Mr. Hostetter sells his nuts both as kernels and in the shell. He says that he can now count upon this crop for a substantial contribution to his annual income.
Seedling Chestnuts. None but Chinese and Japanese varieties were reported on. More of the Chinese seedlings have been planted than of the Japs. The latter excel in hardiness, yield, size of nuts, but the Chinese have a better percentage of filled nuts, have better husking quality and much better quality of kernel, according to growers. Of course, being seedlings, neither is entirely dependable in any of these qualities. The best that can be said is that the planter of a Chinese seedling has a better chance than the planter of a Jap seedling if he is after nut quality.
Named Chestnuts. Outside of the report on hardiness, the returns on these varieties are too meagre to enable one to arrive at a corroborated conclusion. In hardiness, the Hobson stands first with a rating of 95%. Zimmerman and Carr are tied at 60%; Yankee rates 50%. Reliable seems to be little planted but also seems to rate well in hardiness. Hobson again stands first in yield, with Carr and Zimmerman second. The ratings are 80% and 60% respectively. Reliable comes next, then Yankee. In early bearing, Hobson stands first, Carr next. All seem to fill well, also have good husking quality. Carr is said to bear the largest nut, with Hobson and Zimmerman next. In quality of kernel, Hobson and Reliable stand out from the others. Hobson, on the returns, has much the best of it in general excellence. However, the last word has by no means been said in connection with hybrid chestnuts. In no field of nut culture is so much hybridizing being done. We expect to see many contenders for preeminence in this most promising branch of the industry.
Pecans. The returns on pecans are also very incomplete after we go beyond the young tree age. Perhaps one reason for this is that young orchards of pecans require a longer time for growth than many other species before they begin to bear. The reports confirm this view. Records of crops from present plantings are none too numerous.
In the reports on hardiness among the pecans, Major stands first with a percentage score of 85; Greenriver 83; Busseron, Indiana and Giles are tied at 80; Posey 75; Butterick 40.
Records of yields are not numerous enough to be conclusive, but Major, Busseron and Butterick lead. This is in the absence of reports on Greenriver, Posey, Niblack, and other important varieties.
Hybrid Pecans. The records for hardiness here, as with other pecans, are marred by lack of good reporting. So far as the record shows, Pleas—Hican var. (hickory x pecan) is the outstanding variety for hardiness in regions north of its origin. It scores 85%; Norton and Rockville, 80% each; Gerardi, 75; Burlington, 60; Bixby, Des Moines and McCallister, 50% each.
Records of yields are not forthcoming. Such records as we have of filled nuts show them to be in general, unsatisfactory. In fact, however, no reliable conclusion can be reached from a study of the pecan reports unless it should be—a sad one—that the questionnaire or the questionees fell down here.
Filberts. The story brightens. Many are working with filberts. In the northwest, the growing of filberts is developing into a commercial enterprise of good proportions. Our records are correspondingly more complete though they show that there is plenty of room for improvement in the development of varieties of desirable quality.
In hardiness, Winkler leads in the reports with a score of 71.46%, with Jones hybrid a very close second at 71.15%. Bixby is next, then Buchanan. Of the "written-in" varieties, excellent hardiness is reported for Cosford, Hazelbert, Kentish Cob, Early Globe, Burkhardt's Zeller, Comet, Gellatly No. 1, Chinese Corylus, Brixnut and Longfellow.