Harry R. Weber Members were saddened to hear of the death, on his way home, of Harry R. George B. Rhodes COVINGTON, Tenn., Dec. 16, 1950—Services for George B. Rhodes of Mt. Carmel who died Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at his home will be held Sunday afternoon at 3 at the Clopton Methodist Church. The Rev. David Olhansen, pastor of the church, assisted by the Rev. E. D. Farris of Henning will officiate. Burial will be in the Clopton Cemetery. Mr. Rhodes, who was 82, was born at Clopton, Tenn., and spent his entire lifetime in Tipton County. He was the first county agent of Tipton County. He was interested in the budding of pecans and had operated a nursery for the past 20 years. He was a member of the Clopton Methodist Church. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Ivie Drake Rhodes of Covington; two sons, Sol Rhodes of Tampa, Fla., and Marion Rhodes of Beverly Hills, Calif.; two daughters, Mrs. R. B. Davie of Covington and Mrs. Lillian Bringley of Memphis; two sisters, Mrs. Pauline Meacham of Senatobia, Miss., and Mrs. Mattie Nelson of Forrest City, Ark., and two brothers, Sam Rhodes of Bolivar, and Duke Rhodes of San Francisco, Calif.; seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.—Reprinted from a Memphis paper. Mr. Rhodes' greatest contribution to nut growing was the discovery and first propagation of a heartnut variety mow called Rhodes. It is the most successful heartnut yet tried in western Tennessee, a reliable and heavy cropper, and one of the best cracking varieties of all known heartnuts. It deserves testing in other areas. Note: The following members of the N. N. G. A. have died recently, and we hope to have fuller obituaries on them in the next volume: Charles C. Dean, of Anniston, Ala. (Died September 21, 1950.) Henry Gressel, of Mohawk, N. Y. (Died in June, 1951.) W. N. Achenbach, of Petoskey, Mich. L. B. Hoyer, of Omaha, Nebr. Life Member Wang Is in Hong Kong In our 1942 Report there was a note that our only Chinese member, P. W. Wang, had probably died, since he had not been heard from since 1930. Mr. Wang, we are happy to report, has recently written to us from Hong Kong. Many of the nut trees he planted while secretary of the Kinsan Arboretum at Chuking (not Chungking) in Kiangsu Province had survived the Japanese invasions and were fruiting in 1945, but are now in Communist hands. Mr. Wang hopes some day to be able to send to America scions of a fine pecan (seedling of Teche variety) which he fruited at Chuking. Meanwhile, he wishes to have nut literature and catalogues sent to him at his present address: P. W. Wang, c/o China Products Trading Corporation, 6 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong. Letters Nuts in Quebec July 16, 1950 Dr. George L. Slate, Dear Dr. Slate: I am very much flattered by your invitation to prepare a paper on nut culture in Quebec. My only regret is that for two reasons I am unable to comply with your request. The first is that I am quite ignorant on the subject. It is only lately that I have developed an interest in this matter when I suddenly found myself responsible for a so-called "arboretum" which is now mainly empty space that I am endeavoring to fill. The fact that shagbark hickory and butternut were common in our woods and that some of our neighbors have apparently flourishing individual trees of black walnut served to arouse my interest in the question. One neighbour has a tree of what he calls "French walnut" because they came from near Lyons, France, which are evidently the ordinary English or Persian walnut. Furthermore, I have been advised that there is quite a grove of black walnut near Lotbiniere, Quebec, which is on the south shore of the St. Lawrence not far from the city of Quebec. I understand that it was planted some seventy-five years ago and trees are now timber size. Indeed, I was told that the owner was offered a considerable sum during the war—the wood was wanted for gun stocks. I have not been there to verify this. However it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to get several specimens of various nut species that might grow here to place in the arboretum—this might incidentally give some information on what species would survive our winters. The second reason that I am unable to write any article on nut culture in Quebec is because as far as I know there is no nut culture here. Most of the trees I refer to were simply planted as ornamentals. I have never been able to locate anyone who has taken any particular interest in growing them for the nuts. I would like very much to extend my knowledge on the subject by attending your meeting at Poughkeepsie, New York, on August 28th to 30th, but unfortunately I will be absent in Nova Scotia on those dates. Following your information I secured some literature on northern nut culture and will look forward to receiving any further information along this line that may be forthcoming. Again thanking you for your courtesy and assuring you of my continued interest, I am, Yours very truly, W. H. BRITTAIN Macdonald College, Quebec, Canada Note: I believe that perhaps the things mentioned in his second paragraph should be followed up.—H.L.S. Pecans Produce Poorly in Middle Atlantic States November 13, 1950 Dr. Lewis E. Theiss Dear Dr. Theiss: Speaking of pecans, we have harvested the first crop this year here on the station, from trees planted in 1932, of the varieties Indiana, Greenriver, Busseron and Major. Even though these nuts were not harvested until November 9 they are poorly filled. It seems that we just cannot mature them here in an average season. Our trees have not grown satisfactorily and although they may bloom, the nuts normally fail to mature. Our summers are not long enough and the day and night temperatures are not high enough uniformly to satisfactorily produce pecans even in this area. Very truly yours, H. L. CRANE U. S. Plant Industry Station. ~Editor's Note:~ Dr Crane's experience is exactly similar to my own. The pecans in the grounds at my country home were well loaded with nuts this year, 1950. I doubt if a single nut was half filled.—L. E. T. Nut Tree Diseases in Europe and Turkey November 17, 1950 Dr. Lewis E. Theiss Dear Dr. Theiss: I have only recently returned from three and one-half months spent in Europe, primarily on chestnut problems, as a consultant for the Economic Cooperation Administration. The trip was made at the request and expense of European interests, except while I was up in the Scandinavian countries and at the 7th International Botanical Congress. I gave a paper at the Congress, entitled "The world-wide spread of forest diseases," in which chestnut blight received limited attention. In Italy, chestnut blight, ~Endothia parasitica~, was first reported at Genoa in 1938, although it started there much earlier. It is now widely distributed here and there as far south as the Naples area. No confirmed infections have been reported from Sicily, Sardinia, or French Corsica, though inspection work has been very, very limited. In all the places where I saw it, the disease was increasing rapidly, with numerous recently-blighted trees. It is expected that the disease will ultimately kill the 988,000 acres of coppice growth, which produces few nuts, and the 1,111,500 acres of grafted orchards. The time of death of isolated stands like the two islands and many other areas can be materially decreased by careful inspection and removal of the earliest infections, just as we have held the disease under control in the European chestnut orchards in California. It is doubtful if this will be done however, in spite of their large unemployment problem. As the blight continues its rapid spread over Italy, the production of nuts will steadily decrease. The Italian exports to this country will decrease, and the market for the rapidly expanding production of Chinese chestnuts in the eastern United States will improve. The Italian foresters are growing large quantities of Chinese chestnuts which they purchased in this country, but the difficulties of quickly reestablishing a large nut industry are very great. This Bureau, including Dr. Graves, has been sending pollen, scions, and plants of our selections to help with this work. It is of vital importance to have a sound economy in Italy to help prevent the Communists from taking over, and loss of their forest and nut orchards and part of their oaks from the blight will be a sad blow to their economy. The chestnut blight fungus in Italy is attacking three important European oaks, ~Quercus ilex~, ~Q. Pubescens~, and ~Q. sessiliflora~. These are more important in some countries than chestnuts. For instance, Spain has 3,705,000 acres of ~Q. ilex~ orchards, grown largely for acorn hog feed. This will interest Dr. Smith. Possibly the disease may be less destructive to oaks in other countries than I fear, my opinion being based on the examination of only a limited number of diseased oaks in Italy. I assume you have heard that Mr. Bretz of our Division has found that the oak wilt fungus has attacked some of our Chinese chestnuts in Missouri. What it will amount to, no one knows. The oak wilt continues to spread southward and eastward, and this year one infection was reported by the State authorities on oaks in your own Pennsylvania. In Switzerland, in Tessin province, which is along the Italian border, the blight is spreading rapidly. The disease undoubtedly is in Yugoslavia, as there is so much infection in nearby Italy, but I was not in Yugoslavia. In Spain, there are several infections of blight that came in on the original importations of chestnuts directly from Japan. I made two trips into Spain and the authorities there have promised to do everything possible to eradicate these small spot infections. In Denmark, England, France, Germany, Portugal, and Turkey no blight had been reported by the authorities with whom I conferred, but in most of these countries very little inspection work has been conducted. Any inspection for blight in southern Europe is complicated by the presence of the ink root rot disease, which from a distance looks like the blight. I remember one grafted orchard planting, in the Asia Minor part of Turkey, where a large proportion of the trees were dead or dying, with yellow leaves hanging, resembling the blight. Incidentally, here, as at a number of other places in different countries, orchards, forest, and nearby agricultural land was owned by the village itself. In southern France I was impressed by a most serious and widely distributed disease of Persian walnuts. Vigorously growing trees start to decline and within a year or two they are dead. The French authorities had no satisfactory explanation of the trouble. I informed them that it looked a lot like trees killed by ~Phytophthora cinnamomi~, the cause of the chestnut root and ink disease in America and Europe. This fungus also attacks both Persian and black walnuts and other trees (including apples) under certain conditions. Sincerely, U. S. Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md. Nut Work of the Minnesota Experiment Station March 27, 1950 Mr. Gilbert Becker, Dear Mr Becker: I have heard that not long ago you sent out a questionnaire relative to nut growing and grafting. Perhaps you would like to include the work which has been going on at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station since 1918. When this study was started, we had no information to give to many who came to us with questions on nut growing possibilities in this state. At no time have we attempted to promote commercial development as the interest here seems to be almost wholly amateur. Our first efforts, begun in 1918, were designed to test kinds and varieties which could be grown in Minnesota. Black walnut varieties such as Thomas, Ohio, Ten Eyck, Stabler and Miller were planted at University Farm. Also sweet chestnuts Boone, Rochester, Cooper, Paragon, Fuller and Progress were set out. Hickory varieties and hybrids planted in 1918 and 1919 were Kirtland, Weiker, Stanley, Siers, Hales and McCallister. We planted a few trees of the Franquette Persian walnut, the Indiana, Niblack and Posey pecans and a few filberts such as Minnas Zellernuss, Daviana, and Large Globe. Some seedling trees of the shagbark hickory also were set out in 1918 and 1919. To supplement this test somewhat similar collections were sent to cooperators in what seemed to be favorable locations. We had the usual difficulty in establishing these trees and winter temperature eliminated all the pecans, sweet chestnuts, Persian, walnuts and filberts. Some of the seedling hickories survived and have grown vigorously but after thirty-two years have borne no nuts. Since 1939 cooperative work has been under way with Professor R. E. Hodgson at the Southeast Experiment Station, Waseca. Efforts there mainly have been to establish varieties of black walnut and hickory by grafting. Black walnut and hickory varieties have been grafted also at the Fruit Breeding Farm, Excelsior. The accompanying record is taken from a report for the Experiment Station in 1949. It should tell you in brief the status of our investigations at present. Very truly yours, University of Minnesota Nature and Extent of Work Done this Year All black walnut and hickory trees made fairly satisfactory growth in Attempts to establish nut varieties by top-working on seedling trees again met with poor success. At Waseca 5 of 14 hickory grafts and 4 of 25 black walnut grafts grew. At the Fruit Breeding Farm only 6 of 33 hickory grafts grew. In this case, the poor results were due in large part to use of an asphalt grafting compound which injured the callus tissue at the union. Better than usual success was obtained with black walnuts as 19 of 37 grafts grew. As in previous seasons, the best temperature for storage of scion wood was 34 to 36 degrees F. Major Results The best black walnut varieties for Minnesota are Thomas, Ohio, Stambaugh, Smith and Schwartz. Of these Thomas produces the best nuts, but the tree is somewhat straggly in growth. The Ohio produces large nuts of good quality and is by far the best tree in ornamental value. It also is the hardiest of all varieties tested as it has shown no injury during 16 winters. Of lesser value are Ten Eyck which apparently is not fully hardy, and Mintle in which quality is poor here. Varieties which have not shown sufficient merit to warrant recommendation here are Stabler, Monterey, and Clark. Varieties which have not fruited are Allen, Cochrane, Huber, Kraus and Myers. Practical Application of Results or Public Benefits Results obtained have been used frequently as basis for recommendations relative to kinds and varieties for planting, and for grafting methods. Scionwood of the better varieties has been distributed to interested growers. Progress of Work Success with walnut grafts under all conditions during 16 years at the Fruit Breeding Farm has averaged only 32 per cent. In individual seasons success has varied from zero to 54 per cent. Hickories not only are grafted with difficulty but also are very slow to reach bearing age. No nuts have been produced as yet from the following varieties grafted on the dates shown: Anthony (1939) Lingenfelter (1942) Burlington (1944) Gerardi hican (1944) Miller (1947) Barnes (1948) Last (1948) Marquette (1948) and Schinnerling (1948). Some seedling trees planted in 1948-1949 have produced no nuts in 32 years. Hickory varieties established at Waseca by grafting are Beaver (1939), Fairbanks (1939), Burlington (1939), Anthony (1947), Billeau (1947), Hagen (1947), Wilcox (1947), Last (1948). Marquette (1948) and Stratford (1948). A tree of Hales planted in 1921, which grew very slowly for several years has borne no nuts in 27 years. One tree of Fairbanks grafted in 1939 bore a few nuts in 1944 but has not borne since then. There has been a long-standing belief among horticulturists that grafts of ~Carya ovata~, the shagbark hickory are incompatible on bitter hickory ~C. cordiformis~. At Waseca, grafts of Beaver, Burlington and Fairbanks make in 1939 have healed completely and made excellent unions with the bitter hickory stock. That the varieties named are of hybrid origin may account for the compatibility apparent in this case. Vegetarian, 93, and Bride, 60, Honeymoon Among Bananas, Nuts MIAMI, Fla., Jan. 4—(UP)—A 93-year-old vegetarian and his 60-year old bride settled down today for a honeymoon among the nuts and bananas they say keep them young. George Hebden Corsan and Lillian Armstrong, whose pert looks belie her years, were married here Tuesday. Wedding guests were served orange juice and coconut cream milk. The bridegroom has been wintering here for the past 13 years. His home is Echo Valley, Islington, Toronto. His wife retired last month after 30 years of teaching in Toronto public schools. "I'm sure we'll be happy," Mrs. Corsan said. "We have mutual interests" Both credit their youthfulness and agility to vegetarianism, drinking gallons of fruit juices and staying outdoors as much as possible. Corsan, whose sturdy 155 pounds are stretched on a six-foot frame, can husk a coconut with his bare hands in less than two minutes, no mean feat. He operates a large experimental nut farm in Toronto, and has a 16-acre tract just south of here where he grows seven varieties of bananas and experiments with macadamia nuts, furnished him by the University of Hawaii. He works the farm singlehanded. Corsan says he taught another physical culturist, Bernarr MacFadden, to swim in 1909 when he was an instructor at a Brooklyn YMCA. He says swimming helps keep him in shape and takes a daily dip in the ocean. The Corsans will spend their honeymoon right on the nut farm. "We might have a few fights," he said. "But they won't last long. She's too young to fight. And besides, she can outrun an English hare." Broken Neck Fails to Halt Plans of "Youngster", 94 TORONTO, June 12—Physical Culturist George Hebden Corsan—just turned 94—says he is going to throw a birthday party Saturday, Right now he's in the hospital recovering from a broken neck suffered when he fell 20 feet from a tree May 27. Mr. Corsan—a vegetarian who once labeled medicine "a jumbled heap of ignorance"—didn't want to go to the hospital at all. But doctors thought he'd better, since the fracture was about like that suffered by a man hanged on the gallows. He agreed to go after being assured the visit would only be for X-rays. Since he's been in the hospital Mr. Corsan has fared—over the protest of dietitians—on nothing but orange juice. Yesterday he observed his birthday by eating a banana and a little black bread. Doctors said Mr. Corsan missed severing his spinal cord by a quarter inch and had two skull fractures. To almost any other person, they said, the injury would be fatal. Mr. Corsan was married for the third time last January in Membership List As of July 3, 1951 *Life member ALABAMADeagon, Arthur, 128 Broadway, Birmingham. ~Farm in Penna.~ BELGIUMR. Vanderwaeren, Bierbeekstraat, 310, ~Korbeek-Lo.~ CALIFORNIAArmstrong Nurseries, 408 N. Euclid Avenue, Ontario CANADABrown, Alger, Route 1, Harley, Ontario. ~Farmer~ CONNECTICUTDaniel, Paul C., Lakeville DELAWAREBrugmann, Elmer W., 1904 Washington St., Wilmington. ~Chemical Engineer~ DENMARKGranjean, Julio, Hillerod. (See New York.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAAmerican Potash Inst., Inc., 1155-16th St., N.W., Washington ECUADOR, SOUTH AMERICAAcosta Solis, Prof. M., Director del Departmento Forestal, Ministerio de ENGLANDBaker, Richard St. Barbe, The Gate, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Dorset. FLORIDAAvant, C. A., 940 N.W. 10th Ave., Miami ~Real Estate, Loans.~ GEORGIAEdison, G. Clyde, 1700 Westwood Ave., S.W., Atlanta. HOLLANDInstitute for Horticultural Plant Breeding. Herenstraat 25. Wageningen. HONG KONG*Wang, P. W., c/o China Products Trading Corp., 6 Des Voeux Rd., Central IDAHOBaisch, Fred, 627 E. Main St., Emmett ILLINOISAlbrecht, H. W., Delavan INDIANAAster Nut Products, Inc., George Oberman, Mgr., 1004 Main St., Evansville §Johnson, Hjalmar W., Rt. 4, Valparaiso. ~V. P. Inland Steel Co.~ IOWABerhow, Seward, Berhow Nurseries, Huxley KANSASBaker, Fred C., Troy. ~Entomologist~ KENTUCKYAlves, Robert H., Nehi Bottling Company, Henderson LOUISIANAHammar, Dr. Harald E., USDA Chemical Lab., 606 Court House, Shreveport MARYLANDCase, Lynn B., Route 2, Box 208, Federalsburg MASSACHUSETTSBabbit, Howard S., 221 Dawes Avenue, Pittsfield. ~Service station owner MICHIGANAinsworth, Donald W., 5851 Mt. Elliott, Detroit 11 MINNESOTAHodgson, R. E., Dept. of Agriculture, S.E. Experiment Station, Waseca MISSISSIPPIGossard, A. C., U. S. Hort. Field Station, Route No. 6, Meridian. MISSOURIBauch, G. D., Box 66, Farmington. ~Farm Forester~ NEBRASKABrand, George. (See under California.) NEW HAMPSHIREDemarest, Charles S., Lyme Center NEW JERSEYAnderegg, F. O., Pierce Foundation, Raritan NEW MEXICO |