  NOTE—Owing to delay in mails, the report given below is a later one than that used by the secretary. The one here included should have reached the secretary previous to convention, and it is the final, correct statement. RECEIPTSMembership—Plan No. 1 $ 2.00 EXPENDITURESCash on hand $ .80 $468.32 ———- $646.99 Respectfully submitted, H. J. HILLIARD, Treas., Northern Nut Growers Ass'n, Inc. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: We will now be addressed by Dr. Britton, Director of the DR. BRITTON: Mr. President and Members of the Northern Nut Growers' Association: By curious coincidence, in looking over the records of the New York Botanical Society's reports, I find the printed account of the organization meeting of your association. It is printed in the Journal of the New York Botanical Gardens, No. 132, for December, 1910. The article is written by George B. Nash. I believe I will read this report and if, perchance, the document is not in your files, I will turn this copy over to your president for preservation. ORGANIZATION MEETING, NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATIONA meeting was held in the museum building on November 17, (1910) for the purpose of organizing an association devoted to the interests of nut-growing. The meeting was called to order shortly after 2 p. m. by Dr. N. L. Britton, who welcomed those present and wished them success in their undertaking. During his remarks he referred to a recent visit to Cuba where he succeeded in collecting nuts of the Cuban walnut, Juglans insularis Griseb. Specimens of these were exhibited and some of them presented to Dr. R. T. Morris for his collection of edible nuts of the world, deposited at Cornell University. Dr. W. C. Deming was made chairman of the meeting and a temporary secretary was elected. The chairman read a number of letters from various parts of the country expressing an active interest in the formation of an organization such as was proposed. A committee of three was appointed by the chair to draft a constitution. This committee, consisting of Mr. John Craig, Dr. R. T. Morris and Mr. T. P. Littlepage, submitted a report recommending that the name of the organization be the Northern Nut Growers' Association, that residents of all parts of the country be eligible to membership, and that the officers be a president, a vice-president and a secretary-treasurer. An executive committee of five was also provided for, two of said committee to be the president and secretary-treasurer. The annual dues were placed at $2.00, and life membership at $20.00. The recommendations of the committee were adopted. An interesting exhibition of nuts, and specimens illustrating methods of grafting, formed a feature of the meeting. Chestnuts, walnuts, and hickory nuts, including the pecan, were illustrated in much variety. Mr. T. P. Littlepage had a series of nuts of the pecan which he had collected from a number of selected trees in Kentucky and vicinity. One of these, almost globular in form, was of particular excellence, being of clean cleavage and delicious flavor. Dr. R. T. Morris was elected president; Mr. T. P. Littlepage, vice-president; and Dr. W. C. Deming, secretary-treasurer. George V. Nash. DR. BRITTON: May I say to you that our good wishes for your association, expressed at that time, are simply repeated now, and we hope that you will make yourselves at home and as comfortable as possible. We have made arrangement for the convention to leave here about one o'clock, for luncheon at Sormani's as guests of the Botanical Society. The autos will be at the door promptly, so I trust that you will adjust the session so as to be free to leave then. THE PRESIDENT: We wish to extend our thanks to Dr. Britton for his kind remarks and for his hospitality. We will now have the secretary read reports from our state vice-presidents. THE SECRETARY: These are very interesting. The first one is from Mrs. (Reading in part) "My walnut trees are doing well and have many more nuts than ever before. The filberts planted two years ago, also have some, and the chestnuts, those the blight have left me, are covered with burs. There are beech nuts, too.—I intend to keep on planting chestnut trees, in spite of the blight." Mr. C. S. Ridgway, Lumberton, New Jersey, writes as follows: "There are very few nut trees in our vicinity. In fact, very few except what I have—some large old pecans at Mt. Holley, but the fruit is so small they are not gathered." The next letter is from Mr. Howard Spence, of Ainsdale, Southport, "During the last year I have got one of our horticultural research stations interested in the subject of walnut culture and just recently the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries also. The latter are using a small pamphlet on nut culture generally, to which I have contributed some facts. But a point of more definite interest at the moment is that the Minister has agreed to instruct all their inspectors over the country to make a collection of all walnuts of merit and forward them to me for classification and identification of varieties which may be worth perpetuating. As almost all the large number of trees in this country are seedlings I am hopeful that some interesting material may be located." Here is a letter from Mr. Richard H. Turk, Vice-President for the state of Washington: "Your request for a report from this Pacific Coast state came as a surprise. The Western Walnut Growers' Association is very strongly organized as regards Oregon and Washington, and it is difficult to persuade our nut growers here to join an association with its base of operations so far removed as the Northern Nut Growers' Association. I believe that I have been responsible for an additional membership of at least one or two which I think can be considerably augmented this fall. Filbert growing has firmly caught hold of the enthusiasm of the people here. The acreage has reached 2,000 acres as compared to a bare 150 acres of six years ago. I estimate a planting of 1,500 additional acres to this quick bearing nut, this season. I have trees enough in my nursery to plant 600 acres but regard the majority of the plants as being too small. Planters plant even the smallest one-year layers out a distance varying from ten to twenty-five feet. I regard this as a waste of time, money and energy. Trees with two year old roots are none too big. The variety most planted is the Barcelona, closely followed by Du Chilly, and is supported by pollinizers for these two varieties at the rate of one pollinizer to every nine of the commercial sort. Intent eyes are watching every new seedling in search of new and superior varieties. Some have been found and will be propagated. Nut growers are but warming to the idea. I am putting out eight thousand four-year old seedling filbert trees in orchard form to be tested for qualities desired in a better filbert. Tree filberts instead of bushes is a new idea that is fast gaining headway against the old method of removing the suckers by hand each season. Corylus colurna, the Turkish species, and Corylus chinensis, the Chinese tree hazel, are most favored as stocks. It has been found that these trees are easily grafted to filberts, that they are extremely hardy and grow twice as fast as the filbert, and that the vigor of the stock enlarges the size of the nut, regardless of variety. Foremost in the recommendation of grafted tree filberts, I have correspondents in many foreign countries and have arranged for the delivery of several thousand pounds of these nuts to grow seedlings of. The tree hazel is of the future as yet, and one must recognize the demand for layered stock until replaced by what appears to be better. To add at least thirty acres to my present filbert plantings this year is my desire. I am planting at least 400 trees to the acre as interplants in a grafted walnut orchard. No use in wasting time before the trees begin to bear profitable crops. Three and four years at most for man-sized returns when using a ten foot planting. One planting of Du Chilly filberts last year produced an average of close to 40 pounds per tree on nine-year-old trees and an average of 10 pounds on four-year-old trees. The spread of the latter trees was scarce four feet, and I counted 22 nuts on a branch eight inches in length. Mr. A. W. Ward reports an average crop of 200 nuts to each two-year-old filbert tree in his four-acre planting this season. These are also Du Chillys that are fast building up a sentiment favoring them before the lower-priced Barcelona variety. The Barcelona is a more vigorous tree and shells out of the husk 75% whereas the Du Chilly is but 40% self husking, but that will not offset the differential of five to ten cents per pound in favor of the great, oblong nuts. The walnut acreage of Washington and Oregon is approximately 12,000 acres and is now taking a new hold with all the additional planting being made up of grafted trees. The VROOMAN FRANQUETTE variety grafted on the California black walnut stock is the tree used in these plantings. Formerly, seedlings of the so-called second generation type were quite popular, but when it became evident that seedlings would not transmit the superior qualities of the parent, that method of propagation was thrown into the discard. Eight thousand acres of the acreage now out, are seedling trees that must be topworked before Oregon will be truly famous for the quality of the nuts it produces. These seedling trees are paying at present under our present high prices after many years of barrenness. My own 900 seedling trees I top-worked last year to the Vrooman Franquette variety, placing as many as thirty grafts in some trees and obtained an average of 70 per cent successful grafts. These grafts have made wonderful growth this season, and are quite capable of bearing large quantities of nuts next season. My crew of walnut grafters are becoming well known over a radius of 100 miles, and the work they are doing is a road to profit for many an owner of unproductive nut trees. This fall I intend publishing some of the leading articles of the nut-growing authorities of this section, in conjunction with a catalogue well illustrated and containing my experience as a nut grower. Anyone contemplating planting walnuts or filberts may well send in their reservation of copy. Generally speaking, nut tree nurserymen and nut tree planters have not had time nor desire to add to the literature on this subject. I believe that when the nurserymen get behind the move to plant nut trees there will be some very interesting developments. There is one good thing in sight, and that is that it will not be the old-fashioned seedling that they will push this time. I think that you people of the East have got to make another determined effort to drive home the impossibility of seedlings ever being satisfactory. Outside the association a nut tree is a nut tree regardless of seedling and grafted trees, and one is expected to bear just as many fine large nuts as the other and just as soon. After losing twenty to thirty thousand dollars in delayed returns from a seedling walnut orchard, is it any wonder that I oppose the planting of more seedlings by the unwary? In concluding this report I wish to state that I have talked nuts before a score of different meetings during the last year, and in the press of Oregon and Washington have done much to encourage the prospective grower." THE SECRETARY: It seems to me that this report is one that will be very useful to nut growers in the East and very suggestive to beginners in nut growing. I would like to ask Mr. Reed if he has any comments to make on the report. MR. REED: As I know conditions in the Pacific Northwest Mr. Turk has given an accurate report. The one criticism that I might make would be, perhaps, that there seems to be a probability of over-enthusiasm. This often occurs in any part of the country with respect to new things. It has been most conspicuous with the pecan in the South, and the almond industry in the West. As the pioneers in the nut industry in Oregon and Washington are acquiring greater experience they are increasingly more cautious with regard to such matters as varieties, planting sites, planting distances, interpollination, and others of kindred nature. The industry in the Northwest is still comparatively small. It is centered mainly in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and to some extent in a narrow strip running north towards Seattle. The best informed are planting only in fertile, moist, properly drained soils so situated that air drainage is good. The local soils are much more variable than would be suggested by casual observation. Also, greater attention is being paid to air drainage in that part of the country than in the East. Several years ago there was a sudden drop in temperature from 32 degrees above to 24 degrees below zero, at McMinnville, Oregon. This proved fatal to trees and plants of many kinds, particularly those on flat bottoms or on hillsides from which, for any reason, the cold air was prevented from blowing to lower levels. In addition to the species of nuts discussed by Mr. Turk, something might be said regarding the possibilities of chestnut culture in the Pacific Northwest. Numerous trees, planted singly or even in small groups found there, grow so well as to indicate plainly that the genus is capable of adapting itself to existing environment. However, both planters and consumers are generally prejudiced against the chestnut. This is easily explained for the reason that either sufficient numbers of varieties have not been planted together to ensure interpollination, or Japanese chestnuts have been planted. Early planters were evidently not aware that most varieties are largely self-sterile, and they did not know that the average Japanese chestnuts are fit for consumption only when cooked. Had these two facts been taken into consideration by them, it is not improbable that there would now have been an entirely different situation regarding the chestnut in that part of the country. THE SECRETARY: I have a few more reports. Is it the sentiment of the meeting that I go on reading them? MR. REED: I would like to hear the reports. * * * * * THE SECRETARY: Knight Pearcy, from Salem, Oregon, writes: "Both filbert and walnut planting have continued in Oregon during the past year. There has been a steady increase in the acreage of these two nut crops during the past five years but, fortunately, no planting boom. The older walnut orchards are almost all seedling groves and many of these seedling groves are producing a very attractive revenue. Practically all of the new plantings are of grafted trees, it having been amply demonstrated that, while seedlings are often revenue producers, the grafted orchards bring in more revenue and at no greater cost of operation. Seedling orchards are offered for sale, but very few grafted plantings are on the market. The Franquette continues to be the principal tree planted; probably 95% of the new plantings being of this variety. A co-operative walnut marketing association has been formed, and this year for the first time carlot shipments of Oregon nuts will be sent East. The filbert, a younger member of the Oregon horticultural family than the walnut, is being planted as heavily as the walnut, if not more heavily. Probably 60,000 trees were planted in the Willamette Valley of Oregon last year. Production of filberts has not yet become heavy enough to supply home markets. It will probably be some time before Oregon filberts reach eastern markets. No other nuts are grown commercially in the state, although the chestnut does well here." Mr. T, C. Tucker, State Vice-President from California, writes: "The principal consideration in relation to the California nut situation is a recognition of the tremendous increase in planting within the last ten years. Many of these newly planted orchards have already come into bearing. The marketable almond tonnage of California has increased until it is now over three times that of ten years ago. The walnut tonnage has doubled during the same period. New plantings are going forward very slowly at the present time due to the conditions prevailing in the fruit industry in general. Economic conditions, coupled with the keenest kind of foreign competition have interfered materially with the sale of almonds in this country, with the result that almond growers have been losing money every year for the past four years. At the same time the tremendously increased domestic tonnage has resulted in keeping the prices to the consumer very low in relation to pre-war prices and costs. The consumer has been getting the benefit of maintaining the domestic almond producers in the business. The fact that domestic tonnage cannot be kept down, as soon as a profit is in sight, warrants the American public in maintaining a sizable industry in this country by means of a protective tariff, even though it may appear on the surface as though it might mean increased prices. The experiences of the last four years have demonstrated beyond a doubt that increases in import duties have not resulted in increased prices to the consumer. They have, in fact, increased the competition to a point where prices have dropped rather than risen. The same situation applies to walnuts, except possibly as regards losses to growers during recent years. The fact that walnuts ordinarily take longer to come into bearing than almonds has prevented any rapid increase in production such as has taken place with almonds. They are, however, facing many of the same conditions of keen competition from countries where costs of production are very, very low. Conditions this year point to both almond and walnut crops of approximately the same size as last year. That means the walnut crop will be around 25,000 tons and the almond crop around 10,000 tons. The condition of the walnut crop seems to be about normal. Where irrigation is not available they are suffering from lack of water. Almonds this year are showing in many districts the disastrous effects of the unusually dry season. This will show up most strongly, however, in reduced tonnage for next year, and stick-tights for this year. These latter, however, are not saleable, so the consumer need not worry but that the almonds received in the markets will be good, edible almonds. What the final outcome of the drought will be it is a little too early to tell. Pecans and filberts are produced in such small quantities in California that they do not affect the market in any way except possibly locally. There is nothing to indicate any abnormal condition affecting either of these in the few places where they are grown. No large plantings of either of these nuts are being made, since there seems to be considerable question as to how successful they will be from a commercial standpoint. Chestnuts are not being planted as fast as they might be, especially in those sections of the state to which they are well adapted. With the rapid disappearance of the chestnut forests of the eastern states, through the ravages of the chestnut bark disease, there is no reason why chestnuts could not be grown in California, especially in many of the foot-hill districts. This, of course, presupposes that the chestnut bark disease can be kept out of the state, and we believe it can be. The general price situation, however, is such as to discourage any extensive plantings at this time. The interest that is being taken in possible future plantings, however, is such that it appears reasonable to believe that the next few years will see materially larger plantings made, provided there is any improvement in agricultural economy conditions." Mr. James Sharp, Vice-President from Kansas, writes: "The only nut native here is black walnut, and the crop is heavy. There are some Stabler and Thomas planted here, and some grafted on native black are bearing. We have something like fifty grafted pecans planted of all varieties, but none bearing yet. The pecan is a native south and east of here in Kansas, and the crop is good, I understand. We also have a few grafted sweet chestnuts growing in Kansas which are bearing well, and more are being planted. I have one English walnut growing near my house, which had male blooms last spring, but no nuts. We do not think they will be a success in Kansas but we hope to grow some nuts on our tree next year, the first in Kansas." Mr. U. H. Walker, Nacla, Colorado, who says he is probably the only one in that state attempting to grow nut trees, instead of fruit, writes of his attempts. His place is at an altitude of 5,800 feet, where he can at times look down into the clouds, and on clear days can look up into perpetual snow. Mr. Walker has black walnut trees that have produced crops each year for the last ten years, three pecan trees and two persimmons. He has been experimenting with nut trees obtained from the government for the last ten or twelve years, and is willing to plant and care for any trees which the members of the association would like to have tried out in the center of the Rocky Mountain district. Prof. V. R. Gardner, Michigan Agricultural College, in a letter to C. A. Reed, says: "We are getting a very nice collection of hardy nuts started on our Graham Station grounds near Grand Rapids. These are for the most part young trees being planted in orchard form. We are also doing some top-grafting and as soon as we shall be able to accumulate more data upon which to base recommendations, I am inclined to think that we will put on a number of nut grafting demonstrations in the state. I am sure there will be a demand for it. If your meetings could be held later in the year, perhaps some time during the winter, I think it would be easier for some of the station men to attend them." MR. REED: Might I add that Prof. Gardner was at one time Assistant in Horticulture at Corvallis, in the heart of the walnut district of Oregon. From there he went to Missouri as State Horticulturist. During the three years at that place he top-worked a considerable number of walnut trees with scions of supposedly hardy varieties of Persian walnuts, especially the Franquette, and such varieties of Eastern black as he could obtain. The Persian practically was killed out during the first winter. The black walnut tops are now coming into bearing, and considerable attention is being attracted to them throughout the Mid-West. Prof. Colby may know something further regarding the work in Missouri. THE SECRETARY: I hope you notice how many more reports we are getting from the men connected with the horticultural departments of the state institutions. Here is a letter from H. H. Bartlett, Director of the Botanical Gardens at Ann Arbor, University of Michigan: "Our Botanical Garden in its present location is relatively new, having been established only in 1914. The development of permanent plantings has been mostly in the last two or three years, so you see we have as yet done nothing with nut trees other than to assemble what varieties we could get hold of. I must confess that the poor little things look much as if the wrath of heaven had overtaken them. We had 8 degrees of frost on the night of May 22d, when all the trees were in young leaf. All the nut trees were badly killed back, some below the graft, so I've had to pull some out. Since they had only a miserable start last year, they look pretty sad now. However, I'll replace where necessary, and hope for better luck next time. If there should be an opportunity in the course of the discussion to state that we are prepared to receive and take care of nut trees that originators wish to try out in this region, I shall appreciate it. We are receiving occasional nut-bearing plants from the Office of Seed and Plant Introduction of the Department of Agriculture, and are very glad to act as a testing station for new introductions or productions. In order not to give a false impression as to the extent of our work, I feel impelled to say that we haven't yet a nut tree in bearing, and only one over three feet high." Mr. Conrad Vollertsen writes that he will not be able to be here as he had planned. He states that all of his 31 varieties of filbert trees, except one, have fairly good nut crops. His place, as you know, is in Rochester, N. Y. Mr. F. A. Bartlett, of Stamford, Conn., writes: "You may be interested to know that some of my nut trees are giving some results this year. A number of varieties of filberts are fruiting, three varieties of black walnuts, almonds, Chinese chestnuts, heartnuts, besides the native hickory and butternuts." MR. REED: According to Mr. Bartlett the Lancaster heartnut, which was introduced by Mr. Jones, is starting out in highly encouraging manner at his place near Stamford. It has grown well and is now a handsome, symmetrical tree. Indications are that it will bear well. THE SECRETARY: Mr. Bartlett takes good care of his trees. We shall hope to pay a visit to his place. I have a letter from Mr. Hicks, Westbury, Long Island. He will be with us today, and he proposes in his letter that we make an excursion to his place on Long Island. Mr. J. W. Killen, Felton, Delaware, in a letter to Mr. Reed, writes as follows: "This year we are maturing some nuts on the cordiformis and sieboldiana types of the Japanese walnut (young trees 3 to 5 feet high) that had no staminate blossoms. These we are producing by crossing with the pollen from one of our best Persians. We are looking for something interesting from there nuts when planted and the trees come into bearing. But all this takes time and patience. We had more chestnuts last fall than ever before, and the prices averaged higher, about 20 cents per pound, wholesale. Our best chestnuts are looking good now. Will soon be opening; usually begin about the 5th to the 10th of September, to open up. "We have not succeeded very well in propagating Mollissima (Chinese chestnut) but we find the quality of the nuts very good. All of our American sweet and all of the European type, including Paragon, Numbo, Dager, Ridgely, etc., have been gone for years, and left our Japs just about as healthy looking as they were 20 years ago, yet they were all set in the same block." THE SECRETARY: It is encouraging to know that Mr. Killen has a strain of chestnuts that will grow there without being destroyed by blight. MR. REED: Blight is not serious with his trees. THE SECRETARY: It is with mine. But Mollissima has resistance. MR. REED: The real pest in Mr. Killen's chestnut planting is the weevil. The nuts have to be marketed promptly in order to avoid destruction by this insect. THE SECRETARY: I have a letter from Mr. Littlepage, who regrets that he will not be able to be with us. Another letter is from Mr. Riehl, who regrets that because of his age he will not be able to take the long trip from Godfrey, Ill., to New York City. He writes to us of the place of the chestnut in northern nut culture, as follows: "Blight and weevil are the greatest enemies of this nut. Blight in all probability will destroy practically all native chestnut where it is native, and in all such districts the planting of chestnut orchards for profit will be useless until varieties are found or produced that are immune to that disease. In time this, no doubt, will be done. If I were fifty years younger and lived in a blight section, it would appeal to me to do something in that line. Where the chestnut does not grow naturally it can be grown without fear of the disease. I have the largest chestnut orchard in the West, of all ages from seedlings to sixty years, with no blight. Even were there no blight it would not be advisable to plant chestnut orchards where it is native because of the weevil. The weevil appears to be worse on the large improved varieties than on the smaller native. Of course any one planting a chestnut orchard now would plant the newer, larger varieties, as they will always outsell the smaller. No one who has not talked with handlers of chestnuts can have any idea of the handicap the weevil is to sales and prices. Where the chestnut is not native the nuts produced will be free of weevils. The place to plant chestnut orchards is where the chestnut is not native, on soils that are not wet. Such situations exist in the central west and westward to the Pacific coast. I have had reports of chestnut trees growing and bearing in all this territory, and have had favorable reports of trees that I sent there of my improved varieties. There is a good market at good prices for good, homegrown chestnuts. My own crops so far have sold readily at 25 to 40 cents per pound wholesale, and the demand is always for more after the crop is all sold. Of all the nuts that I have experimented with I have found the chestnut to come into profitable bearing sooner and more profitably than any other." DR. MORRIS: Some of the state vice-presidents have spoken of native chestnuts of good kinds. One obstacle, however, in the distribution of good chestnuts, has been the state laws which prevent us from sending chestnuts from one state to the other. I would like to ask Mr. Reed if it would be possible to make some arrangement at Washington whereby scions might be sent under government inspection to the West and to other parts of the country where blight does not exist. On my property at Stamford I had several thousand choice chestnut trees. The blight appeared and I cut out 5,000 trees that were from fifty years to more than a hundred years old. Among them there was one sweet American chestnut superior to the others. It had a very large, high-quality nut, and very beautiful appearance, having two distinct shades of chestnut color. The tree was the first to go down with the blight but I have kept it going ever since by grafting on other chestnut stock. I would like mighty well to have that chestnut grow in other parts of the country. It would be an addition to our nut supply. Furthermore I have among a large number of hybrids, two of very high quality between the American sweet chestnut and the chinkapin. I gave these to Mr. Jones. He found, however, that he had no market for them because of the fear of blight. I would like to present scions of this to anybody outside the chestnut area where chestnuts are being grown, provided I can do this under government methods. We should find a way to do this. THE SECRETARY: And not by boot-legging. MR. REED: As Prof. Collins is more likely to be informed in regard to quarantine laws than I am he is the proper one to answer that question. I may say, however, that the federal department is unlikely to interfere in any way with the carrying out of state quarantine laws. Prof. Collins is now in the room. Dr. Morris, will you kindly re-state the question to him? DR. MORRIS: In brief, I have some very superior chestnuts. They will be valuable for horticultural purposes in other parts, or in non-blight regions, of the country. I have kept them going by care and attention. I would be very glad to send those out of Connecticut, provided that the way may be found, by sending them through Washington to other states. It would be necessary, however, to have the scions treated in such a way as to make sure that the endothia spores had been destroyed. |
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