(19) Ordinary Japanese chestnut. With fairly good crop of large nuts, but not of good quality, except for cooking purposes.
(20) A group of hybrids resulting from placing the pollen of the Siebold Japanese walnut upon the pistillate flowers of our butternut. The young trees have not borne as yet.
(21) Hybrids between the common American hazel and the European purple hazel. There are a number of these hybrids, and none of them with nuts better than those of either parent, consequently I give them little attention. Some of the hybrids, not as yet bearing, may prove to be more valuable. We have to make lots of hybrids in order to get a small percentage of important ones. In this particular lot the hybrid has taken on a habit of the mother parent, the common American hazel, growing long stoloniferous roots, an undesirable feature.
(22) The Golden Gem persimmon, laden with fruit. Grafted upon the stock of a staminate common persimmon.
(23) Early Golden persimmon. Bearing heavily, a variety grafted upon common persimmon stock.
(24) A group of Chinese chestnut trees (Castanea mollissima). Very beautiful trees, worthy of a position on almost any lawn, the foliage is bright and shining, and the thrifty growth very attractive. The species is practically immune to blight, sometimes at a point of injury bark blight will appear, but it spreads very slowly, is easily cut out and does not reappear at that point. It will be a success in Connecticut. The nut is not quite up to our native chestnut in quality, but it is larger in size and a first rate nut on the whole. The tree comes from the original home of the blight, and the two plants having lived together for ages the law of survival of the fittest has given us this chestnut tree, which can largely take the place of our lost American chestnut. The tree does not grow to be quite so large as our chestnut, but I am making hybrids between this species and three species of American chestnuts, and may find some remarkable ones eventually.
(25) Two young nut pines with lost labels. I shall probably not be able to determine the species until they bear cones.
(26) A number of black walnut trees grafted with several varieties of English walnut (Juglans regia). There is particular advantage in grafting English walnut upon black walnut stock for the reason that mice are extremely destructive to English walnut roots in winter time. Furthermore black walnuts will grow in soil that is distinctly acid in reaction, while the English walnut demands a neutral or alkaline soil. The nearest tree of this group had new shoots of the Rush English walnut nearly six feet long, which blew off last week in a wind storm because they had not been braced sufficiently. It is very important when grafting nut trees to fasten strong bracing sticks alongside of vigorous shoots and tying them with sisal tarred cord, which holds good for two years.
(27) Appomattox pecan, Busseron pecan, and Major pecan. All three trees growing very thriftily and all set nuts this spring, but did not hold them. This is the habit of young hickories and walnuts rather largely. None of my pecan trees are old enough as yet to fruit well. I do not know what varieties will find our season long enough for ripening purposes. That particular feature of pecan raising is quite as important as the mere question of hardiness in Connecticut.
(28) A little old butternut tree by my garden. This has been the mother of practically all my hybrids between butternuts and other species of walnuts. This little old tree bears flowers every year and is very conveniently situated for hybridizing work.