It could be that nuts saved by caging are sometimes inferior. The cages used are made by folding window screen into a doubled, 4 to 6 inch square, producing an "envelope" with wire sewn edges. Crowding from one to three nuts into a cage may result in inhibited development, especially since considerable leaf surface must be removed when installing a cage. Because Mr. McKinster has been ill for several years, it has been difficult to accomplish the caging; consequently, but few nuts are saved. For example, in 1950, there were insufficient nuts to meet the 25 nut sample required by the contest judges. All available nuts, some probably inferior, were entered, and it is a matter of conjecture whether the nuts might have been judged higher under different circumstances. Also conjectural are the questions of crop size and regularity of bearing in the event the tree was permitted to mature its nuts.
The McKinster nuts, which were the principal consideration in the contests rather than the tree itself, are excellent in nearly all aspects. They are of medium size, averaging around 35 to the pound, with about 52 per cent kernel. The shell is moderately thin, light in color, well sealed, of a satisfactory shape (see illustration), and with excellent cracking qualities. The kernel is light, plump, of excellent flavor, and in the words of one authority, "probably rank with the best in freedom from bitterness." The nuts are matured by the middle of September and, later, drop, free of the husk.
Blooming of the parent tree usually occurs during the first week of May. In 1951, the staminate flowers were first observed April 29 and the pistillate flowers May 2. The narrator visited the tree on May 4 at which time some catkins had fallen; it was estimated that one-half to two-thirds of the pollen had been shed. The pistillate flowers appeared to be either receptive or slightly past at this stage. Mr. McKinster commented that the blooming period of 1951 was from a few days to a week earlier than usual. In 1952, the shedding of pollen started on April 29. From the foregoing, it may be noted that the McKinster Persian is entirely or largely self-pollinating. No other Persian walnut trees which might assist in pollination occur in the vicinity and all known seedlings raised from nuts of the parent McKinster tree have appeared to be pure Persian. Leafing out starts about a week before the bloom appears. In the fall, leaves are colored a beautiful bronze and are brought down in a great shower by the first frost.
A sample of the soil in which the McKinster tree is growing, taken at a depth of 6 inches, was tested in July 1950. The results specify that the soil is mostly silt with an average amount of organic matter and that evidence indicates it to contain ashes. The acidity is specified as "neutral", potash "high", and phosphate "low". No mention is made of available nitrogen; however, the dark green color of the leaves and vigorousness of growth would indicate a satisfactory supply. Fertilizer in small amount was applied once or twice during the early life of the tree; also, during this period, Mr. McKinster "spaded in" garbage, etc., to increase the humus content of the soil. In 1951, the narrator checked the pH of the soil near the surface and obtained a value of 6.5.
Only one instance of damage due to climatic conditions and none whatsoever from insects and diseases has ever been observed with the parent McKinster tree. Undoubtedly, the city location offers some protection from frost, but may also be detrimental, on occasion, through heat reflected from the many surrounding white-painted buildings. For example, an unseasonable warm spell occurred in Columbus during the latter part of the first week in April of the current year. The heat, lasting for several days, reached a high of 80.4 degrees and, as a result, the McKinster tree started vegetating. Leaf growths of from one-half to one inch had been reached when normal conditions returned. Two weeks later, a cold spell with snow and temperatures of 22 degrees killed the new growth but did not injure the wood. Following this, leafing re-occurred, but at a slower rate and somewhat later than normal. The size ultimately attained by the leaves is about one-half their usual size, and, consequently, the accompanying illustration, taken this summer, does not exhibit the usual luxuriant appearance of the tree. A large part of the bloom was damaged by the cold, hence the tree set a lighter crop of nuts than usual.
In connection with early vegetating, it may be remarked that Mr. McKinster, several years ago, presented two small grafted trees of his variety to a relative living in eastern Kentucky. These trees were planted on low ground and were killed the first year by late spring frosts after leafing out twice. Thus it seems evident that the McKinster tree has the fault, common in Carpathians, of leafing out too early and being injured by late spring frosts, especially when planted too far south. Three other trees, grafted by Mr. McKinster and now about four years from the graft, are situated in the countryside several miles south of Columbus, Ohio, where they are doing excellently, having never been damaged.
The writer has several three year old McKinster grafts at his property in southeastern Ohio which were deliberately set on stocks located in a bad frost pocket. The grafts, which are adjacent to a woods, have made fair growth each spring but are injured during the summer by an insect laying eggs in the succulent growth. The portion of terminal above the point of sting invariably dies the following winter and has the appearance produced by winter killing. This damage has not been unique with the McKinster, having also occurred with the McDermid, Watt, Burtner, and other Persian varieties growing nearby; some of the latter were killed outright the first winter after grafting.
A one-year McKinster grafted tree with three feet of growth above the graft was cut back and transplanted by the writer to the yard of his Columbus, Ohio, home during the winter of 1952. Growth the following spring was about two feet and obtained in rather poor soil. After a long absence during the summer which was attended by a prolonged drouth, the tree was found in a dying condition, having lost all its leaves. Hurried watering resulted in a complete new coat of leaves and a small amount of additional terminal growth. The tree matured its growth and withstood the winter nicely, but suffered, similar to the parent, from the April, 1953, unseasonable weather. Growth this summer from adventitious buds has been poor.
Unfortunately, the McKinster variety saw but little testing in other parts of the country prior to its recognition in 1949. So that this report might be as complete as possible, requests were sent to several dozen experimenters who are known to have grafted the McKinster, asking for their experiences and opinions of the variety. The requests went to people scattered generally throughout the northeastern portion of the country, a very few of which had received scion wood in 1950, a larger portion in 1951, and the bulk in 1952. For the most part, replies indicate satisfaction and even enthusiasm; very few report failure. Definite conclusions cannot be drawn because of the short time of trial; however, a general description of experiences will provide indications.
Few experimenters report failure in grafting, most stating the variety to be "easy to graft." Any who mention the characteristic, state that "grafts are vigorous," or that "it is a fairly rapid grower." For the experimenters, the McKinster seems to be about "average" in its time of leafing out. Many report a set of nuts the second year after grafting. As to time of maturing new growth, the reply of Mr. Stephen Bernath of New York, "New growth matures about the end of September," is fairly typical, as is the reply of Dr. R. T. Dunstan of North Carolina, "It appears to harden wood well ahead of frost." Most reports indicate no winter injury but are tempered by cautious observations that temperatures had not been low. Mr. H. F. Stoke of Virginia, who grafted the McKinster in the spring of 1950, reports: "Pistillate buds developed during the summer of 1951 were killed by a frost catching new growth in the spring of 1952." Mr. John Howe of Missouri was the sole reporter of catastrophe when he stated: "My McKinster graft was killed by the November, 1951, cold while the Lake and McDermid varieties close by were not hurt." Mr. Sylvester Shessler of northern Ohio reports: "The McKinster withstood, without injury, the 1951 winter which killed 4 hybrids and a Crath, and injured several others." Mr. Harry P. Burgart of Michigan reports the variety as doing extra well for him. The only reply mentioning disease came from Dr. Dunstan who says: "It has been fairly clean in foliage so far, less susceptible to leaf spot than some." Mr. John Gerstenmaier of Massillon, Ohio, grafted the McKinster in 1951 and reports excellent growth with a diameter of 2 inches at the graft after two years. He reports temperatures of 16 degrees very early in November which caused no harm, and pistillate bloom from May 8 to 16, 1952, which materialized into a crop of two nuts; pollen was supplied by adjacent Carpathians. Leafing out ordinarily starts about a week prior to the bloom for Mr. Gerstenmaier; but, in April, 1953, the unseasonable weather conditions also occurring in his vicinity caused early vegetating and killing, while at nearby Orrville, the variety was undamaged.