The first nut orchard at the Station was set out in 1922 and since then several lots of nut trees have been added from time to time, principally filberts and Persian walnuts. Also a few black walnuts, Japanese heartnuts, Chinese chestnuts, hickories, pecan and several hybrids were planted.
In 1922 twenty varieties of filberts were obtained from a nursery near Rochester, N. Y. These were reputed to be some of the better sorts imported from Germany but when they came into bearing only one was true to name, this being Italian Red. Another un-named variety in this lot (field number 3 R 1 A T 10, 11, 12), proved to be hardy and very vigorous. The nuts were only of medium size but very well filled and of good quality. The rest of these were a nondescript lot of worthless varieties or seedlings and so after a few years nearly all were uprooted and discarded.
At this time (1922) four varieties of Persian walnuts were planted, Franquette, Mayette, Hall and Rush. The Franquette and Mayette have not grown very well here and have given very poor yields. Both Hall and Rush made good growth the first 15 or 20 years from planting but latterly, growth has been poor and yields have fallen off considerably, although this year (1947) there is a very fair crop showing, but with rather much dropping. The nut of the Hall variety is quite large but the husk is thick and the shell is thick and coarse, also in some seasons the kernel has not filled out very well. The Rush has given good crops of medium-size nuts. It seems to be rather susceptible to bacterial blight.
Five named varieties of black walnuts also were planted at this time (1922), Thomas, Ohio, Stabler, Ten Eyck and McCoy. The Thomas has proven to be the best of these and the value of the others was pretty much in the order named. The last two were quite inferior as to nut, while the Stabler lacked vigour and did not yield very well, although it is a nice nut and the kernel comparatively easy to extract.
Eight Persian walnut seedlings in the same plantation, set out in 1926, have made poor to fair growth. They have given very few nuts until this year (1947) when two of them are showing a very fair crop.
About 1928 twenty Japanese walnuts and hybrids with the butternut, and about the same number of Persian walnut seedlings, which have been brought in by the late Professor Jas. A. Neilson, were transplanted to the permanent fruiting positions. The Japanese walnuts and hybrids were worthless and so were discarded. The Persian walnuts, however, seemed to be of more value, several are quite nice nuts and one, at least, looks to be worthy of increase for further trial or limited distribution. This seedling (field number 13R3T14) has made very fair growth and has shown only slight winter injury. For the last five or six years it has given moderately good yields of very nice looking nuts. The nuts are large, rather long and oval, resembling somewhat the Franquette. The shell is smooth and moderately thick, well sealed but easy to crack. Usually they are quite well filled and the kernel is mild in flavour and of nice quality.
Another Persian walnut, set out about the same time, is the McDermid. The original tree was found on the property of a Mr. McDermid at St. Catharines, Out. One grafted tree and four seedlings were planted on the Station grounds. They grew well and showed very little killing back and for several years gave quite nice crops of nuts, but of recent years the yield has been rather small. The nut is blunt-oval in shape and of good size with a fairly hard shell which is well sealed but not any too easy to open. The quality is fairly good but the pellicle is rather strong flavoured.
The year 1936 may be considered the high water mark in nut planting at the Station. A variety block of filberts was set out that year and fifty one-year-old Persian walnut seedlings (Carpathian strain) were planted in a nursery row, and in permanent location in 1937. The filbert planting consisted of from three to nine bushes each of twelve varieties, including Aveline (white), Barcelona, Bixby, Bolwyller, Buchanan, Cosford, Daviana, Du Chilly, Medium Long, Red Lambert (?) and Jones hybrid. These were planted in a compact block, 18 feet apart each way on the square. A lesser distance no doubt would be sufficient for upright growing sorts like Du Chilly but some of the more spreading kinds can use the greater distance.
Most of these filberts started to yield a few nuts at five to seven years from planting and at nine or ten years were giving good crops. Yields have fluctuated considerably from year to year, and also between varieties and different bushes of the same variety. Yields obtained from individual ten-year-old bushes and size of nut are given in the following table.
| Name | Quarts[2] (with husks) | Pints, nuts (without husks) | Size of nut No. per pint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 11 | 8 | 101 |
| Bixby (1) | 11 | 9 | 130 |
| Bixby (2) | 22 | 12 | 148 |
| Daviana (1) | 10 | 6 | 94 |
| Daviana (2) | 11 | 7 | 90 |
| Du Chilly (1) | 20 | 11 | 93 |
| Du Chilly (2) | 17 | 12 | 92 |
| Medium Long | 11 | 8 | 115 |