G. H. Corsan, Toronto
Not being able to meet with you this September, as I have to go down to the State of Mississippi, I send this paper to your president whose paper on the Garden of Eden we all read in the Country Gentlemen of July 7, and so much admired.
Progress has not been made on my place sufficient to warrant my inviting you to Toronto next convention, but I will say that the year after next I will certainly have something worth seeing. But Dr. J. H. Kellogg of Battle Creek, Mich., extends an invitation to you to hold the next convention at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where nuts and nut preparations are used exclusively in the place of meat and fish and fowl. Here at Battle Creek on Dr. Kellogg's private grounds and on the Sanitarium grounds may be seen Colonel Sober's Paragon chestnuts, Mr. Pomeroy's English walnuts and Mr. Reed's grafted pecans, as well as some grafted persimmons of named varieties. In my statement in the American Nut Journal last May or June I mentioned that all the grafted persimmons sent from Washington were winter-killed. I find on returning in August that the Early Golden is very much alive. Twelve other varieties have been planted to see what this winter will do to them. The persimmon is exceedingly interesting to us northern nut growers because where it will succeed the pecan will also, without a doubt. Now I also find that my statement in the same paper that the grafted pecans sent by Mr. Reed were winter-killed was an error, as only certain trees failed to grow above the graft. Those that are growing are the Major, Busseron and Indiana, the Busseron showing most decidedly better than the Indiana, both here and at Toronto. All pecans lived, both here and at Toronto, if I include those that sprung up below the graft. Out of thirteen varieties that I experimented with at Toronto, Major, Posey and Niblack were the only ones that lived well above the graft and showed no winter-killing. Others were more or less winter-killed. Kentucky, Mantura, Appomattox, Luce and Greenriver showed no desire to live in the north. Mr. Pomeroy's English walnuts showed a most distinct dislike for Toronto, but all forty-eight are doing well here and are being cared for.
Colonel Sober's Paragon chestnuts showed the most determined attempt to not grow the Paragon part of the tree, and an equally determined mind to grow good and strong below the Paragon part—may this part yield good trees! I have three or four Paragons left out of 135 trees. Pecans grew as many as four feet both here and at Toronto this summer.
Of the new trees sent from Washington two specimens of Castanea Crenata (from the north Island of Japan), six specimens of Castanea Mollissima (almost blight proof, from north China) all are thriving.
Juglans regia sinensis lived to the tip through the winter and budded out strong from the top, as did J. cordiformis—may it always be so.
Re Dr. Deming's question as to the farthermost northern pecans I said Charles City, Iowa. Now these forty trees were planted twenty years ago and are all alive and yield crops, but the nuts are small as they are seedlings. Write Mr. Charles D. Patten re how his trees are doing and their history. He has been asking Mr. Reed for scions of better trees.
I have five types of soil to grow my trees in, stiff clay, rich gravel, quicksand and humus, light sand and silt or bottom land, well drained. I have no sour, undrained spot on my fifteen acres.