The motion was duly seconded and carried.
(See Appendix for Dr. Kellogg's paper.)
THE PRESIDENT: One of our important visitors is Professor James A.
Neilson, Guelph, Canada. The title of Professor Neilson's paper is, "Nut
Culture in Canada." This is an especially interesting subject to me.
PROFESSOR NEILSON: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: I want to express my appreciation of your kind invitation to attend your convention and for the opportunity of talking to you for a while on the subject that is more interesting to me than any other branch of horticulture. I had looked forward to coming to this convention but wasn't just sure that I would be able to be here. Therefore when I got a wire from your president I immediately got busy and pulled the wires at the college and asked them to authorize me to come here at college expense. I am very glad to be here. It has been most interesting to me, and I am very pleased, indeed, to meet so many whom I knew already by reputation.
NUT CULTURE IN CANADA
J. A. NEILSON, B. S. A.
Lecturer in Horticulture, Ontario Agricultural College Guelph, Canada
The conservation and improvement of our native nut trees and the introduction of suitable species from foreign countries has not received much attention by horticulturists in Canada, except in British Columbia and in Ontario. In British Columbia, Persian walnuts, Japanese walnuts, filberts, almonds and European varieties of chestnuts have been planted to a limited extent in the fruit districts and small plantings have been made at the Dominion Experimental Farms located at Aggaziz on the mainland and at Sidney on Vancouver Island.
In Ontario very little had been done by the Provincial Experiment Stations to test the different varieties of nut trees until about one year ago when the Vineland Station undertook to establish experimental plantings. A few enthusiasts like G. H. Corsan of Toronto, Dr. Sager of Brantford, Dr. McWilliams of London and William Corcoran of Port Dalhousie are about the only parties who have attempted anything along the line of nut growing. These remarks of course do not apply to those people who have planted a few black walnuts or Japanese walnuts on the home grounds or along the roadsides. Of such plantings there are a few here and there in the older settled parts of the province.
For some years the writer has felt that something should be done by the Horticultural Department of the College to interest the people of Canada in planting more and better nut trees and in conserving the remnant of the many fine nut trees which formerly grew so abundantly in parts of Ontario and elsewhere. Therefore an attempt was made during the spring of 1921 to interest the public in the possibilities of nut culture. A letter and questionnaire asking for information on nut trees were prepared and sent to officers of horticultural and agricultural societies, agricultural representatives, agricultural and horticultural magazines, daily and weekly newspapers, school inspectors and other interested parties.