The Chinese allow nothing to go to waste. When the peanuts are removed from the ground and cared for, the soil is sifted so that no peanuts will be lost. The American peanut grown there is served in little butterdishes on the hotel tables, as a delicacy.
THURSDAY MORNING SESSION, SEPTEMBER 27
Meeting called to order by President McGlennon, 10:15 a. m.
The president appointed as Nominating Committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year, Dr. Robert T. Morris, Prof. C. P. Close, J. S. McGlennon.
Mr. T. P. Littlepage, of Washington, D. C., then spoke on the subject of
Commercial Nut Culture.
This is a very difficult subject to discuss, for the reason that, as yet, there are very few facts upon which to base any conclusions about commercial nut culture in the North.
First, let me say that the principal point upon which we base our opinion that nut culture in the North has commercial possibilities, is the fact that growing throughout many sections of the North are thousands of nut trees, pecans, walnuts, hickories and butternuts, many of which grow very fine nuts. It would be a repudiation of all known laws of natural science to conclude that trees budded and grafted from these desirable parents would not grow and bear the same as they do. Therefore, we are perfectly safe in concluding that if there are successful nut trees growing, others also will grow. Let us proceed to consider some of the requirements.
First, there is the soil requirement. But before considering the soil requirement, I might add that we must keep within reasonable latitude of the homes of the native trees. This subject has been fully covered in previous reports of our association, and I do not care to go into a detailed discussion of it, except to say that prospective planters of commercial orchards should read the previous reports of the association on this subject, and keep in mind that somewhere north of the home of the parent trees, is a line north of which these trees will not bear. This line is dependent upon several things, altitude, topography and other elements. As an example, I merely mention that orange orchards flourish in California at the Philadelphia latitude.
Going on with the question of soil, upon this subject alone might be written a whole volume. But a few points are essential. Most nut trees require a deep, well-drained soil that is not swampy or seepy, and over which there are no overflows during the summer season. Pecans grow along the river bottoms where there are heavy overflows in the winter, but such an overflow in the summer would probably kill the trees. Nut trees seem to flourish well on land that is underlaid with clay as a subsoil. In fact, almost any kind of good farm land is suitable for some of the different kinds of nut trees, provided it does not come within the restrictions above mentioned. The better the land, however, the more successful will be the growth of the trees, and I very much doubt whether it pays to put any kind of desirable tree on undesirable land. I have heard it said of pedigreed stock that about ninety percent of the pedigree is in the corn crib, five percent in the man that does the feeding, and five percent in the blood. Perhaps these percentages might be subject to some variations. I shouldn't reduce the corn crib requirement, and I think about ninety percent of the success of our nut trees will depend upon the land.
The next point to be considered is the question of varieties and, in this connection, it is essential to remember that nuts are produced to be sold and eaten; therefore, it is important to keep in mind the requirements of the consuming public. Upon this question also have been written many thousands of pages which, when all summed up, simply amounts to this: get the best varieties that will bear in your particular locality. This can be determined to some extent by what native trees are growing in your particular locality, although not entirely so. In many sections of the country, there are no native pecan trees, and yet these trees flourish very successfully when brought from some other section. On this point the prospective planter of commercial orchards should seek the best advice obtainable.