I have no definite information as to source of this tree, but judge it to be a Franquette seedling as that was the class of trees sold by the nursery from which the tree was purchased. I have made arrangements for sample nuts from this year's crop and will send you some later. This tree is well worth testing for hardiness as it is evidently self-fertile, there being no other nut trees of the same age near by.
Another discovery of interest from the nut breeding angle is the McDonald walnut. This is a hybrid English X. J. Sieboldiana, growing at West Vancouver, B. C. Nut large and heavy shell, but the best kernel cavity I have seen in any of these crosses. The tree is a nice tree and leaves show distinct crossing. This is the first year it has borne and it had 2 nuts. One shell I am sending you with other samples of new nuts.
The Watt English walnut at Penticton, B. C., is proving a regular cropper of uniform large round nuts of good flavor. This tree is a seedling from my own nursery. I do not know from what tree it grew, but it is worthy of testing for hardiness in districts north of present location as there is some evidence of hardiness. I know this tree to be a good cropper but have no definite record of any one year's crop as the tree is located where many persons help themselves to the nuts.
The Lindy walnut from the beaches at Kelowna, B. C., continues to make good tree growth and produce good crops of large round nuts with thin shells and well developed kernels of good flavor. This tree is a seedling grown from a nut brought from Kulu Hills, India, in 1912. This tree is also worthy of trial for hardiness in districts north of present locations. I do not know how this tree is as a self-pollenizer as there are two other trees near by of the same stock and planting. I do know that seedlings grown from this tree make a good growth and look alike in the nursery row and are very uniform as to color and growth of leaf, in striking contrast to seedlings from some other trees which vary a lot in every feature.
In heartnuts the newest I have of outstanding promise are from my own nursery. Two are now growing at Peachland, B. C. One, the MacKenzie, is a vigorous, well grown tree and bears regularly heavy crops of large, rough-shelled heartnuts that are easily cracked. The kernels are light in color and of good flavor.
The other, the Rover heartnut, is a young tree just carrying a record crop. Tree is in a poor location on the edge of wild timber competing for soil space. The nut is a big step in the elimination of the central division, so pronounced in most heartnuts. This is the outstanding feature of this nut. Cracking and other features are still undetermined but promising. I have a number of others that are promising. One is the Flavo Heart, a heartnut and butternut cross. This is a seedling of Callender heart and butternut. The outstanding features are the shape of nut, flavor of kernel and ease of extraction. This is its first crop.
From B. D. Wallace
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
I will endeavor to give you a short account of our progress in the culture of butternuts and black walnuts.