The number of acres planted with Thomas sufficient to yield enough nuts to operate one of these machines would be tremendous. There are several examples of where the machine has been purchased to be used on Thomas but hasn't been used. It has been stored away. They prefer to crack the Thomas nuts by hand.
So my point is this: It appears to me that we are interested in the grower of several trees around the farmstead. At least, in this section we are. Everyone here gathers and cracks walnuts. Our idea of acquainting them with the Thomas variety is to make their job easier in cracking and picking them out. It seems to me that's also the problem that we have as a group elsewhere, and I believe that in order for us to make headway on this judging schedule, which I think is necessary and desirable, we must view it from the home viewpoint at this time. That does not shut out the commercial viewpoint for later years. But now we are primarily interested in the home raising of nuts, unless I am in the wrong group. Thank you.
Mr. Weber: Mr. Chairman, I agree heartily with what Mr. Chase has to say, or otherwise we might as well quit now and raise seedling nuts to the best of our ability and sell them to the commercial crackers and let it go at that. But, if we do that, what's the use of searching out better varieties?
Dr. Cross: Mr. Chairman: I believe that if a nut acceptable to the home consumer, one which extracts easily and is attractive and palatable and is productive—if that type of nut is scored and comes to the attention of a sufficient number of growers, then I think the commercial people will utilize it. So I don't believe there is anything to this argument. I believe if you go ahead on the basis of the home consumer and develop a nut that will be desirable for his purpose, and if in addition to these factors that have been discussed it is adaptable and productive, then it is going to be eventually the nut that the commercial man will utilize, because, after all, what we are growing nuts for is the kernel.
Mr. Weber: To bring it to a head, I move that we adopt that part of the report that favors the home consumer as against the commercial consumer, or we will be here all night talking about it.
Dr. Rohrbacher: I second the motion.
Dr. MacDaniels: You have heard the motion, which was seconded. Any remarks?
(Vote taken on the motion, carried unanimously.)
Dr. MacDaniels: That will be the basis on which the committee will work.
There are several other points to be considered. I would suggest the committee be asked to make further tests with the schedule as proposed in order to get additional data to determine if it is a usable schedule and can be used by different people with reasonably similar results, and if it does differentiate the things that we want to have a schedule differentiate in a test.