Mr. Slate: Beltsville is very well represented in Dr. Crane.
Mr. Weber: Mr, Chairman, in view of what Mr. Bernath says, I'd accept Mr. Bernath's suggestion and have Poughkeepsie on the list for the year following.
Mr. Bernath: That's right.
President Davidson: Dr. Crane may have something.
Dr. Crane: Mr. President and members of the Association, we'd like to have the Association meeting at Beltsville again. However, we have had four years of May freezes in Beltsville Station, and I am going to tell you all is not in any too good condition. A lot of it has been pulled, and we have had to replant an awful lot of the stuff that is now just planted this year. We lost a lot of the plantings that were made last year because of injury. As you folks probably know that have been there before, we labored under very great difficulties on soil conditions in that we have mostly sands and gravel.
So we are kind of in a mess there right now. We'd be glad to have the Association meet at Beltsville, and we have right good facilities there for meetings, but as far as any plantings in the area, a lot of the work we are doing, we are kind of going through a period of change right now and getting re-established, and I want you to know the situation.
President Davidson: Well, we have been forewarned. It's a case, I judge, of not being unwilling to see us, but you are not so anxious, for us to see you, is that it?
Dr. Crane: I wouldn't want you to come there under false hopes that you would see a lot.
Mr. Gravatt: I would like to say we have done quite a lot of work in breeding chestnuts and also work with forest types, crossing American chestnuts and Chinese. But I agree quite with Dr. Crane, that we haven't so much to show you there. Of course, it's a dog-gone good thing to get familiar with these diseases and see what you are up against, because all through the history of nut culture, and so forth, one of the basic defects has been the failure to appreciate the importance of insect and disease factors. And we are very much in need of more basic research along those lines, but I agree with Dr. Crane that at present we have a limited amount to show you there.
Of course, there is the Plant Industry Station there with a lot of experimental work, greenhouse work and all sorts of basic research work, fertilization work, and so forth, going on there. A lot of people like to come to Washington. Our plantings are pretty much the same condition as Dr. Crane's and not a display proposition such as you have here at TVA.