Northern Nut Growers Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty First Annual Meeting

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MEMBER: I got a shipment of chestnuts at one time. I took a
ten-gallon milk can and put two inches of sawdust in it. I originally
had 50 pounds of nuts but sold some of them. I had 8 or 10 pounds left.
I sealed them up tight, put the lid on, and a year from the next April I
opened the can. The ones on the bottom had started to grow, they had
tops of 4 or 5 inches long and they had a network of roots. But on top
of those the nuts were in perfect condition. I shipped some of them to
Washington. I planted some of them. Perhaps 9 out of 10 were in perfect
condition and they grew.

DR. SMITH: I would like to suggest another method of keeping
chestnuts. Pack them in sphagnum moss, put them in cold storage and
freeze them solid.

MR. HERSHEY: Mr. Bixby digs a trench, plants the nuts in it,
covers them with leaves and then with an inch or two of soil.

THE PRESIDENT: One of the officers of the Bureau of Plant
Industry, traveling in Asia, took some seeds and dipped them in paraffin
wax. I know it is an excellent method of keeping dahlia roots.

We have another item on our program, "New Members' Experience and
Questions." Possibly we have some new members here who have had
experiences and would like to tell us of them.

MEMBER: My first experience was with Mr. Snyder at Ames. I saw
on the program a nut lecture, so I went. For the past two years I have
been attending the short course and heard Mr. Snyder lecture. A year ago
this spring I got some scions from Mr. Snyder. Four scions out of 7
grew. It was the first time I had ever done any grafting at all. I used
paraffin for grafting.

THE PRESIDENT: You got very good results indeed. This year I
made a miserable failure. I believe I only got about 12% to grow. I hope
you always have the same good luck.

DR. SMITH: If he wants to keep his record he better not do any
more grafting.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: Pretty near everybody this year reports a
miserable failure. There must be some reason.

DR. SMITH: It may be the drought.

PROF. DRAKE: I only got three to grow. We had enough rain in
the spring.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: My opinion is that last winter was hard on wood.
There was an early freeze in the central states. My observation is that
the wood was injured through the winter. I think any scion wood was not
very good.

PROF. DRAKE: In our part of the country the temperature ran
from 24 to 26 below zero.

MR. HERSHEY: If you notice in making the graft little pin
points of black on the scions, you can almost bet on a failure.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: Some of the worst looking scions at times grow
the best. You put them on and they all grow. Another time you have
beautiful scions and they all die.

MR. HARRINGTON: There is injury you can't see with the naked
eye. The wood was unripened when our winter set in. We had a very severe
winter in our section here. My practice has been to store my scion wood
in November.

MR. FREY: The cold weather in January wouldn't affect that. I
am inclined to think the scion wood injury was done before winter set
in.

MEMBER: When is the best time to gather scion wood? Mr.
Harrington says in the fall. I have been getting mine in February. Is it
better to cut the wood when entirely dormant, or would it grow better
if cut when the sap starts in the spring?

MR. HARRINGTON: I want my scions cut early.

DR. SMITH: How early can you cut them?

MR. HARRINGTON: When the scars from the leaves have dried up
thoroughly. I have known them even in December to be still sappy. They
didn't grow well that year. I often cut them the last week in November.

MR. HERSHEY: I would advise Dr. Smith not to cut too early in
the fall.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: From my papaws I cut scions in the fall.

THE PRESIDENT: From the comments made here this morning I have
an opinion that the question certainly needs looking into. We could cut
our scions earlier.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: I wouldn't cut them at that time if I didn't
have to.

MR. HERSHEY: I think that is a good admission. Another thing,
if you paraffin your scions you need cat's paws to hang on to them. Dr.
Morris said last year, "Melt your paraffin off with hot water." We tried
it, got paraffin all over ourselves and cooked the wood. So then we
scraped the paraffin off.

DR. DEMING: Dr. Neilson has said if there are any new members
we would like to hear from them. If there are no new members there
should be some. Our secretary sits at the table, ready and anxious to
receive the dues and names of new members. I have always felt that we
never treat new members with sufficient deference. I think we should ask
them to talk about their experiences, to tell us what they have done, to
tell us what they would like to do, to ask us questions, and that we
should make them feel more at home.

THE PRESIDENT: That is very much to the point.

DR. DEMING: Why isn't the chestnut more appreciated in this
country? Why aren't the farmers acquainted with the possibilities of
growing chestnuts here in the middle west? Yesterday Dr. Zimmerman and I
were at Mr. Harrington's and there we saw chestnut trees that would make
your heart warm to look at. Why can't the people of the middle west,
where the chestnut is not native, be awakened to the great possibilities
of growing the chestnut commercially? It is easy to grow. It bears
early, and abundantly. What can we do to make it better known? I would
like to ask Dr. Zimmerman.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: Chestnut growers say "We can't keep them."
Several years ago I got a hundred pounds of chestnuts down in Illinois.
I sold them out to friends of mine. In a few weeks those chestnuts were
dry enough to use for roller bearings. That is the reason they don't
like the chestnut. I think that hurts the chestnut business more than
anything else.

MR. HERSHEY: I would like to ask why insist on introducing the
chestnut when we have the black walnut? I would just as soon eat bran as
a chestnut. Now the black walnut you can keep for two years.

DR. ZIMMERMAN: In the last few years I have been in intimate
contact with chestnuts. I don't see why the people here don't take them
up. If you don't do it the people on the west coast are going to plant
chestnuts and ship them to the eastern market. You people can raise
chestnuts. The eastern markets are full of chestnuts from Europe. What
we need is chestnuts like the Riehl's. The large European chestnuts are
of poor flavor. Take the varieties you can grow around here and send
them to the East and you will get 50 cents a pound for them. Authorities
tell us the trees will die off. I tell you you will all die off after a
while. You aren't going to quit working because you are going to die
off. Within three years you will have trees that will bear. You may get
from twelve to fifteen crops off of them before they die. So far as the
food quality of the chestnut is concerned it is not a balanced diet,
mostly sugar, but it is a splendid food. The difficulty is in keeping it
soft. But it is not a difficult thing. Cold storage will keep the
chestnut in splendid shape for eating purposes. I would plant chestnuts
and plant them now. Sooner or later, if they die off, we in the East
will be prepared to replace them, but for the present you will have the
whole field east of the Rocky Mountains. I do not know of another
opportunity as great as the chestnut. I just wish I could take 20 acres
of this land with me back to my rocky Pennsylvania farm.

DR. COLBY: In Illinois the chestnut is not native and people
don't realize that it can be grown. Some of the speakers have mentioned
the Riehls. I want to mention the Endicott place. Mr. Endicott tells me
that it is increasingly difficult to supply the demand for his
chestnuts. He sells his nuts sometimes a year in advance. Developing of
cleaning machinery and sorting machinery is going on apace. Mr. Endicott
is interested in a sorting machine such as we use for apples. It is true
we are going to get the blight out here sooner or later. Meantime we are
going to try to anticipate it by securing hybrids which are resistant
and of good quality at the same time.

MR. SNYDER: I would like to say a word as to planting chestnuts
here in Iowa, and especially here north. What has been said is true of
the southern part of the state. We may grow varieties there that it
would not do to plant in the northern part of the state. I think I can
show you tomorrow if you visit my place that I have had considerable
experience in planting chestnuts just as an experiment. The first
planting mostly has gone out because of our climatic conditions. We have
severe winters. We must be careful what varieties we plant and what
stocks they are worked on when we do plant them. A few years ago a
nurseryman wrote me he would like to go out of business and he had
chestnut seedlings for sale. I bought his seedlings. I lost them all the
next winter. Why? Because of their mixed parentage, European and
Japanese. They were not hardy, that was all there was to it. If the
nurserymen here and farther north will be careful in the selection of
the varieties they use, we can grow them. There are two factors, the
stocks you graft on and the varieties you want to grow.

MR. FREY: In my old home place there are native chestnuts over
60 years old.

MR. SNYDER: If we had time I could take you to visit a grove of
chestnut trees, planted by one of the oldtimers, possibly seventy years
ago. I haven't been able to learn where the seed came from, evidently
from some northeastern country. That is where I get my seeds. Any trees
that I have grown from seedlings are dependable trees.

MR. HERRICK: One point should be carried in mind. While we
think of Des Moines as located in central Iowa, as far as temperature is
concerned it is really southern Iowa. The weather at Ames, which is 30
miles north of Des Moines, is far more severe. At Des Moines we can
raise Grimes Golden apples. At Ames it is almost impossible. I think
that the reason more people are not planting more of these good
varieties of walnuts and other species is that they cannot get the
trees. And then they are very high priced. Mr. Snyder says that it takes
a long time to propagate these trees. People don't like to pay $5.00 or
$6.00 for a tree and then maybe not have it grow. As I understand, Mr.
Snyder is about the only nurseryman in the state that furnishes nut
trees, I mean new varieties.

MR. BOYCE: Would it be a good plan to plant black walnuts and
grow the seedlings right where you want your orchard?

MR. SNYDER: I think that is a very good plan.

DR. COLBY: An excellent way if you can get a man to do the
grafting.

MR. BOYCE: What would be a reasonable price for grafting?

DR. COLBY: Mr. Wilkinson has done considerable of that kind of
work.

PROF. DRAKE: I have been more successful in budding.

MR. HERSHEY: We can't in Pennsylvania. In the winter the buds
kill off.

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Hershey's experience is like mine, about
$7.00 a graft. I will say that if I give grafting demonstrations, as I
have in Michigan, I always tell my audience a little story. Once upon a
time there was a wild west show. An old Indian chief on the outside
proclaimed the merits of the show. He always finished by saying, "And
now, ladies and gentlemen, if you go into this show I positively will
not give you your money back." I generally tell my audience I
positively will not guarantee anything. If none of the scions grow they
can't come back and say, "I told you so."

DR. DEMING: I would like to have our president talk about
methods of making the transplanting of nursery grafted trees safer for
the purchaser. Dr. Neilson has had a good deal of experience in setting
out nursery stock.

THE PRESIDENT: Quite naturally in the progress of time we gain
some knowledge by experience. Sometimes that experience is very costly.
We remember it more clearly. During the past year I made a few
observations on transplanting nut trees. Some of you who were at Ontario
in 1928 and New York last year, heard me speak of doing it by means of
paraffin coating which has been successful in quite a wide area of this
country and in Canada. The difficulty was that during very hot weather
the wax melted and ran down and did some injury on the south side of the
tree. I did notice that if you inclined the tree to the southwest just a
little there was very little injury, whereas if they leaned to the
northeast there was injury. I would suggest this, that if you are
planting on southern slopes and happen to be in localities where there
are very high temperatures, you use 1-3 beeswax and 2-3 paraffin.
Beeswax has been proven to be quite safe over wounds and trees in
general. This treatment has been used over a very wide area, in 18
states and 5 Canadian Provinces. We have information at hand on 130,000
roses, 15,000 pecans, 2,000 apples. We have had very few complaints from
the people who have used this treatment. Because of that, I firmly
believe that the principle of applying a protective coating to the upper
part of the tree and branches is correct. I have made another
observation in protecting roots against devitalizing. Certain kinds of
trees, hickory, walnut, are very susceptible to injury to the roots. I
tried paraffin on the cut roots and got very good healing. I found that
wherever I packed moist peat around the roots there was very good
response. Last spring I took about 100 seedling black walnuts and put
half in good loamy soil, the other half in moist peat. I got very good
results from those packed in peat. In the loam in 7 weeks not one scion
had grown. I took those pots and took out the dirt. I later planted them
in a cold frame in peat and practically every one of those walnut trees
grew. I believe that the peat had some beneficial effect.

MR. FREY: From the time the nut tree is dug until it is planted
the nursery should pack it so it will keep moist. The purchaser should
not let the wind or sun strike it. I had some trees sent from Texas to
Oklahoma. The fellow who did the work heeled them in improperly. Every
tree died. Keeping the roots moist is half the problem.

THE PRESIDENT: Very important indeed. Mr. Gellatly shipped
heartnut trees to Augusta. These trees were packed in moss and
paraffined. They arrived in excellent condition. The trip took six weeks
and they travelled 3,000 miles.

DR. SMITH: What season?

THE PRESIDENT: About the first of April, and arrived about the
middle of May.

DR. DEMING: Could you make an artificial ball in which the
roots of a plant could be packed? Say peat moss, which is light, and
send that to the customer and tell him to plant it just as it is.

THE PRESIDENT: I think possibly that can be done. The Wedge
Nursery of Albert Lea, Minnesota, have a method of packing roses in
sphagnum moss. They soak this material very thoroughly, embed the roots
in it, and outside this material they apply some water-proof covering.

AFTERNOON SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 1930

THE PRESIDENT: At our last meeting in New York, Dr. Deming
suggested that it might be well worth while to make a study of the
Japanese walnut. His suggestion appealed to me, for I have been
interested in the occurrence and distribution of this species. I have
not had an opportunity to travel very widely on this continent, so I
have had to depend partly on the observation of other people. I sent out
a questionnaire to members of our association and horticultural
experiment stations throughout the United States and got a good
response.

SOME NOTES ON THE JAPANESE WALNUT IN NORTH AMERICA

_Dr. J. A. Neilson, Michigan_

The Japanese walnut, Juglans sieboldiana, and its varietal form
cordiformis, were said to have been introduced into America from Japan
about 1870 by a nurseryman at San Jose, California. From this and other
subsequent introductions a considerable number have been grown and
distributed in the United States and Canada.

A recent inquiry by the writer brought forth some interesting data
relative to the occurrence and distribution of this species in North
America. This inquiry shows that it has been widely distributed and is
reported in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama,
Connecticut, California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi,
Michigan, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia,
Washington, and Wisconsin. No reports were received from South Carolina,
Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, North and South Dakota, Idaho,
Georgia, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and Wyoming, and negative reports were
received from Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

In none of these states is the Japanese walnut abundant in the same
degree as other kinds of nut trees, but in some states it was reported
more frequently than in others. It occurs more abundantly in
Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware than in
other states.

In Canada it has been reported from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
In Ontario it is found occasionally from Windsor to the Quebec boundary
and from Lake Erie to North Bay. There are several fine large trees in
southern Ontario, some of which are worthy of propagation. Many of the
trees in Ontario and other eastern provinces grew from nuts distributed
by the writer several years ago. For five years in succession the writer
bought the crop from a large heartnut tree near Jordan Station, Ontario,
and distributed the nuts all over Canada to those who were interested.
More than twelve thousand nuts were thus distributed and I know from
observation and reports that seedling trees are now growing from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. I am going to tax your credulity to the utmost
and tell you that one of my correspondents reports heartnut trees
growing in the Peace River area of northern Alberta. I have no recent
report from my friend but I know that the trees came through two winters
in that far northland.

Possibly in the days to come a superior seedling or a hybrid may be
found in these numerous seedlings which will be worth propagating. Some
of these trees have already borne nuts and many have made very good
growth.

The Japanese walnut has also been reported from New Zealand and several
states in Australia, England, France, Germany and other European
countries.

_Climatic Adaptation_

From the foregoing it can be seen that this species of walnut has been
widely distributed and is now growing in countries with a wide
temperature range. Reports are on hand which show that the trees have
endured temperatures of 40 below zero F. to 110 deg. above zero. From this
it need not be assumed that all Japanese walnut trees will stand great
extremes of heat and cold, for experience shows that they will not. It
does show, however, that some individuals at least have marked hardiness
to cold and heat and have endured temperatures much greater than the
English walnut. The best results in growth and fruitfulness have been
obtained in those regions of moderate rainfall where the apple and
sweet cherry grow successfully.

_Soil Requirements_

The Japanese walnut seems to thrive on many soil types ranging from a
heavy clay to a light sand, but does best on what is popularly known as
a well drained fertile sandy loam with a friable clay subsoil. It will
not do well on strongly acid soils and those who have planted trees on
such soils should apply lime in liberal quantities. Poorly drained soils
or very light soils deficient in humus are also not suitable.

_Tree and Nut Characteristics_

The Japanese walnut has several characteristics which make it desirable
as an ornamental and as a nut-bearing tree. It grows rapidly, has large
numerous luxuriant leaves which give it a tropical effect, and usually
has a symmetrical outline. It bears early, sometimes in the second year
from the graft, yields heavily and is often reported to yield regularly.

A heartnut tree owned by Mr. Sylvestor Kratz of Jordan Station, Ontario,
produced nearly seven bushels of husked nuts one season and Mr. J. W.
Hershey reports a yield of ten bushels of heartnuts from a tree near
Olney, Pennsylvania. He also reports a cash return of $50.00 from one
tree grown by Mr. Killen of Felton, Delaware. These were heartnuts and
sold for 50 to 75 cents a pound. Mr. J. V. Gellatly, Westbank, B. C.,
obtained a yield of ten bushels of unhusked nuts from a heartnut tree of
medium size. The yields from the common type, J. sieboldiana, have also
been heavy, but since no figures are available no definite statements
can be made.

In the Japanese walnut as in other species of nuts there is marked
variation in nut characteristics, such as size, thickness of shell,
cracking quality, extraction quality and flavor of kernel. Heartnuts
have been found ranging from 1/2 in. to 1-3/4 in. in length. The largest
heartnut I have ever seen came from Gellatly Brothers of Westbank, B. C.
This nut was 1-3/4 in. long by 1-1/4 in. wide and was fully 1 in. thick.
I also located a fine Sieboldiana type which is said to be the largest
found up to date. (See specimens in jars).

Some of these good kinds possess excellent cracking and extraction
quality. Mr. John Hershey of Downingtown, Pa., reports several good
easy-cracking strains not yet introduced and Mr. Gellatly has one called
O. K. that can easily be cracked with a hand nut cracker. I have also
found one that I believe is a hybrid and which has excellent cracking
and extraction quality. These specimens came from a seedling heartnut
grown by Mr. Claude Mitchell, Scotland, Ontario. The nuts are longer
than any heartnut found so far. The kernels in many cases fall out whole
or in halves. This strain received the O. K. of Prof. Reed and Dr.
Deming and as you know when a nut gets by either of those gentlemen it
has to possess some merit. The good result produced by nature without
any assistance from man suggests the possibility of getting even better
results from parents of superior characters. I believe the Japanese
walnut offers interesting possibilities in breeding with the butternut
and possibly the black and English walnut. Definite plant breeding work
should be done with these species as well as with all other species of
nuts.

The Japanese walnuts generally grow fast but usually do not attain a
large size. In most cases the trees rarely grow more than 35 feet tall
with a spread of 30 to 50 feet, but occasionally specimens attain much
larger size. The writer saw a heartnut tree on Mr. Kratz's farm near
Jordan Station, Ontario, which had a trunk diameter of 2 ft., a height
of 35 ft., and a spread of 64 ft. Near St. Thomas, Ontario, there is a
large sieboldiana tree which is 75 ft. across the top and is about 45
ft. tall. Mr. Ricks reports a huge tree near Olney, Pennsylvania, that
is 80 ft. across the top and 60 ft. tall and Dr. Deming reports a tree
with a spread of 100 ft.

_Varieties_

Through the efforts of the Northern Nut Growers Association members
several good varieties have been found and propagated. These varieties
have been widely distributed but have not been extensively planted. The
results are variable as might be expected, but generally the reports are
satisfactory. In the eastern states the following varieties seem to do
reasonably well: Faust, Bates, Ritchie and Stranger. In British
Columbia, Messrs. J. U. and David Gellatly have located several very
good strains such as Gellatly, O. K., Calendar, Walters and Rosefield.
These newer varieties from the West have several good characters and are
worthy of a wider trial in the East.

_Diseases and Insect Pests_

In common with most other forms of plant life the trees are susceptible
to some insects and diseases.

Reports of injury by the walnut weevil, Conotrachelus juglandis, and
also by codling moth larvae have been received. In some cases the
foliage is attacked by rust fungi and some injury is also done by leaf
spot. Prof. Reed reports witches broom attacking some trees in the South
and one case of this disease was observed by the writer in Ontario on a
Siebold-butternut hybrid. Notwithstanding these defects it is believed
that the Japanese walnut is less attacked by disease and insects than
most other species of nut trees.

_Opinion of Observers_

The opinion of a group of people on the merits or defects of a tree
species or project is worthy of consideration. In order to get an
expression of opinion as to the merits of the Japanese walnut the
following question was asked: Do you consider the better strains of
Japanese walnut worthy of more extended planting? The answers to this
inquiry were numerous and varied. The great majority were in favor of
increased plantings but a few were somewhat dubious. Nearly every one
agreed that the species possessed marked beauty and was worthy of more
extended planting as an ornamental. Some gave preference to the nuts
over the black and English but the majority thought the quality was not
quite up to the standard of these two species. Some observers reported
favorably on the heartnut for culinary purposes and as an ingredient of
ice cream and candy. With these latter comments I have had personal
experience and can heartily agree.

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