Meeting called to order at 8:30 p. m., at Evansville, Indiana.
Professor Smith: The members of this association have always got to be on the lookout for good parent trees of any and all varieties of nuts. I think, however, there is a shortage of information in the matter of walnuts. I have talked to a number of persons and it is the general opinion that we want to know, and know quickly, more about parent trees of the Persian walnut. I therefore move that the chair appoint a committee to give this matter particular attention during the next twelve months and report at the next annual meeting.
(Seconded and carried)
The President: The chair appoints the incoming President, C. P. Close and C. A. Reed.
The next is the question about the place of the next meeting. It occurs to the chair that it might be desirable to leave that to the executive committee. But that is a matter for the association to decide and the chair will entertain motions or suggestions.
Mr. C. A. Reed: I was going to move that it be left to the committee. I know from past experiences that is the best course to pursue.
(Seconded and carried.)
Colonel Van Duzee: I would like very much to extend a cordial invitation to the members of this association to meet with the National Association at Thomasville, Georgia, in October. We have a program full of merit. Our meeting will be held in the heart of the nut planting area where all the pecan planting has been done in the last few years. We have several fine orchards in the immediate vicinity and matters of general interest will be discussed. We would be glad to have anybody that can meet with us, and if you have friends interested in nut culture we will be glad to have them.
The President: It is unnecessary to say that the South has forged ahead of us in pecan culture, and she not only has great pecan orchards but she has great men who have done this work and they will be at the meeting of the National Nut Growers. I have had the pleasure of attending some of these meetings and I can say to the members here it will be well worth their while to go down there.
Is there any further business? If not we will have Colonel Sober's paper, after which the pictures will follow.
Professor Smith: I am sure after hearing Colonel Sober's lecture, and seeing his pictures, we will want to ask him some questions. I know that Colonel Sober has worked out an unique method in the root system, and I wish he would tell us about it.
Colonel Sober: The slides I have will show that.
The President: Is there anything else?
Mr. Doan: How does Colonel Sober take care of the blight?
Colonel Sober: In answer to that I will say that in 1909 I discovered the blight on some trees, just a speck, and I took my knife and cut it off. That is my best method and then you are sure of it.
The President: Are there any further questions?
Mr. Doan: Are all his trees Paragon?
The President: I think they are. The Secretary will read Colonel Sober's paper.
The Secretary here read extracts from the preface and introduction to Fuller's book on nut culture, prepared by Col. C. K. Sober, with personal interpellations, as follows:
I believe that the moment is opportune for advocating an effort to cultivate all kinds of edible and otherwise useful nut-bearing trees and shrubs adapted to the soil and climate of the United States, thereby inaugurating a great, permanent and far-reaching industry. We are spending millions for imported articles of everyday use which might easily and with large profit be produced at home, and in many instances the most humiliating part of the transaction is that we send our money to people who do not purchase any of our productions and almost ignore us in commercial matters. I am not referring to products ill-adapted to our climate, nor to those which, owing to scarcity and high price of labor, we are unable to produce profitably, but to such nuts as the walnut, hickory, butternut, pecan and chestnut which we can raise as readily as peaches, apples and pears. There certainly can be no excuse for the neglect of such nut trees on the score of cost of labor in propagation and planting, because our streets and highways are lined and shaded with equally expensive kinds, although they are absolutely worthless for any other purpose than shade or shelter, yielding nothing in the way of food for either man or beast. Can any one invent a reasonable excuse for planting miles and miles of roadside trees of such kinds as elm, maple, ash, willow, cottonwood and many other similar kinds, where shellbark hickory, walnut, butternut, pecan and chestnut would thrive just as well, cost no more, and yet yield bushels of delicious and highly prized nuts, and this annually or in alternate years, continuing, and increasing in productiveness for one, two or more centuries. The nut trees which grow to a large size are just as well adapted for planting along roadsides, in the open country, as other kinds that yield nothing in the way of food for either man or beast. They are also fully as beautiful in form and foliage, and in many instances far superior to the kinds often selected for such purposes.
The only objection I have heard of as being urged against planting fruit and nut trees along the highway is that they tempt boys and girls as well as persons of larger growth to become trespassers. I find this only applies to where there is such a scarcity that the quantity taken perceptibly lessens the total crop. But where there is an abundance either the temptation to trespass disappears or I fail to recognize the loss. As we cannot very well dispense with the small boy and his sister I am in favor of providing them bountifully with all the good things that climate and circumstance will afford.
On my farms in Irish Valley, Northumberland County, Pa., I have planted a Paragon chestnut tree every forty feet along the public highways and driveways making a total of 769 trees. These trees range in age from four to ten years old.
A mile in this country is 5,280 feet, and if chestnut trees are set forty feet apart, which is allowing sufficient room for them to grow during an ordinary lifetime, we get 133 trees per mile in a single row. Two rows may be planted, where the roads are wide enough, one on each side, and then we get 266 trees per mile. I can estimate the crop when the chestnut trees are twenty years old at two bushels per tree, or 532 bushels for a double row per mile. At the moderate price of $4 per bushel, we would realize $2,128 for the crop on a double row, with a fair assurance that the yield would increase steadily for the next hundred years or more, while the cost of gathering and marketing the nuts is no greater, and in many instances much less, than that of the ordinary grain crops. At the expiration of the first half century one half of the trees may be removed, if they begin to crowd, and the timber used for whatever purpose it may best be adapted. The remaining trees would probably improve, on account of having more room for development.
The chestnut thrives best in light, well drained soil, and those containing a large proportion of sand or decomposed quartz, slate and gravel; but it is rarely found, nor does it thrive very well, in heavy clays or limestone soil where the limestone rock comes near the surface. It is true that chestnut groves, and sometimes extensive forests, are found on hills and ridges overlying limestone, but a careful examination of the soil among the trees will show that it is a drift deposit containing little or no lime. I find in Pennsylvania the chestnut tree grows from the banks of the Susquehanna River to the tops of the mountains.
In planting the chestnut tree it should never be planted any deeper than it was in the nursery rows. If planted any deeper it is certain death to the tree, as I find that the earth placed around the trees above where it was in the nursery rows scalds and destroys the tree. Here is where the great mistake is made in planting out the chestnut tree, and this I have found out by practical experience. It is far better to plant it one inch less than it was in the nursery than to plant it an inch deeper.
There has been a steady increase in the demand for, and a corresponding advance in the price of all kinds of edible nuts during the past three or four decades, and this is likely to continue for many years to come, because consumers are increasing far more rapidly than producers. Besides, the forests, which have long been the only source of supply of the native kinds, are rapidly disappearing, while there has not been, as yet, any special effort to make good the loss by replanting or otherwise. The dealers in such articles in our larger cities assure me that the demand for our best kinds of edible nuts is far in excess of the supply, and yet not one housewife or cook in a thousand in this country has ever attempted to use nuts of any kind in the preparation of meats and other dishes for the table, as is so generally practiced in European and Oriental countries.
The question may be asked if the demand is sufficient to warrant the planting of the hardy nut trees extensively along our highways or elsewhere. In answer to such a question it may be said that we not only consume all of the edible nuts raised in this country, but import millions of pounds annually of the very kinds which thrive here as well as in any other part of the world.
Where farmers want a row of trees along the roadside, to be utilized for line fence posts, they cannot possibly find any kinds better adapted for this purpose than chestnut, walnut, hickory and pecan. In a few years they may yield enough to pay the taxes on the entire farm, the crop increasing in amount and value not only during the lifetime of the planter, but that of many generations of his descendants.
This appeal to the good sense of our rural population is made in all sincerity and with the hope that it will be heeded by every man who has a spark of patriotism in his soul, and who dares show it in his labors by setting up a few milestones in the form of nut-bearing trees along the roadsides—if for no other purpose than the present pleasure of anticipating the gratification such monuments will afford the many who are certain to pass along these highways years hence.
It is surely not good policy to enrich other nations at the expense of our own people, as we are now doing in sending millions of dollars annually to foreign countries in payment for such luxuries as edible nuts that could be readily and profitably produced at home. There need be no fear of an overproduction of such things, no matter how many may engage in their cultivation.[A]
[A] Note by the secretary: At the time when Fuller wrote his excellent book, the chestnut blight, as at present known, had not been observed, although he makes an interesting reference to some disease of the chestnut, of unknown nature, at one time destructive to the trees in the Piedmont region. The Northern Nut Growers Association does not recommend the planting of the chestnut in any region where the chestnut blight, Endothia parasitica, is prevalent. With this exception the association is heartily in sympathy with the sentiments expressed by the writer.
Colonel Van Duzee: I have no questions to ask, but as I am going to be obliged to leave the session before the close of the lecture, I should like to express my appreciation of the paper which has been read and make a remark or two. I am so heartily in sympathy, in this commercial age, with some of the thoughts expressed there, that it is a pleasure to listen to a paper which takes into consideration something a little beyond, and the idea of planting trees by the roadside for the benefit of humanity, is of too much importance to be overlooked. I could go on at great length along this line, but as I have not time I just wanted to express my appreciation before I have to go.
The President: Has anyone else any suggestions or any general business?
The Secretary: There has been no discussion at all of the filbert, I think. That is a nut that is possibly going to be of great importance in the future. I think it was Mr. Doan who asked me about the filbert and there might be someone here who could give us some information about its possibilities. Perhaps Mr. Reed could tell us something about it.
C. A. REED
In charge of Nut Culture Investigations, United States Department of Agriculture
Mr. C. A. Reed: Well, I am glad the subject has been brought up but I would rather listen than try to talk. As Mr. Littlepage made clear in his paper yesterday, there has been considerable effort in the eastern states towards the introduction of the filbert, but almost uniformly such attempts have met with failure. About two weeks ago some of us visited Dr. Morris's place and while there we were shown some large European filberts, ten to twelve feet high, bearing heavily. These were not suffering from the effects of the blight at all so far as we could see, and they were right in the district where the native northern filbert is one of the most common of the wild plants. It was quite a revelation to me to see the native filbert or hazels bearing so heavily. Everywhere we went we saw low bushy hazels not over two feet from the ground loaded with immature nuts. I thought there was an opportunity for some nut enthusiast to canvass that territory, and find the best individual plants for propagation. The filbert, it seems to me, offers an unusually inviting field, and unless I am greatly mistaken there is a great field for exploration. Dr. Deming lives in that same section, and he tells us that on his farm the hazels are even more common than at Dr. Morris's place. Dr. Morris agrees with us that there is a fine opportunity for searching for the best varieties. He has done it and has found, I believe, one which he thinks is especially fine. I would be glad to hear from any one else about these nuts.
Mr. Riehl: Mr. President, I have made a little observation of the European and I don't think it will count for very much. I know of trees that were planted in one of our experiment stations. I last saw them three or four years ago and they were twelve or fifteen feet high and bearing very heavy crops. I saw no disease of any kind but it was in the city of Alton and I don't suppose there is a native hazel within miles of it. That may be why they were bearing so well and were exempt from disease. I haven't seen those trees for the last four years and what has happened to them I don't know. I intend to go and see what has become of them.
The President: Mr. Doan, what is your especial interest in the hazel?
Mr. Doan: I think it offers great possibilities. The different species that we have tried show that. The fact that it grows freely, even though certain branches of it have the blight, which does not at once destroy the whole bush, and the fact that it bears freely and abundantly, I think are points in its favor. A great many persons couldn't wait eight or ten years for a nut tree to bear but could wait a much shorter time. I think this is one good point in favor of the hazels.
The President: There is no doubt that the hazel offers a very excellent opportunity for study and investigation. There are many varieties of the native hazel that are very fine and it seems to me that therein lies a field of work for this association. There is no information to the productive nut grower of more value than the facts as to what these nuts will do, how they can be produced, how quickly they bear, and what they are worth. We have very little reliable information about the English walnut. When we listened to Mr. Reed last night we were forced to the conclusion that as yet we know nothing about it. There are a few apparently promising English walnut trees throughout the North but there are many things to be taken into consideration before you can recommend those for propagation. It seems to me the hazel offers a field of considerable importance. Has any one else any suggestions to offer?
Mr Potter: This hazel proposition interests almost every member of the association. It seems to me as if we might get at something more definite and instructive and I move that the chair appoint a special committee to investigate the hazel, and report at the next meeting.
A Member: I second the motion.
The Chairman: It has been moved and seconded that the chair appoint a committee of three to investigate the hazel or filbert, and report at the next meeting. Are you ready for the question?
Mr. Riehl: I hardly think that will do any good. I believe there is a field where good work can be done but I doubt whether the chair or any one else is able to appoint a committee that can find out much that will be of value between now and our next annual meeting. There are so few superior hazels. I tried for many years to find a native hazel that is worthy of planting. I have heard of some but have been unable to get them. I heard of one and had it promised to me but he has forgotten it, I guess, and I never got it. I know of another that is said to be very good, but the man that has it won't let anybody have it unless he gets five hundred dollars, and there is no man willing to pay that on his say-so that it is a good thing. So we have got nothing to go on for such committee to make a report on. A much better plan would be for this association to offer a prize of a certain sum of money to any one who will report a superior hazel. Let that get in the papers and be talked of so the boys and girls will hear of it and they will contend for the twenty-five or fifty dollars. There are no doubt such fine hazels but the trouble is to find them. I think the best way would be to offer a reward and let them be brought to us. In that way we can accomplish something, but to appoint a committee when we have nothing to go on will do no good.
The President: There is a great deal in the suggestions of Mr. Riehl. It has been noticed by all of us in nut culture that the individual opinion of the man who has seen only his tree or bush is perhaps not worth much. That is why the data we have on the walnut is unsatisfactory. So much of it comes from the man who has seen only his tree, and does not know what a first class bearing tree is like. The same difficulty would arise, to some extent, in your suggestion, Mr. Riehl, as to offering the prize. That is perhaps one of the best methods to stimulate interest but there is this difficulty in the way, that the nuts must be gathered, and the tree be investigated before it could be properly authenticated. I have had people tell me they have seen pecans from certain trees, that long (measuring on finger). There never was a pecan grew in the world that long. The question before the house is the appointment of this committee. Is there any further discussion? If not those in favor of it make it known by rising. (Two.) Those opposed make it known by rising. (Seven.) The motion is lost. Is there any further business? If not we will stand adjourned sine die.