I put them in trays of wire mesh and if the nuts are too green or I am in a hurry for them, I turn on the electric fan.

Last Fall I put some in cold storage in December. I also put some in cold storage in May and I found that I would not have needed to put any in cold storage until May as they have kept just as nicely as those stored earlier. But I find it is essential to have the kernels thoroughly dried before they are put away. If thoroughly dried they will not mold, but if kept in too warm a place they will turn rancid. To keep them in a damp atmosphere is also not good. If they are treated right they will keep indefinitely.

Dr. Zimmerman: Mr. Stoke, how many nuts did you crack?

Mr. Stoke: About 40,000 or 50,000 lbs.

Mr. Reed: What did you do with screenings?

Mr. Stoke: I fed them to the chickens. Some said that they would keep the chickens from laying but I found that by mixing about 25% with ordinary mash it worked fine.

Mr. Hershey: Did you find that it made the egg shells hard?

Mr. Stoke: No, the chickens had too much sense.

Question: What percent do you lose in sieving?

Mr. Stoke: When I did my fine sieving, I used a 4-inch screen. The shells were taken out entirely. I lost, maybe, 4%.

Prof. Reed: Do you people in Virginia have local names for different types of walnuts? What is the swamp black walnut?

Mr. Stoke: My own opinion is that there is only one black walnut in the East. We have a butternut that some people call the English walnut and some the white walnut. The Japanese walnut is sometimes called an English walnut. We also have the English or Persian walnut.

Prof. Reed: I believe the botanists recognize only the one black walnut.

Prof. Slate: I do not think there is more than one kind.

Mr. Stoke: It is interesting to know that while the black walnut has been higher in price than the English walnut, so that manufacturers have been substituting the English walnut for the black walnut, this year the black walnut has dropped as much as 10c per pound under the English and is now about 5c, I believe. Consequently the black walnut has come into its own and is now being substituted for the English walnut.

Mr. Frey: I would like to mention alternate years in bearing. If apple trees can be made to give a fair crop each year by good care, feeding and spraying, it is my thought that walnut trees will do the same thing under the same conditions. But we must remember that forming the hard shell is a most difficult thing for a tree to do.

Prof. Neilson: I should like to draw your attention to a drawing sent me by J. U. Gellatly. (The paper was held up for all to see.) Just look at the size of the leaves. That is a tracing of the leaf of a hybrid English walnut and heartnut. He sent it along as evidence of its vigor of growth. This large compound hybrid leaf measured 27 inches from tip of the leaf to the bottom of the last leaflet, exclusive of the stem which was 5 inches long. Many of the larger leaflets measured 5 x 9 inches, shape, oblong ovate, edges of leaf, serrate, total width of compound leaf, 17 inches.

Dr. Smith: I should like to suggest to Mr. Frey that the theory he suggested might be supported if the tree were placed in a particularly favorable location.

Mr. Hershey: I should like to remind the audience of Judge Potter who told me some years ago that on his farm in Southern Illinois he got three doubles of his meadow grove of about 50 hickory trees, by using plenty of good horse manure, phosphoric acid, and potash. The increases were that he doubled the amount of growth and the size of the nut and changed the trees from alternate bearing to yearly bearing.



Black Walnut Notes for 1933

By C. A. REED, Associate Pomologist Fruit and Vegetable Crops and Diseases U. S. Department of Agriculture

A number of developments in connection with the black walnut industry of the East have taken place during the last 12 months which appear to be of such importance as to justify special record at this time. Some of these have to do with the production and marketing of and prices received for, the wild product, others with certain features in connection with orchard and nursery management, and still others with walnut relationships both inside and outside of the genus.

The Black Walnut Kernel Industry

Production of black walnut kernels in this country is fully 99 per cent from seedling trees of the fields, forests, roadsides and dooryards. That from orchard and top-worked trees, while now considerably on the increase, due to recent activity in planting and top-working, will hardly become of relative importance for some years to come. The wild crop is actually on the increase each year, due partly to greater care now taken of old bearing trees and partly to the large number of young trees coming into bearing each year but more largely to the greater extent to which nuts are now being gathered and not allowed to decay on the ground.

This increase in production is working both for and against the permanent welfare of the industry, and by this use of the term "industry", it is meant to include the cultivated as well as the uncultivated phases. Consumption has increased tremendously. No figures are available as to either total production or percentage of total crop which is still allowed each year to remain on the ground until it becomes decomposed.

However, it is the opinion of Baltimore merchants who have long handled this product that in certain large districts the wild nuts are now gathered closely and that very few are allowed to decay on the ground. There is no available information upon which to base a curve as to the probable increase in production which may be expected from young trees just beginning to bear or the thousands still too young to bear or yet the other thousands to be planted by squirrels each year. Whether or not the increase in consumption and its coincident change in eating habits of the American people will prove permanent after the return of normal times, remains to be seen, but it may be accepted as fact that the future of this country is likely to see greater competition in the home markets among foods than has been the case in the past and that, eventually, only those having the greatest values in nutrition and palatability will survive. Salesmanship may defeat this for a while but ultimately, palatability assumed, cash values and human tastes will most certainly arrive at pretty much the same point. The ultimate future of the walnut would therefore appear to depend largely upon its ability to become one of the fittest survivers.

One of the most important developments during the past year is of very recent occurrence. It is the fact that the 1933 season is opening with the highest prices received during the last two years. This may in part be due to reports that the outlook in the Tennessee—Kentucky—Virginia and North Carolina district is for a light crop. According to Baltimore merchants who have recently been consulted, consumption last year was the greatest in history and, while prices reached the lowest level since the depression began, relatively speaking, the total drop has probably not been as great as for other food products during the same period. These merchants look forward with confidence to a continuance of increased consumption.

This forecast is encouraging, but it is based on the assumption that there will be continued improvement in the manner of handling and packing the kernels for delivery. At present, considerable overhead is usually charged back to the farmers because of labor involved in cleaning, grading, and sometimes curing, after the kernels reach the city merchants. This handling is necessary with much of the output in order that it may be made acceptable to the manufacturers. One of the most desirable characteristics in connection with the sale of black walnut kernels is brightness of color. This is a matter largely due to the manner of handling during the process of harvesting, curing, and cracking. Once the kernels become dark, they cannot be brightened except by bleaching and removing the pellicles. However, the importance of prompt gathering as soon as the nuts fall from the trees, removing the hulls, and curing the nuts cannot be overestimated. These are matters easily within the ability of the producers to adjust.

The Orchard Industry

On the orchard side of the industry, several developments may be listed, although the majority are merely old developments newly emphasized.

Black walnut trees, seedlings and grafted trees alike tend to bear full crops not oftener than during alternate years, and with conditions at all unfavorable, full crops may be delayed for several years.

Grafted trees of many varieties begin to bear their first fruits quite as promptly as with apples. Not infrequently walnuts appear by the end of the second year after grafting. This is especially true with top-worked trees.

Recent Adverse Weather Conditions

The spring and summer season of 1933 made an adverse combination in some localities. In the Ohio and Mississippi River Sections, the result was disastrous to a large part of the crop. In those sections, May was an exceedingly rainy month. June was equally hot and dry. It is in May that the blossoming periods of most varieties of walnut occur, also it is then that most of the nursery grafting is performed. Insofar as pollination was concerned, there were probably enough hours of sunshine during the blossoming period for the distribution of pollen to have been adequate and effective. On some of the trees the rains came at just the right time to wash practically all of the pollen to the ground. Had it not been for later pollinating trees either of the same variety, or of other varieties, or even of seedlings in the neighborhood, it is probable that no nuts would have set. However the actual set was about normal, but the heat and drouth which followed resulted in a drop which took the greater part of the crop. A pecan grower in southwestern Indiana, with between 300 and 400 grafted trees now of bearing age, recently reported that in August he was unable to find a single nut in his entire orchard. The result has not been quite as serious with the walnuts. Nevertheless, the crop prospects are reported to be not at all bright.

Nursery grafting in southern Indiana had literally to be performed between showers. Sap flow was excessive and the resulting stand below normal. The heat and drouth which followed killed outright many of the scions which had begun to grow. Thus, in that section the orchardists lost most of their crops and the nurserymen most of their grafts.

Walnut Relationships

In regard to walnut relationships within the genus, continued studies have led to certain conclusions which would appear to bear mentioning. One of these is to the effect that not all so-called "butterjaps" appear to owe their origin to staminate parentage of butternut but that they may be due to chance crosses of either Japanese walnut with Persian or possibly black walnut, or quite as often to reversion to the true Manchurian walnut, Juglans mandschurica.

Hybrids and Intermediate Forms

It is generally known that natural hybridity occurs so frequently between almost any two species of Juglans when growing together and blossoming simultaneously that it is unwise to plant the seed of either if pure types are desired. Intermediate forms, evidently between Persian (English) and black are fairly common throughout the East. The James River and O'Connor hybrids are well known typical examples. Such hybrids are most apt to occur in vicinities of Persian walnut trees. Crosses in which the Persian walnut is the staminate or pollen producing parent may sometimes occur but if so, they have never come to the attention of the writer. Crosses between these two species commonly have the Persian walnut as the pistillate or nut producing parent.

The most commonly seen forms which appear to be due to hybridity are in the case of certain Japanese walnut seedlings in the East. The offspring of these trees frequently takes on much of the character of the American butternut. Nuts of this type have been recognized by this Association and other authorities as "butterjaps." In his Manual of American Trees, Dr. Albert H. Rehder of the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plains, Mass., recognizes crosses between the Japanese walnut and American butternut under the technical name of Juglans bixbyi after the late Willard G. Bixby of the Association by whom the matter was called to his attention. However, it is not certain that nuts definitely known to represent a cross between these two species have yet been brought to notice.

Butterjaps

It has been commonly assumed that nuts of the butternut type, from trees grown from Japanese walnut seed are due to butternut hybridity, but the theory is clearly open to reasonable doubt. Nuts of this identical type are common in the orient where the butternut does not occur and also they sometimes occur in this country on trees grown from imported Japanese walnut seed. The late Luther Burbank wrote the Department of Agriculture in 1899 that in California where he had grown many thousands of seedlings from both imported and California grown seed, he was unable to detect the slightest differences in foliage, yet the trees were apt to produce nuts of any one of three types then known as Juglans sieboldiana, J. cordiformis or J. mandschurica. He wrote that "They all run together and are evidently all from the butternut family."

An authentic case of butterjaps from imported seed was made public during the first annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Nut Growers' Association which was held in Harrisburg on January 11 of this year. Butterjaps were on display during that meeting which had been grown by Mr. Ross Pier Wright of Erie, Pa., from seed which he had imported directly from Japan. His trees are growing in the outskirts of Westfield, Chautauqua County, N. Y., and within a mile of Lake Erie.

In July of this year, Dr. E. A. Scott of Galena, Md., called the attention of the writer to a number of fine trees in his small town, all of which had been grown by him from J. sieboldiana seed obtained from a tree nearby and "every one" of which was bearing "butternuts," as he and his neighbors call them. The American butternut does not occur in that part of Maryland which is on the upper end of the Chesapeake Peninsula, probably 10 miles from Chesapeake Bay. Both black and Persian walnut trees are very common in that region. The tree which bore the original seed is a typical Japanese walnut. It stands at the end of a row of Persian walnut trees along the driveway of a private country lane. There are several black walnut trees, perhaps 500 yards to the southwest, but no butternuts for many miles. As the Persian and Japanese walnuts blossom at about the same time and the black walnut considerably later, it would seem altogether probable that if any cross had taken place it would have been Japanese x Persian, rather than Japanese x black. The chances of a Japanese x butternut cross would have been so remote as to be altogether improbable.

Many years ago, Judge F. P. Andrus of Almont, Mich., planted one tree each of Persian and Japanese walnuts in his dooryard. Both soon came into bearing. Squirrels planted nuts in the ground and presently the yard was filled with offspring, the majority of which were of the type now called butterjaps. The trees were extremely vigorous but the nuts were of so little value that all were finally cut down. Butternut trees are common in Michigan and butternut pollen may have been responsible for these crosses but circumstantially the evidence pointed much more strongly to Japanese x Persian crosses than to Japanese x butternut crosses.

Other cases of these sorts might be cited, but the evidence which the writer has been able to bring together up to the present month, September, 1933, strongly indicates that butterjaps may be due to either an actual cross with a Persian or black walnut and possibly with butternut or to reversion to a parent oriental type. So far, it has been out of the question to hazard a reasonably safe assumption as to the staminate parent of all particular crosses by merely studying the botanical characteristics of the butterjap offspring.

Several years ago Mr. Bixby planted a number of butterjap seed nuts, hoping that under the Mendelian law, the characteristics of the two parents would segregate themselves. The trunk and bark of some of the trees resembled black walnut quite distinctly, while none resembled the butternut. So far as is known to the writer, none of the trees have yet fruited. One of the several butterjap trees in Galena, Md., previously referred to, produced nuts rather more like black walnuts than butternuts. These two instances therefore, would suggest Japanese x black walnut parentage.

Black Walnut Root Toxicity

On several occasions discussions of root toxicity between the black walnut and certain of its neighbors have taken place at Association meetings. The theory that black walnut trees give off toxic properties from their roots, which are fatal to other plants, is therefore not new. Some years ago the Virginia Experiment Station definitely isolated a toxic substance which was held responsible for the death of tomatoes, potatoes, alfalfa, blackberry plants and apple trees when these other plants were grown in close enough proximity for their roots to come in contact with those of the black walnut. This work was reported in various publications and was written up by several different authors.

Since then, as well as before, the writer has looked for similar evidence, but, so far, in vain. Each of these crops, including tomatoes, potatoes, alfalfa, blackberries and apples, have been seen growing in as close contact with black walnut as they could possibly be placed. Oftentimes they have been found much nearer to black walnut trees than would have been wise to place them to oak, hickory, ash or other species of large growing trees. This does not mean that when the roots are in actual contact the toxic agent of the black walnut roots would not prove fatal to the other plants but it does indicate that in the great majority of cases there is no practical danger.

Anyone who has doubt about the healthy condition of these other species when grown close together with black walnut trees, may obtain evidence for himself by noting the frequent combination of this sort easily found in fields and gardens of the country and small towns. It is surprising how often these combinations of black walnut and other species are to be seen. Any unprejudiced person could hardly fail to become convinced that, in the great majority of cases, the danger is of small practical consequence. The roots of the black walnut run deeply under ground and it is entirely conceivable that in deep soil they do not ordinarily come up to the shallower levels of the roots of most other species.

Summary

A summary of the year's developments might be arranged about as follows:

(1) More black walnut kernels were harvested and consumed during the year than ever before.

(2) Prices to the farmer reached about the same low level of the year preceding, but the total drop during recent years was probably not in proportion to the drop of most other food products.

(3) Crop prospects in 1933 are unfavorable for another large crop. Prices are starting out considerably higher than for several years.

(4) Production of black walnuts from grafted trees under cultivation is altogether insignificant in comparison with that from chance seedlings receiving no special cultivation.

(5) Grafting and planting are taking place at too moderate a rate to materially alter the ratio of production from seedling to that of grafted trees in the near future.

(6) There has been considerable improvement during recent years in the manner of preparing and packing black walnut kernels for market, but there is need for further advance along this line.

(7) Merchants engaged in handling black walnut kernels predict that there will continue to be a normal steady increase in consumption, now that the market has become established, trade channels opened up, and consumers habits somewhat established.

(8) Walnut hybrids occur frequently in nature. So far, none have appeared which were of special value because of the character of nuts which they produce. So-called butterjaps appear to be possible from either certain crosses or from reversion to parent oriental types.

(9) Ordinarily, other crops may be interplanted with black walnuts with as great safety as with most other equally large growing and deep-rooted trees.



Is the Information We Have on Orchard Fertility of Value in the Nut Grove?

BY PROF. F. N. FAGAN, PROFESSOR OF POMOLOGY THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE

Many of the association members present are also general fruit orchard owners of this state. I am glad to meet with you and must confess that it has been many years since I have had the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of this association. To be exact, the last meeting I attended was the annual meeting held in Lancaster some seven years ago. It is not that the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station lacks interest in nut culture that keeps it from doing work along nut investigational lines, but because the older and more extensive apple, peach, cherry, grape and berry industries have called upon the resources of the station to its working capacity.

When Mr. Hershey wrote asking me to speak before this meeting I felt that the only information we had at the station that would fit into the picture was the information we have regarding orchard fertility. I therefore gave him the subject, "Is the information we now have on general orchard fertility of value in the nut grove?"

First, let me touch upon some of the papers given this morning. I think it would be well for the nut meat industry to look into the department of health's requirements governing the health inspection of workers handling food products. I also suggest looking into the possibility of the selling of nuts and nut meats by interested high school boys and girls in our many towns and cities.

The question of annual bearing of nut trees is a subject needing investigation. I rather expect we shall find that this factor is closely connected with over-production of a tree one year, fertility and moisture supply, or, in other words, the nuts may be much like apples. While the nature of tree growth may tend to cause trees to be alternate producers, man may upset this natural habit to some extent by proper cultural practices and thus cause the tree to produce, not a full crop in the off year but at least some fruits that will be on the profit side.

As to the toxic effect of some of our nut trees upon growth of other plants growing near by, I rather expect we shall find as time goes on that instead of the trees having a toxic effect they have a robbing effect upon soil moisture and food. One thing that leads me to this belief is that years ago we taught that one reason for seeding a cover crop in the orchard was to have the cover take the moisture from the soil in the fall of the year and in that way check tree growth. We now know that a mature apple or peach tree will reverse this during the growing season and will take its full share of moisture and food from the soil and really take these away from the cover crop. We saw this occur during the dry years of 1929 and 1930 with covers that had been seeded in June. During both these years, in our orchard blocks where the water holding capacity of the soil was low, the cover died over the tree root feeding spaces. Some may have said that the trees were having a toxic effect upon the soil. This was not the case for, in 1932 and 1933, both years of plenty of moisture supply, the covers have grown well around the trees in these blocks.

I shall now ask you to refer to the conclusions on page 3 of our Bulletin No. 294, issued by The Pennsylvania State College, which has just been distributed to you. These conclusions are, of course, based upon our work in an apple orchard but I believe they will apply closely to the management of nut orchards.

Lessons from Fertility Studies in the Experiment Orchard

Most of the experiments in this orchard have now completed 25 years; there have been few changes and these minor ones. Certain lessons may be drawn from this quarter century of research:

1. The fertility of an orchard soil is more than its plant food content. It involves the nature of the soil, its depth and topography, its previous treatment, the use of fertilizers and manures, the amount and nature of the cultivation and the covers or sods grown. Fertilizers are only part of the problem of soil fertility.

2. In this orchard any treatment that has influenced the trees at all has done so in the following order: first, the cover crops; perhaps several years later, leaf color; shortly after, branch growth and circumference increase; and last of all, yield.

3. The reason for this sequence of results is that the treatments, whether chemical fertilizers, manure, or cover crops, have influenced yields chiefly by changing the organic matter content of the soil; that is, those treatments which have resulted in the production of larger cover crops have ultimately resulted in the production of more fruit.

4. The organic content of the soil has been a considerable factor in determining the amount of water in this soil. Those treatments which have built up the organic content have kept the soil in condition to soak up rainfall rather than to lose it by surface run-off. A larger water supply, in turn, has produced more cover crops.

5. The site of this orchard seems nearly level to the casual eye; yet slope, with its accompanying erosion, together with differences in depth of soil, have created nearly as large differences in growth and yield as any treatment. Good treatments have nearly offset the initial disadvantage of poor soil; but it is more economical to plant the orchard on good soil than to attempt the improvement of a poor soil.

6. A short, non-legume sod rotation is an efficient means of building up a depleted orchard soil. After a sod of any kind becomes thick tree growth is checked and yields decline. Orchard sods should be turned under or partially broken, frequently.

7. Moisture conditions often are more favorable in the sod orchard than in the cultivated orchard. Runoff is checked by a sod and less water is used by a sod in mid-summer, after it has been mowed, than by a heavy cover crop.

8. Under a non-legume sod the soil nitrate supply becomes very low in late May or early June, necessitating early applications of nitrogenous fertilizers. Annual applications of 10 pounds of nitrate of soda per tree, or its equivalent in sulphate of ammonia or other forms, have proved profitable in this orchard. Superphosphate, in light applications, has increased sod and cover crop growth.

9. Trees receiving annual tillage with July seeding of cover crops have not done as well as those under sod rotations. If the cover crops are seeded in early June, as has been practiced since 1929, the difference may not be marked.

10. To maintain equal yields, Stayman and Baldwin must make longer branch growth than York.

In addition to these conclusions I will say that any grower who will keep his orchard soil in a state of fertility (by use of manure, proper farm crop fertilizers—nitrate, phosphate or potash alone or in combination with each other—liming and, if necessary, drainage) which will permit growing clovers, alfalfa, soy beans, cow peas, vetch, or any of the legumes, and who really does grow them as covers in his grove or orchard, turning them back into the soil with a minimum period of spring cultivation—just enough to prepare a seed bed—will never need to worry about his soil fertility or water holding capacity.

You note that I say a minimum of cultivation. We taught twenty years ago that cultivation should continue during June, July, and August. We now feel that this teaching was wrong. We can see no benefit from this long summer cultivation but do see some harm. Cultivation during the hot weather of June, July, and August will only aid in burning out the organic matter in the soil, just the very thing we plant a cover for. Many of the covers such as alfalfa, sweet clover and non-legume grasses can be harrowed very heavily in early spring after the frost is out of the ground, thus checking their growth for several weeks, and it is in early spring before the first flowers open, and while open, that the tree needs its nitrogen to aid in the set of fruit, and season's tree growth; the checking of the cover's growth in early spring gives the tree the chance to get its food.

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Dr. Zimmerman: I am very grateful for the address of Prof. Fagan.

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Dr. Smith: I want to express my appreciation of Prof. Fagan's paper. I want to call to the attention of this convention of people that this young man has actually admitted his hard headedness, that he has been willing to let a tree compel him to change his thinking.



Progress Report on Kellogg Nut Cultural Project of the Michigan State College

By J. A. NEILSON, M. S. C., East Lansing

The Nut Cultural Project so generously supported by Mr. W. K. Kellogg of Battle Creek made good progress during the season of 1933. The various phases of this project are briefly discussed under their separate headings as follows:

Search for Superior Trees

This feature of our nut cultural programme is of the utmost importance and will continue to be so until the entire state has been thoroughly explored. In our search we have been greatly helped by interested people throughout the state and elsewhere who report the existence of good trees or who send specimens of nuts from superior trees. This voluntary help is very useful and is much appreciated.

Of the various methods of searching for good trees, nut contests are the most efficient and economical. Through the medium of national contests this Association has discovered many good varieties, and several of these new varieties are now being propagated. In view of the discoveries resulting from the Association contest in 1929 and our state contest in the same year, it was deemed advisable to stage another contest in 1932.

An article setting forth the terms of the contest was sent to all the daily, weekly, and agricultural and horticultural journals and was given very wide publicity by these press agencies. A great deal of interest was shown in our contest and more than 1600 exhibits were entered by approximately 700 exhibitors.

Several good strains were brought to light by this contest, most of which were unknown before the contest was staged. The prize winners and the awards are as follows:

Black Walnuts

Daniel Beck, Hamilton, Mich. 1st $15.00 Harry Webber, Cincinnati, Ohio 2nd $10.00 E. Gray, Williamston, Mich. 3rd $ 5.00

Hickories

Mrs. Ray D. Mann, Davison, Michigan 1st $15.00 D. Miller, North Branch, Mich. 2nd $10.00 Lyle Hause, Fowlerville, Mich. 3rd $ 5.00

English Walnuts

Harry Larsen, Ionia, Mich. 1st $10.00 D. B. Lewis, Vassar, Mich. 2nd $ 5.00 J. W. Jockett, Hart Mich. 3rd $ 3.00

Butternuts

Claude Mitchell, Scotland, Ont. 1st $10.00 M. E. Alverson, Howard City, Mich. 2nd $ 5.00 Frank Luther, Fairgrove, Mich. 3rd $ 3.00

Heartnuts

Claude Mitchell, Scotland, Ont. 1st $10.00 Fred Bourne, Milford, Mich. 2nd $ 5.00 J. U. Gellatly, Gellatly, B. C. 3rd $ 3.00

Chestnuts (Hybrids)

John Dunbar, Oshtemo, Mich. 1st $10.00 D. N. Dean, Shelbyville, Mich. 2nd $ 5.00 J. W. Jockett, Hart, Mich. 3rd $ 3.00

Jap. Walnuts

Harold English, Chatham, Ont. 1st $10.00 Harold Evers, Petoskey, Mich. 2nd $ 5.00 Bob Cardinell 3rd $ 3.00

If and when another contest is held a larger number of prizes will be given provided sufficient funds are available. The experience gained in the 1929 and 1932 contests indicates the desirability of holding at least three contests and five would be better, and to have the contests held annually. It is very difficult to advertise a nut contest so that every person in rural sections knows of it and moreover, even if it were thoroughly advertised in any one year, it would not be possible to get nuts from all good trees because of the irregularity in fruiting habit of nut trees. The experience of others who stage contests will substantiate this opinion.

It is a great satisfaction to record the discovery of some promising pecan trees near Vandalia on the farm of Clyde Westphal. These trees were reported to me by Mr. Harry Burgart of Union City, and at the first opportunity I went with Mr. Burgart to examine the trees. There are 19 trees in the grove and the largest and best fruited tree is about 45 feet tall and nearly one foot in diameter at the base. The nuts are of medium size, crack easily, and contain kernels of good quality. A good crop was borne last year and other satisfactory crops have been secured for several years. It is quite likely that this tree would not mature nuts in a short growing season or in a season of low heat units, but the fact that it has done so well in recent years in growth and nut production is very encouraging, indeed. Plans are being made to propagate this strain.

Another good pecan sample was received from Mr. B. B. Dowell of Paulding, Ohio. This tree is hardy and produces nuts slightly larger than the Westphal tree. The nuts have good cracking quality and flavor of kernel and are worth propagating for northern regions.

Propagation

The propagation of selected strains of nut trees is not primarily the function of an Experiment Station, with the exception of such work as may be necessary to establish on Station property a sufficient number of trees to furnish scionwood for experimental purposes and to supply interested parties with what they require. We believe that nut tree nurserymen should undertake the propagation of new varieties of proven merit and we have endeavored to furnish our local nurserymen and others with scionwood of our best native selections or introductions. Such propagation as we have done is with established trees and can properly be considered as top-working. This feature of our project is discussed under that heading.

Topworking

Our programme of top-working was carried on in 1933 to the full extent of time and funds available and a special effort was made to top-work some of the worthless pignuts and bitternuts with scions of hicans and hybrid hickories. In a former report, reference was made to the difficulty in grafting shagbark and shellbark scions onto pignuts; and here again I want to say my first observation still holds especially with the shagbarks. I do not have a single shagbark scion left on pignuts out of several hundred set during the last four seasons.

Our results with hybrid hickories and with hicans have been much more encouraging in so far as the set of scions and growth is concerned. The following varieties have done well on the pignut or bitternut—Burlington, Beaver, Cedar Rapids, Creager, Dennis, Des Moines, Fairbanks, Kirtland, Laney, Lingenfelter, McCallister, Stratford, and Shinnerling. It is definitely known that most of these varieties are of hybrid origin with the exception of Cedar Rapids and Kirtland. The buds of the variety I have labelled as Cedar Rapids do not look like pure shagbarks and it is possible that a mix up has occurred in the labels.

A satisfactory start was made in propagating the prize-winning shagbark hickories of our 1932 contest and further work will be done with these kinds in the present season.

Good progress has been made in propagating our best varieties of black walnuts, English walnuts, and Chinese walnuts. We now have several trees some of which are quite large that have been top-worked to scions of Wiard, Allen, Grundy, Rowher, Ohio, Creitz, Carpenter, and Stambaugh black walnuts. In English walnuts we have Carpathian No. 1, 2, and 5—Crath, McDermid, and Broadview. This latter variety is above the average in size, cracks easily and has a good kernel. Still more important it is believed to be hardy and is definitely known to have endured 25 deg. below zero F. This variety was sent by Mr. J. U. Gellatly, our enthusiastic nut tree hunter from British Columbia. Mr. Gellatly has brought to light a considerable number of heartnuts and a few English walnuts. One of his latest finds is an English walnut that produces very large almost round thin shelled nuts. This tree grows on high bench land near Okanogun, B. C. and is a seedling of a tree growing in the high altitudes of Kashmir in Northern India. Some of the heartnuts sent by Mr. Gellatly are amongst the largest I have ever seen and possess good cracking and extraction qualities. Scions of these varieties have been ordered from Mr. Gellatly and we hope to establish at least one good tree of each kind as a source of propagating material. We also have several grafts of an excellent Chinese walnut which we obtained from Mr. George Corsan of Islington, Ontario. This variety bears a large nut with a thin well sealed shell and a first-class kernel, and has been named Corsan.

New Plantings

The planting programme for 1933 included the planting of about 40 acres on the Collver part of the Kellogg Farm near Augusta, but this had to be reduced by 50% because of financial troubles caused by the closing of the banks in which Mr. Kellogg was a depositor. In addition to the new plantings a considerable number of replacements had to be made particularly in the chestnut groves. The following table shows the number of each species and variety planted:

(a) Black Walnuts

Variety Number

Allen 2 Wessell 5 Thomas 20 Beck 2 Bohamin 2 Edras 3 Grundy 3 Homeland 3 Howell 2 Grabill 2 Hauber 1 Heplar 3 Mintle 2 Patuxent 7 Ruddick 1 Stanley 1 Tasterite 1 Stover 1 Worthington 1 McMillen 1 Hunter 1 Birds Eye 15 Carpenter 10 Miller 5 Ten Ecyk 10 Ohio 10 Stabler 15

(b) Chinese Walnut

Seedlings 20

(c) English Walnut

Seedlings (Crath) 21 Alpine 10 Mayette 10

(d) Butternuts

Seedlings 50

Hickories

(a) Hybrids

Stratford 5

(b) Shagbark

Glover 5 Romig 3

(c) Shellbark

Stephens 2

(d) Pecans

Indiana 1 Niblack 4 Greenriver 5 Kentucky 5 Butterick 6 Posey 5 Carlyle 3 Jeffrey 3 Seedlings 50

(e) Hicans

Des Moines 7 Gerrardi 5 Burlington 4 Wright 3 Burton 2 Norton 2

Hazels

(a) Turkish Hazels

Seedlings 40

(b) Jones Hybrids

Seedlings 14

(c) Corylus Vilmorinii

Seedlings 1

Chestnuts

(a) Chinese

Seedlings 251

(b) Japanese

Seedlings 20

Good results were secured with all of the above mentioned kinds except the Chinese and Japanese chestnuts. The reason for this failure is given elsewhere in this report.

Demonstration Work on Grafting

This feature of our programme has not received as much attention as should be given to it owing to lack of scionwood of local origin and to a desire to work over nearly all the trees on the Kellogg Farm before attempting much outside work. We now have a fair supply of scionwood on our station trees and are in a position to proceed with a modest top-working programme out in the state.

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The principal object of this scheme will be to establish sources of scionwood at various places in the state and to instruct interested parties in the art of grafting. A total of 25 demonstrations have already been given and in nearly every case improved varieties were established and local interest was aroused. It is a matter of satisfaction to report that at least four men have made a commendable start in top-working ordinary seedling trees with scions of superior sorts and one of these men, Mr. Charles Pepper of Berlamont, proposes to establish a small nursery of Allen black walnuts.

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For some time the writer has planned to interest the Future Farmers of America in planting nut trees, but was too busy with other duties to make the proper contact. Just recently arrangements were made with Dr. Gallup, the State Supervisor of Vocational Agricultural Education, for a presentation of the scheme of nut tree planting to these enterprising and energetic young men. My object is to interest at least one member of each group in either top-working local seedlings with the best hardy varieties or in planting good nut tree varieties. Plans are also made to interest the members of the State Horticultural Society in planting some of the best varieties of Michigan origin.

Educational Work

This feature of our project has not been given a great deal of emphasis because it was believed we did not have enough information of local nature to justify us in conducting an extensive educational programme. We now believe we have enough information to make a start and I have arranged a series of meetings with county agents at their regional conferences in the southern part of the lower peninsula. Each regional conference includes the county agents and associated workers in several counties and affords one an opportunity to present our programme to State officials who can give us most effective cooperation. This project along with a similar one for the Future Farmers of America should create more interest in nut culture.

General Notes

The establishment of hardy blight resistant chestnuts of good quality is an important objective in our nut cultural project, and one in which only partial success can be reported. Approximately 700 Chinese and Japanese Chestnut trees have been planted but only about 260 of these trees are living. Some of these casualties were due to dry weather, rabbits and woodchucks, but the major part were due to unsuitable soil conditions. Our observations show that the Asiatic chestnuts will not thrive in an alkaline soil, as nearly all the losses occurred on an area that had a heavy application of marl. On the area where the trees are now growing well the soil is acid and supports several acid tolerant plants.

A superior strain of Chinese Chestnut was found in a lot of about 60 trees which the writer sent to Mr. W. R. Reek of the Experiment Station at Ridgetown, Ontario, in 1927. The best tree has made a good growth, and bears large nuts of good quality. Scions of this tree were obtained last spring and grafted onto several Chinese seedlings at the Kellogg Farm. An attempt will also be made to graft a few large—unfruitful Japanese chestnuts at various places in the State with scions of this good Chinese strain.

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An interesting bit of information on the hardiness of the black walnut and butternut has just come to hand from Col. B. D. Wallace of Portage, La Prairie, Manitoba. Col. Wallace reports the occurrence of a seedling black walnut in his nursery that is quite hardy and which bore fully matured nuts at an early age. He also has a fine grove of butternuts that are entirely hardy and which bear good crops of nuts. These butternut trees grew from nuts secured from France about twenty years ago. The trees are quite hardy but other butternut seedlings from Ontario seemed to lack hardiness. No data are at hand to show where the French butternut trees came from, but inasmuch as the butternut is not a native of France it is almost certain that the trees came from North America and probably Quebec Province. In any case the trees are hardy and are reported to give satisfaction to the people in the Prairie Provinces.

Mr. Kroodsma, Extension Forester, reports the occurrence of a moderately large black walnut which bears nuts of good quality and fair size at Houghton in the extreme northern part of the Upper Peninsula. These accessions to our knowledge of the hardiness of the walnut and butternut are valuable and would suggest that these species can be grown much farther north than their native range.

In a former report reference was made to an attempt while in the service of the Ontario Department of Agriculture to interest the members of the Womens' Institute in Ontario in planting nut trees, but not much progress was made until last spring. The writer had in Ontario about 800 fine seedling heartnuts which he was unable to sell and which had to be moved. It seemed regrettable to destroy them and finally the trees were given to Mr. Geo. Putnam, Supt. of Institutes for distribution in my old home county and in another county where I worked for some time. The trees were readily accepted and much interest was aroused. So much in fact that I was kept busy writing letters to people who wanted to share in the distribution. Unfortunately, I did not have enough trees to meet all demands and so had to refuse many an Institute member who was anxious to try these heartnut seedlings.



Notes on the Filbert Orchard at Geneva

By G. L. SLATE

Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.

Winter killing of the wood and catkins is probably the limiting factor in growing filberts in Western New York. Satisfactory varieties must possess catkins hardy enough to provide sufficient pollen for pollination purposes. There must also be very little killing of the wood or the crop will be reduced in proportion to the amount of wood that is winter injured. Several years observations in the Station filbert orchard at Geneva have shown a great variation in hardiness of filbert varieties. With some varieties the catkins are severely injured each winter, with others, very little injury occurs. Because of this great variation in hardiness we must accumulate as much data as possible concerning the ability of varieties to withstand our winters, especially the mild winters, before we are in a position to make definite variety recommendations.

Last winter, 1932-33 was especially hard on filberts, in fact, much more winter injury was experienced than at any time since the Station orchard was set in 1925. It was a good season to separate the hardy and tender sorts. Throughout the winter the weather was exceptionally mild and favorable for that type of winter injury due to early growth activity. In a normally cold winter catkin killing as a rule is not very serious, except on a few tender varieties. Although catkin killing was so serious at Geneva, S. H. Graham of Ithaca, who is growing a number of varieties on an exposed location where winters are more severe than at Geneva, reports that his trees suffered less catkin injury than at any time since he has been growing them. Catkin killing does not seem to be due to extreme cold during the winter and rarely are the catkins injured before late February or early March. Injury may be severe even though the temperatures are not lower than the catkins are thought to endure when in bloom. Apparently the injury may be due to the cumulative effect of dessication throughout the winter months, this effect becoming apparent shortly before the catkins bloom. Catkins forced into bloom prior to late February bloom normally and without apparent injury.

The data on winter injury of catkins is being accumulated for two purposes. First, it is being used as a basis for recommending varieties as pollinators; and second, it is being used in selecting parents for breeding hardy varieties.

The amount of winter killed catkins is determined by observation during the blooming season in late March. All catkins that fail to open, or open weakly and shed no pollen, are considered winter killed and the proportion that are killed is expressed in per cent.