A letter from H. F. Stoke, Chairman of the Survey Committee on the blossoming dates of the Persian walnut said: "Payne, Lancaster and Broadview staminate flowers were out on April 9, 10 and 11. The pistillate flowers of McKinster, Caesar and Crath #1 were receptive on April 11, 10 and 10." The above dates were over a month before spring came to Indiana. Whether or not the Stoke varieties in Virginia would do the same in Indiana or elsewhere is still the problem.
The black walnut varieties mentioned previously set very few fruits at
Lafayette this year while a promising new variety, Sol, from Ferd
Bolten, Linton, Indiana, has a full crop, and has been a consistent
producer for the past several years.
How Many Pounds per Tree
Throughout the Middle West the elm, native chestnut and some of the oaks are dying from disease troubles. The homemaker wants to plant a tree that will provide shade, fit well in the landscaping of the home, be a clean tree and yet be fruitful and bear early.
The age of the tree and the growth has much to do with production. Some pecan varieties have produced several hundred pounds per tree and the same for black walnuts with hickory, butternut and chestnut in smaller quantities. There are four Persian walnut trees growing in Franklin, Indiana, that are 20 years old and have fruited continuously for the past 10 years. The trees were seedlings, two of which are very promising for distribution. Tree #1 produces an average of 10 pounds; tree #2, 15 pounds; #3, about 40 pounds and #4, 100 pounds. Good pollination under common growing conditions of the Midwest and a good variety acclimated for general planting will no doubt make a host of good friends and a wonderful contribution from the members of the N.N.G.A.
Rootstocks for the Walnut in France[2]
J. C. MCDANIEL
[2]This is a translation, by Dr. R. T. Dunstan, of the section on "Rootstocks" in Chapter XI of Les Noyers, by two Doctors of Pharmacy, P. Peyre and E. Lancosme. This 447 page book with 140 figures was published in 1942 by Jouve et Cie, 15, rue Racine, Paris, and is a very complete treatise on the subject of walnuts.
The French experience with the eastern black walnut and the related Arizona walnut as rootstocks is interesting, as is the discussion of one method of propagation, where dormant whole-root grafts are started in pots under glass. This differs somewhat from the indoor grafting procedures described in our recent Reports by Mr. Stephen Bernath and Dr. Philip Brierley. (Incidentally, Dr. Brierley tells me that he got uniformly good grafts—96 to 100% growing—in his 1953 experiment. The use of growth substance powder did not significantly increase the "take". The controlling factors seem to be the use of healthy scions and rootstocks, followed by high enough temperature and humidity to promote rapid callusing of the grafts.)
The "old Royal Walnut" of the French is, of course, what we call Persian (or English) walnut, and not Luther Burbank's "Royal Hybrid", the unfortunately named cross of two black walnuts, J. nigra x J. hindsii. J. torreyi is a synonym for J. major, the Arizona walnut.