Mr. Conrad Vollertsen writes that he will not be able to be here as he had planned. He states that all of his 31 varieties of filbert trees, except one, have fairly good nut crops. His place, as you know, is in Rochester, N. Y.
Mr. F. A. Bartlett, of Stamford, Conn., writes:
"You may be interested to know that some of my nut trees are giving some results this year. A number of varieties of filberts are fruiting, three varieties of black walnuts, almonds, Chinese chestnuts, heartnuts, besides the native hickory and butternuts."
MR. REED: According to Mr. Bartlett the Lancaster heartnut, which was introduced by Mr. Jones, is starting out in highly encouraging manner at his place near Stamford. It has grown well and is now a handsome, symmetrical tree. Indications are that it will bear well.
THE SECRETARY: Mr. Bartlett takes good care of his trees. We shall hope to pay a visit to his place.
I have a letter from Mr. Hicks, Westbury, Long Island. He will be with us today, and he proposes in his letter that we make an excursion to his place on Long Island.
Mr. J. W. Killen, Felton, Delaware, in a letter to Mr. Reed, writes as follows:
"This year we are maturing some nuts on the cordiformis and sieboldiana types of the Japanese walnut (young trees 3 to 5 feet high) that had no staminate blossoms. These we are producing by crossing with the pollen from one of our best Persians. We are looking for something interesting from there nuts when planted and the trees come into bearing. But all this takes time and patience. We had more chestnuts last fall than ever before, and the prices averaged higher, about 20 cents per pound, wholesale. Our best chestnuts are looking good now. Will soon be opening; usually begin about the 5th to the 10th of September, to open up.
"We have not succeeded very well in propagating Mollissima (Chinese chestnut) but we find the quality of the nuts very good. All of our American sweet and all of the European type, including Paragon, Numbo, Dager, Ridgely, etc., have been gone for years, and left our Japs just about as healthy looking as they were 20 years ago, yet they were all set in the same block."
THE SECRETARY: It is encouraging to know that Mr. Killen has a strain of chestnuts that will grow there without being destroyed by blight.