In both the cold frame and the cold room the growth of algae is a problem. The sand medium becomes crusted, with subsequent interference with aeration. The algae sometimes creeps up the stems of cuttings, coats the leaves, and covers terminal buds. Starting each season with completely clean sand and equipment will not prevent the appearance of algae over a long season of continuous operation. On August 20 of this year the interior of the cold frame, including all of the plants, was well dusted with tri-basic copper sulphate, according to manufacturer's directions. To date no effect is noticeable either on the algae or on the plants.
The various observations reported here should be verified by further tests. They are offered merely as aids to anyone planning to experiment with rooting chestnuts. When sufficient data and experience have been gained, a complete Station circular will be published.
PRESIDENT BEST: If you have any questions, please save them until later. It's been suggested that we hear from Dr. Jesse D. Diller next, and that will give our good work horse, Dr. Crane, a chance to build up again for us, because we are going to work him mighty hard.
DR. DILLER: I'd like to have the title of my paper changed to,
"Evaluating Chestnuts Grown Under Forest Conditions."
Evaluating Chestnuts Grown under Forest Conditions
JESSE D. DILLER, Pathologist, Division of Forest Pathology, Bureau of
Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, U. S. Department of
Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland
During the 49-year period since chestnut blight was first reported from New York City, the U. S. Department of Agriculture has made more than 500 importations of chestnut seeds and scions, including nearly every species of chestnut in the world, as well as some closely related chinkapins and Castanopsis species. As early as 1909 the Department initiated chestnut breeding work. It was known that few, if any, of the chestnut, or related species, possess the timber-type characteristics of our American chestnut. It was also known that, in general, the Asiatic species show great natural resistance to the blight. But little, or nothing, was known about their site requirements.
In 1927 the U. S. Division of Forest Pathology began breeding chestnuts to produce timber-type trees. The chestnut breeding work was expanded and has been carried on actively to date. From 1927 to 1930, the Division conducted an extensive exploration in search of orchard and timber-type chestnut in China, Korea, and Japan, and imported over 250 bushels of chestnut seed, representing four species.
During the early 1930's the Division of Forest Pathology distributed thousands of chestnut seedlings, grown from the imported chestnut seed. The planting stock was made available to interested Federal and State agencies, as well as to owners of farm woodlands, located in 32 Eastern States. The cooperators were asked to establish small experimental forest plantings with the trees furnished them. It was believed that such wide distribution of the many kinds would readily demonstrate which ones possess the desired timber-tree form, or possessed the ability to bear large crops of nuts suitable to wildlife; and would furnish valuable information on their site requirements.
As we now know, most of these early cooperative experimental forest plantings were doomed to failure because often the chestnut trees were planted on dry, grassy areas having infertile, shallow soil. Another serious contributing factor in poor establishment was the severe general droughts that occurred over most of the eastern half of the United States in the early thirties. But despite these heavy losses, a few plantations succeeded, in part, and from these limited areas, and from a few earlier plantations that succeeded, valuable information on their general site requirements was obtained; however, we still lacked information on specific differences in behavior between the progeny, as fast-growing forest trees or nut producers in the forest.