R. T. Olcott, New York.
For obvious reasons this subject may well be considered as constituting a gauge of commercial nut culture in the North; it is therefore of much more importance than the mere title would suggest. If there is merit in all that has been preached regarding the planting of budded and grafted trees instead of seedlings; and if it is still true, as we have long observed, that the propagation of named varieties of nut trees, and especially of hardy nut trees, is successful almost solely in the hands of experts, the progress of commercial nut culture in the northern states rests largely in the hands of the nurserymen. We may even go further and assert that it rests for the present mainly in the hands of a few nurserymen who have persistently studied the problems pertaining to the taming of a denizen of the forest, and have persevered with experiments in the face of repeated failure; for, as editor of the American Nurseryman, I am in a position to state that with a few exceptions nurserymen generally have not attempted to prepare to supply a demand for hardy, northern-grown, improved nursery nut trees. Seedling walnuts and hickories have been procurable for years from nurseries all over the country, as is shown by nursery catalogue listings; and at least two concerns—one at Lockport, N. Y., and another at Rochester, N. Y.,—have advertised nut tree seedlings extensively, despite the universal nursery practice of budding or grafting or layering practically all other kinds of trees and plants offered for sale as nursery stock—simply because it is not easy to propagate nut trees, and these nurserymen would take advantage of the growing demand for nut orchards.
Within established nut circles all this is commonly known. It was my purpose in referring to these conditions to direct the attention of those not posted to what has been done by a half dozen or more conscientious nursery concerns in an endeavor to supply material of quality for the starting of nut orchards or the planting of isolated trees in response to the arguments set forth in behalf of nut culture. My subject lies at the very base of the formation of this association; for was it not with the idea of directing into safe channels interest which might be aroused in nut culture that the pioneers of the industry in the North organized and convened repeatedly to select and propagate and recommend certain varieties? As the result of years of concentrated effort selections have been made and varieties have been named—and to some extent recommended—throughout the northern states. Now and for some time past the public has had opportunity to purchase and plant carefully grown budded and grafted true-to-name nursery nut trees of varieties having in the parent trees exceptional characteristics deemed sufficient to warrant propagation and dissemination. I need not go into the matter of years of patient effort on the part of a few nurserymen and of a few investigators who entered the lists solely for the love of Nature's developments.
This, in brief, is the rise of the hardy nut tree nursery business. Now, what of its extent? There are upwards of two thousand propagating nurserymen in the country, but those who have made a specialty of hardy, northern-grown nut trees are few. They include the Vincennes Nurseries, W. C. Reed & Son, Vincennes, Ind.; the Indiana Nurseries, J. Ford Wilkinson, Rockport, Ind.; the McCoy Nut Nurseries, R. L. McCoy, president, Evansville and Lake, Ind.; the Maryland Nurseries, T. P. Littlepage, Bowie, Md.; J. F. Jones, Lancaster, Pa,; J. G. Rush, West Willow, Pa.; C. K. Sober, Lewisburg, Pa., and some in the northwest.
As showing the extent of the business, Mr. Reed, of Vincennes, reports demand for nut trees increasing. He had to return orders unfilled last spring. His nurseries have 3,000 to 4,000 Persian walnut trees and about the same number of pecan trees for fall sales; also about 1,000 grafted black walnut trees. There are growing in the Vincennes nurseries ready for budding and grafting 50,000 black walnut seedlings and 50,000 pecan seedlings. Mr. Reed said recently: "Owing to the extreme difficulty of propagating nut trees in the North, I think the demand will keep up with the supply."
Mr. Jones sold last year about 8,000 nut trees which went to points all over the country; not many to California, or to the far South; a good many to New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, etc. The largest order was for 600 trees. A number of orders were for 100 to 300 trees. New Jersey leads in planting, he finds, with Virginia a close second, in large orders. In small orders, Pennsylvania leads with him.
Mr. McCoy has done a great deal of experimenting with grafts and he is still at it. He has 40 acres mostly under nut tree cultivation, and has a considerable number of trees for sale.
Anyone who has seen the handsome nut tree catalogue issued by Mr. Littlepage, of the Maryland Nurseries, must have been impressed with the great care taken to produce the attractive trees and nuts there depicted. These nurseries have been recently established and not a great number of trees have yet been offered for sale, but Mr. Littlepage has 150,000 seedling nut trees in his nurseries for propagating purposes.
Mr. Sober's nurseries are devoted almost entirely to the cultivation of chestnut trees. Mr. Rush's specialty is the Persian walnut. Mr. Wilkinson naturally specializes in Indiana pecan trees. At Rochester, N. Y., James S. McGlennon and Conrad Vollertsen have produced interesting results with filberts imported some years ago from Germany. They have five-year-old bushes bearing; these have proved hardy in every way and they have no blight. The nuts compare favorably with the best of the imported kinds. Nursery stock will soon be ready in quantity, and they now have 500 plants suitable for transplanting.
Filbert and walnut are the only nut trees grown commercially to any extent in the nurseries of the northwest. A few almond and chestnut trees are grown there, but the demand for them is very light. J. B. Pilkington, Portland, Ore., a well-known grower of a general line of nursery stock, advertises French, Japanese and Italian chestnut trees and the American Sweet. Filberts are being produced to a considerable extent. At present the nurseries cannot supply the demand for filbert plants, owing to the limited number of mother plants in the northwest. Practically all the nurseries have Barcelona and Du Chilly for sale, and a number have the Avelines. From one nursery or another De Alger, Kentish Cob and a few other varieties can be had. Persian walnuts are grown on a larger scale. Groner & McClure, Hillsboro, Ore., are the largest exclusive walnut nurserymen in the northwest. They produce close to 6,000 grafted trees annually. These sell at 90c. to $1.00 per tree in lots of 100. The Oregon Nursery Company, Orenco, Ore., produce a large number of both grafted and seedling walnut trees, asking up to $2.00 per tree for grafted and 35 to 50c. for seedlings. Many of the smaller nurseries procure their nut trees from California nurseries. Each year the proportion of seedlings planted is less. Franquette is the popular variety that is propagated.