EXAMPLES OF SOME RECENT CORRESPONDENCE

Farmingdale, Ill., August 5, 1914.

I am interested in fruit and nuts of all kinds, but plant only for home use and experimentally.

I believe the chestnut is a better money nut here than the pecan, as natives here bear very sparsely and irregularly although the catkins or male part usually come out in great profusion.

I note that you say "there is probably not much use in trying to grow the pecan or Persian walnut outside the peach area." Here our pecan seems as hardy as the average apple, withstanding 25° below zero or more with little or no injury. I find that the "Andrus" Persian walnut is much hardier than the "Pomeroy" as I planted two small one-year trees that endured the following winter 20° below, with no injury to even terminal buds. So twenty years may show a change of opinion as to the value of the Persian walnut in the Middle West.

The Japanese walnuts here are often injured by winter at 15° below, but there may be hardier types and varieties than those I have tried.

I have never been able to graft the pecan successfully—annual or budding has given me the only success I have had. And in years like this and last, I find it very difficult to make a transplanted grafted pecan live without watering.

I have failed, so far, in finding a practical method to keep chestnuts in good eating and planting condition until spring. If stored in the ground cellar or as peach pits, they mould, if kept in an ordinary building they become too dry.

Benjamin Buckman.

South Waterford, Me., November 21, 1914.

Dear Sir:

I have just read in the last issue of the Rural New-Yorker a very interesting article on nut growing, giving your name.

For several years I have thought that it would be better for people in the New England States to give more attention to nuts than so much to apples, but I have not been in a position to start in with nut trees much until now.

Although 65 years old and somewhat used up with rheumatism I am not ready to give up yet....

When I started on this farm it did not produce a barrel of grafted fruit. There were quite a lot of natural fruit trees that never had been trimmed or cared for in any way. I grafted these trees and set out some from time to time until now the farm produces from 500 to 800 barrels per year.

This year apples at picking time sold slow for $1.00 per barrel for No. 1's, No. 2's not wanted at any price.

I often think that if I had set out a few acres of nut trees 25 years ago they would have been more profit now than the whole 200-acre farm is....

Last spring on account of my lameness and the scarcity and the high price of farm help I sold my large farm and bought a small place.... Last spring I had about two acres of this land plowed up and during the summer thoroughly worked over with the idea of next spring setting it out to nut trees of some varieties that would do best here. Now I do not know anything about nut growing or what varieties best to plant. If you can help me out by putting me in a way to get this information you will confer a great favor.

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Statistics, (Agricultural Forecasts) Office of the County Correspondent.

Isle La Motte, Grand Isle, Vermont, December 10, 1914.

My Dear Sir:

I wish to set out several nut trees next spring here on this island in Lake Champlain. We have lots of hickory nuts, butternuts, hazelnuts and beechnuts growing wild here and Champlain says in his narrative that there were lots of fine chestnuts growing here 300 years ago. Now I want to try some chestnuts, black walnuts, English walnuts, pecans, and almonds. If you can tell me the hardiest varieties of each and where to get trees I shall be greatly obliged. I have my doubts about pecans and almonds but am willing to try them here. I am growing peaches here where they never grew before.

Richmond, Va., December 13, 1914.

Dear Sir:

I am just commencing an enterprise in propagation of nut trees here just north of Richmond. I shall have plenty of time to do some experimental work in planting of unknown varieties and would like to do some such planting. I want any information I can get on varieties of English and black walnuts, hazelnuts, hickories and persimmons, "sloes" and any other varieties of currants. If I am not trespassing too much on your time please put me in touch with parties who can give me information. Please advise me if your association has any publications on the subject.

I am a retired civil engineer and my hobby has been all my life the study of forest trees. I am now in a position to do some planting and I should be very glad to coöperate with your association. I am here located exactly on the line of demarcation between northern and southern forest growths and I think I have exactly the location for experimental work....

New Milford, Conn., December 8, 1914.

My dear Dr. Deming:

This morning I am sending, by parcel post, a sample of hickory nuts to compete for the prize which I saw has been offered by the association, of which you are secretary.

My father, while he was living, sent an exhibition of nuts to the Pan-American, also to the St. Louis Fair, and received the highest award given for nuts at both Expositions.

New London, Conn., December 3, 1914.

Dear Sir:

We are all elderly people, lacking energy to cultivate our farm land as closely as we ought. Some of us are interested in nut culture and have suggested that we plant some nuts and watch their growth from the very beginning. Of course, we only wish nuts of the best varieties and easiest culture. We only wish hardy nuts, that do not need grafting, and we prefer those that come into bearing early. We do not wish any of the Mammoth dwarf, Japan chestnut. We bought a nice one, but it will not mature its fruit, and is gradually dying. We find great difficulty in purchasing nuts. Those who have trees for sale, refuse to sell the NUTS.

A person who has a few Japan walnut trees in connection with some other business, very kindly offered to sell us some nuts, and these are all we have been able to purchase so far. There are but very few nuts that we would attempt to try. We wish to find some of the very best of filberts or hazelnuts, that we shall probably cultivate in bush form. We are interested in the hardy, hard shell almonds. Do you think we could do anything with them? I think they do not have to be grafted. Do you know of any species of English walnut or Madeira nut, that are perfectly hardy, and come into bearing early, that would serve our purpose?

I know we are asking quite a favor, for strangers, but if you will kindly assist us a little, we will thank you very much.

Broadway Methodist Church, Fargo, N. D., November 10, 1914.

Dear Sir:

I saw your statement in the Southern Planter this morning and am writing, not to tell you where choice nut-specimens are to be obtained but to ask a few questions relative to the obtaining the best information possible to the growing of nuts. I have a ten-acre tract about twelve miles straight south of Staunton, Va. When I purchased the tract the chestnut and hickory were thriving. I have had about one half of the property cleared and some trees planted. Among the trees are twelve hardy English walnuts from Green's Nursery, Rochester, N. Y., 6 "Mayo" and 6 "Pomeroy" walnuts from Glen Brothers, Rochester, N. Y. I am interested in nut-culture. I have inquired of Glen Brothers if the Kentish Cob would thrive there. They assure me it will. If there is a chance to make a success of nuts, I would turn my time and thought to the raising of walnuts and Kentish cobs and filberts. What would you advise? If you cannot give me the desired information, kindly give me directions to the one who can. I was brought up among the walnuts and filberts and cob-nuts in the County of Kent, England, and now my thoughts are turning to the delights of earlier days and I intend coming to the Shenandoah Valley in the near future and making my home there....

THE SECRETARY'S REPLY

Georgetown, Conn., November 13, 1914.

My Dear Mr. ——:

It gives me great pleasure to reply as well as I am able to your letter of November 10th. You are in the position of many thoughtful men of the present day in craving the peace and delight of a life that is nearer to nature. You have also a small tract of land in a favored part of our country, and you have been led to believe, by the statements that you have run across in chance sources, that the returns from nut growing may enable you to attain your ambition.

Our president has a place at Roundhill, Va., not very many miles from yours. He is a professor of something like "Efficiency" in the University of Pennsylvania. He is young, aggressive and very efficient himself. His father was, and he himself is, an orchardist and fruit grower. Both he and I have been for some years working at the problems of nut growing. But it is only this year that we seem to have overcome the difficulties of grafting and budding nut trees. We have the greatest faith in the future success of nut growing, but we do not know how long it will be before we shall know just what varieties of nuts to plant ourselves, least of all to advise others to plant, with any certainty of success. For the man, however, who realizes that nut growing in the North is still in the experimental stage, we have no end of information and advice.

The information you have had from interested sources is misleading. Probably you would not live long enough to get satisfactory results from the seedling trees you might plant, even if such results ever came. To get reasonably prompt and certain results from nut trees it is necessary to grow such trees grafted or budded from trees of known good bearing record, just as the same thing is necessary with the common fruit trees.

Your information about the Kentish cob and the filbert is but half the truth. The shrubs will thrive for a time in almost any place. But they have nowhere in the East been a success because sooner or later they are destroyed by a disease. One of our great nut growing wants is a filbert or hazel of good size and quality that has the blight resistant quality of our native hazel.

My advice to you then would be as follows. If it is your idea to make a living by nut growing on your ten acres in Virginia within a reasonable number of years, I do not advise you to attempt it. If you wish to take up nut growing as offering an occupation of the greatest interest, with opportunity for the solution of problems of great importance to mankind, and a fair promise of eventual money profit to yourself or to your heirs, then I should certainly advise you to take up nut growing.

I would not attempt to grow the hazel or the chestnut at present, except in an experimental way. The nuts of best promise for you are the Indiana or northern pecans and the English walnut. But it requires considerable study of the subject before one may take up the practice of nut growing without the probability of making unnecessary mistakes, and unnecessarily losing time and money in repeating the experiences of others.

The wilful misstatements of some nurserymen, and the ignorance or carelessness of others, has hindered the progress of nut growing. Fortunately we have several nurserymen who have made a study of the subject, who are honorable and truthful men, and on whose statements you may rely. The only possible qualification of this statement that I know of is that an allowance for enthusiasm might be borne in mind without risk of harm. I enclose a list of such nurserymen, accredited by this association.

Your letter seems to call for this extended reply which I hope will be of service to you. If I have left anything obscure that you would like to know about, or if I can assist you in any other way, please let me know.

With the hope that you may be able to take up this most fascinating avocation with pleasure and profit, I am

Very truly yours,

W. C. Deming.