MR. STOKE: That first experiment of yours was trying to pollinize the black walnut with the Persian, but the reciprocal cross may be quite different, as Jones proved with the filberts.
DR. McKAY: That could be. We have no large amount of data on the reciprocal cross. These cases where it is said that the black walnut pollinates the Persian regularly and is producing good crops of nuts, I would consider doubtful until I see the seedlings, their growth and characteristics. Yesterday Mr. Bolten asked the question whether or not some walnuts that have large nuts could possibly be tetraploid or polyploid. A number of years ago I examined the chromosomes of one of these large fruited varieties, and it had the same chromosome number as the others, namely sixteen pairs or thirty two.
The whole question of chromosome number in nut varieties and species is as follows. So far as we know, all of the species have a constant number within the genus except the hickories where we have tetraploid species and diploid species. All of the species of Castanea, as far as we know, have the same chromosome number, and all of the varieties within each species have the same number. In the Oaks, which are related to chestnuts, we have an extremely large genus in which there is a great constancy of number. The pines, and all other cone-bearing trees make up another very large group in which chromosome numbers are constant. Exactly the opposite situation is found in the related family of alders and willows where the chromosome number is very variable.
PRESIDENT MacDANIELS: Unless there is some special question or comment on this subject, we will go on to the next item.
MR. LEMKE: There was a panel discussion about four years ago, and they were talking about what nuts to grow, and one of the men said, "Before you offer a man a good nut, give him a good nut cracker." That's been on my mind for some time.
Commercial Production and Processing of Black and Persian Walnuts
EDWIN W. LEMKE, Washington, Mich.
Sometime ago a group of nut minded men associated with Spencer B. Chase announced their findings on the quality of the wild black walnut growing in the area of Norris, Tenn. Nuts were gathered from 151 wild walnut trees. After judging, the group came to the conclusion that only one tree had a flavor that was considered by their standards as good. It is these good nuts that caused the formation of the N.N.G.A. When we speak of the good nut it gives the word commercial an entirely different meaning. It by necessity excludes most of wild black walnut kernels processed by the large cracking plants of Kentucky and Tennessee. The large crackers are willing to pay better prices for the improved black walnut but were they to rely on this source of supply they could not stay in business very long.
To produce and process, I chose the Thomas and Ohio variety and I have met with some success. The black walnut can be made to bear in the first and second year after grafting but this is but a novelty feature. Jones from whom I purchased my trees, told me that the black walnut could be classed with the Northern Spy Apple for coming into bearing. This has proven true. Commercial production of the improved black walnut is by its very nature small scale production. Because of this fact only small scale machines to process these nuts are feasible.
Since 1916 I have had time to reflect on the problem of the three basic machines needed. These are the huller, cracker and kernel picker. Fortunately for me I learned the machinist trade and had a machine shop at my disposal. I tried every way to hull the black walnut and finally accepted the commercial potato peeler as the best principle. I built several crackers and at last accepted the Wiley cracker as the best commercial cracker. The third machine is the picker which has yet to be assembled. This picker is copied after The Kenneth Dick machine with some variations in the separation process.