In the second place, he could plant and study other varieties under identical conditions and observe their performance. By correlating these data with the records of individual growers he ought to be able to recommend certain varieties of nut trees for various sections of the state.

In Ohio, we have chapters of the Izaak Walton League; we have Friends of the Land; we have sportsmens clubs; we have extensive tracts of municipal and state land. We have the problem of doing something constructive with strip mining areas; we have, and will have under contour farming, little crazy-quilt blocks of land unsuitable for cultivation. All these agencies and all these needs tie in with the intelligent use of trees, particularly nut trees, because they serve a fourfold purpose; lumber, food, erosion control, and a balanced wild life. Here is where the nut specialist would enter the scene. By collecting data, by pooling the results of the individual growers, and especially by selection and breeding, he should be able to recommend the proper varieties of nut trees for specific needs.

It seems to me, however, that the main job of such a worker should be to produce a streamlined black walnut, a thin-shelled, good-cracking, fast-growing walnut.

The black walnut is, indeed, a regal tree. It grows all over the State. Here is a tree of almost infinite variation. What an opportunity for the genetic scientist! What an opportunity for the nut specialist!

In connection with the improvement of the black walnut as a nut and timber tree, the specialist might well investigate the English or Persian walnut. What about the possibilities of Circassian walnut lumber? What is to prevent the growers and the specialist from planting the English walnut for timber? Here in Northern Ohio, English walnut trees have been cut for timber. There are probably several hundred English walnut trees scattered through the northern counties of Ohio. Some of them are from 10 to 18 inches in diameter. A few are second generation. As these trees seem to be fairly rapid growers it would seem reasonable that nuts from these hardy trees would grow into valuable timber, apart from the value of the nuts.

Perhaps all these aspirations and aims seem Utopian. Probably such a program would keep a dozen workers occupied. In cooperation with the Forestry Department, however, students might be assigned to study certain phases of nut culture. A Ph.D. dissertation might well be written on the variation of the Thomas walnut in Ohio.

In conclusion, the Ohio growers will try to produce better nut trees. Through prize contests they hope to find what nature has produced. Through the services of a scientist they hope to find what man can produce. The two aims dovetail. We are reasonably certain of the prize contests; we are not yet certain of securing the nut scientist.

Ohio is host to the NNGA this year. May the Ohio growers ask you for your moral support in this venture? The NNGA is the mother organization. Through the efforts of the officers, past and present, the association is in a flourishing condition with prospects of a very bright future. Whatever we do in Ohio, whatever will be done in other states and countries will be a monument to the NNGA. The groping years, the hard years, are behind. The spade work has been done. We want you to feel that the aims and aspirations of the Ohio growers sprang from your advice, your experiments and enthusiasm.

I would like to add a final word about the unique advantage we enjoy here in Ohio. We have the cooperation of a powerful and excellent farm paper, "The Ohio Farmer." Through its pages our contests get a wide publicity. Mr. Ray Kelsey has furnished us with 5000 folders announcing the contest and the purpose behind it. We have the cooperation of the Experiment Station here at Wooster and its affiliated agencies. Drs. Secrist and Gourley have been kind, encouraging, helpful. Dr. Oliver Diller, of the Forestry Department, and Mr. Walter Sherman, of the Mahoning Farm, have helped and worked with us in a hundred ways. We feel the NNGA ought to know about this harmonious and whole-hearted team work.

Nut Growing Under Semi-Arid Conditions