Dear Sir:
I have just read in the last issue of the Rural New-Yorker a very interesting article on nut growing, giving your name.
For several years I have thought that it would be better for people in the New England States to give more attention to nuts than so much to apples, but I have not been in a position to start in with nut trees much until now.
Although 65 years old and somewhat used up with rheumatism I am not ready to give up yet....
When I started on this farm it did not produce a barrel of grafted fruit. There were quite a lot of natural fruit trees that never had been trimmed or cared for in any way. I grafted these trees and set out some from time to time until now the farm produces from 500 to 800 barrels per year.
This year apples at picking time sold slow for $1.00 per barrel for No. 1's, No. 2's not wanted at any price.
I often think that if I had set out a few acres of nut trees 25 years ago they would have been more profit now than the whole 200-acre farm is....
Last spring on account of my lameness and the scarcity and the high price of farm help I sold my large farm and bought a small place.... Last spring I had about two acres of this land plowed up and during the summer thoroughly worked over with the idea of next spring setting it out to nut trees of some varieties that would do best here. Now I do not know anything about nut growing or what varieties best to plant. If you can help me out by putting me in a way to get this information you will confer a great favor.
United States Department of Agriculture,
Bureau of Statistics,
(Agricultural Forecasts)
Office of the County Correspondent.
Isle La Motte, Grand Isle, Vermont, December 10, 1914.