I think the cause lies in the soil. On the gravelly hills over Ithaca, N. Y. Carpathian walnuts are slow to bear, even being grafted. The undersoil in the valleys 6 miles north of Pt. Hope, Ont. is not favorable, not only for English walnuts but even for native black walnuts, though very favorable to hickories.
On another hand, north-east of Toronto and near Unionville at the place called Hagerman Cornor on the farm of Mr. M. Artymko there is an orchard of 27 Crath's Carpathian English walnuts over 18 years old, each fruiting now every year. The trees are 25 feet tall, 5-6 inches thick, situated on a knoll of clay, well drained soil, lying open toward the northwest. When the trees were younger they were subject to attacks of the bacterial disease and their barks were cracked by frost. Now the trees are in nice shape, no trace of the bacterial disease injuries and the frost's scars disappearing. Some of those trees produced a bushel of the nuts each.
Among Artymko's trees there is a tree bearing the walnut of giant type, and the tree—Hutzulian Pointie. The success of the Artymko's farm lies probably in the soil and its high elevation.
There in Toronto Mr. T. H. Barrister, has in his backyard two Carpathian
English Walnuts, producing nuts of the giant size—five nuts to a foot.
The bacterial disease had touched them slightly, and the tree never has
been sprayed.
We should expect that the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph would find out what is the best soil for English walnuts and what fertilizer to be applied for them. Chicken wire fences should protect the walnut orchard from squirrels and the trees should be sprayed against bacterial disease.
About walnut trees bearing and fertilizer—let us return to their native abode in the Carpathians. There in the village of Peestynka I have come across a large English walnut tree 40 feet tall and about 36 years old which, as I was informed by the people there, never fruited till the First World War. During the war an Austrian horse squadron had put a stall around the tree. The horses well manured the soil around there and since that time the tree was bearing nuts regularly and abundantly when I saw it in 1936.
At Last Success!
The year 1951 should be regarded as the final establishing of the culture of the Carpathian English walnuts in Ontario. The three decades of experimentation have passed leaving a splendid result. The fact is established that the Carpathian English walnuts have become aclimatized in South Ontario. This fall I had an opportunity to examine my walnut trees at many points in the Province. Everywhere I have seen the tree bearing. In Toronto in many a backyard, in Thorold South, in Welland, in Port Colboren, in Islington, near Port Hope on Prof. Currelly's estate, around Scarboro, Ont. and so on, the Carpathians are in good shape and all are bearing.
The more the trees mature, the better they look. On the average they are 20 years old, 20 feet tall and 6 inches thick.
The summer of 1951 in Ontario was more cloudy than usual, and it caused the Carpathian walnuts in this Province to turn out smaller than their size, should be about one quarter smaller.