The speaker exhibited photographs to illustrate his talk. They pictured several of the different trees he had mentioned. The photographs showed the conditions under which the trees grew, the effects of fertilizing, and the injuries resulting from the winter cold. The reading of the paper was followed by a short discussion, after which Dr. Rohrbacher called upon Mr. Ira Kyhl, of Sabula, Iowa, who talked on the subject "Nut Growing in Eastern Iowa."
Nut Growing in Eastern Iowa
Ira Kyhl, Sabula, Iowa
About five years ago, I became very much interested in nut trees and having hundreds of wild black walnuts and hickories I attempted to graft, or rather top work, the black walnuts to Persian walnuts and heartnuts, and the hickories to pecans and hicans.
My favorite, of course, is the Persian walnut, and in addition to top working them on blacks I planted several grafted trees and several hundred seed nuts. To my surprise and pleasure, nearly every seed grew and the seedlings are still doing very well. I now have 35 to 40 varieties.
I have had very little winter injury, except with the Broadview variety. The tops froze back a little and I had a little trouble with the bark splitting on the larger trees. I covered the splits with tree wound dressing and they are all doing well now. I consider the Schafer about the best and most promising variety I have and the grafts take very well. Most of the Carpathian varieties are also growing nicely and especially the Illinois number 10,[4] which is a very rapid grower.
In top working, I use the bark slot method, usually setting two to three grafts on a three inch stock, as at least one scion is almost sure to start. These scions are fitted and nailed in place with a seven-eighth or one inch nail and then well wrapped with one-inch industrial adhesive tape. This seems to break or deteriorate with the growth of the graft. I then thoroughly wax the taped part as well as all of the scion, covering the buds rather lightly. After the scion has started to grow well, a one by one strip is nailed to the stock. This extends from two to three feet above the top of the stock. The growth is then tied to the stick with soft cord. If growths are not tied this way, most of them are broken off by the wind. After the grafts are set, I cover with a paper milk bottle, or rather, container, and cut four small holes in it for ventilation. It sheds the rain well. I use a small tack on two sides. The containers usually stay there until removed when the graft starts. This method works much better than paper bags, as they are easily water-soaked and the wind blows them against the scion, which is easily loosened and therefore fails to start.
I am also well pleased with the results I have had with heartnuts on black walnuts. I consider them the most rapid-growing of any of the nut trees. I have had grafts bear a few nuts the next year after being set. I now have seven or eight varieties, of which I consider Fodermaier, Aloka, Rival, Mitchell, and Wright as the most promising, along with Goettler. Squirrels seem to prefer heartnuts to all other sorts. I have eliminated this trouble by tacking a length or two of stove pipe around the trees.