I am planning and planting all the time and have at least a small start of most of the better strains of all varieties. I have a little nursery where I grow and graft my own trees. I consider Edmunds a very fine black walnut. I think that more free exchange of graftwood should be encouraged among our members, and we should encourage and help newcomers in learning the art of grafting. I got 90% of my Stambaugh grafts to grow this season, in a row of stocks running from the size of a lead pencil to that of the average man's little finger, using scions near to the size of the stocks, grafted by the "whip and tongue" splice method.
Letter from H. F. Stoke to Miss Mildred Jones: I am pleased to comply with your request to report on those varieties that have given me the best results in this locality. It is perhaps unfortunate that some of them are unknown or obscure varieties that are not generally in the hands of the nursery trade. (As an aside, I am quitting the nursery business, so what I say is without prejudice or any personal bias.)
I am listing the varieties in order of my estimate of them for this locality based on my own personal experience. I am becoming increasingly hard boiled in my judgments based on two considerations: first, that a nut tree should bear within a reasonable time and that the crops should be regular and reasonably abundant; second, that the nuts should be fit to eat after they have been grown. These two considerations knock out many varieties that have been highly touted.
Filberts. The Buchanan and its second generation seedlings have been better filled and more productive than any of the European hazels. Italian red comes next. Brixnut and Longfellow are strong, healthy growers, but the former does not fill well and the latter bears sparsely. Barcelona is out.
Chinese chestnut. Hobson, Carr, Zimmerman, Reliable. Hobson heads the list as most precocious and productive. It requires a pollenizer. Carr will bear partial crops without cross-pollination. Zimmerman is almost as productive as Carr, but its need of cross-pollination is unknown to me. Reliable is the smallest of the four, of high quality and a steady bearer of moderate crops. Pollination requirements not known. (The original Zimmerman sent me by Dr. Zimmerman was worthless. The present Zimmerman, furnished me by Dr. Smith, is a satisfactory nut.)
Japanese chestnut. Austin is the best of the lot.
Hybrid chestnut. One of Dr. Colby's hybrids is promising but has not been released and should not be listed without his permission. The hybrid I have been selling as Stoke is a better nut than any of the Japs, including Austin. A moderate producer of moderate crops of beautiful, high quality nuts ripening the first of September. The Government's S8 Van Fleet hybrid is a very prolific hybrid of rather poor quality. It should be satisfactory for people who cook their chestnuts. Mr. C. A. Reed should be consulted before listing. S8 will outyield any chestnut I know of. Tree is less vigorous than Stoke and more subject to blight.
Black walnut. Homeland, Creitz, Mintle, Thomas. Homeland is a local nut and is unknown to the trade. It makes a poor test score, partly because of its pointed shape, partly because of the plumpness and tenderness of the kernel. It fills out much better than Thomas growing beside it: bears moderate crops every year, both on the parent and on grafted trees. It is a nice, upright, healthy grower; new growth tinged with purple. I consider quality first class. Creitz bears regularly and well; nuts very like Ohio but husks thin and it cleans much better. Kernels apt to be shrivelled somewhat. Mintle good bearer, plumper than Creitz, pellicle somewhat off color. Thomas does not fill so well, especially if given much nitrogen, which Homeland will stand. Stabler worthless here.
English walnut. Bedford, Lancaster, Payne, Franquette. Bedford is a local nut found on an abandoned farm in Bedford County, Va. A regular bearer of high quality nuts of the Mayette type. Blossoms late, a little before Mayette and Franquette. The only one of fifteen varieties that I have fruited that can be depended on to pollinize itself; medium size, well sealed, cures well, no bitterness to pellicle, no "sticktite" nor moldy nuts. Lancaster, very large, very vigorous tree, precocious, prolific, quality of nuts good but not best; staminate blossoms early, pistillate late. Requires a pollinizer. Franquette, Mayette and Bedford should answer. Payne will not stand winter temperatures much below zero; requires cross-pollination; needs seemingly met by Crath and Broadview. Good nut of good size and quality, precocious and very prolific. Moderate grower. Worst fault starts too early in spring. Good for south and upper south. I forgot to mention that one of the worst faults of Lancaster is that the nuts must be dried promptly on ripening; sometimes the kernels mold before the nuts fall from the tree. Franquette should rank with Bedford except that it usually bears poorly, although rarely it bears a good crop. Always blossoms freely. Trouble seems to be pollination. Bedford may be the answer; Mayette is not, and also bears very poorly. King and Chambers, recommended by Carroll Bush as pollinizers for Franquette, produce their staminates too early here. Broadview is vigorous, precocious, prolific, large with a pellicle too bitter for human consumption. Nuts sometimes spoil on the tree, like Lancaster.