John H. Hartog, formerly of Eugene, wrote of the experience of Mr. E. Terpening, one of the most successful walnut growers near that city.
"Mr. Terpening is a devotee of the grafted tree. And why? A burnt child spurns the fire, says the proverb. Mr. Terpening set out second generation Mayettes and Franquettes, expecting that these seedlings would produce true, but when they commenced to bear, behold his amazement at finding that he had a variety of almost every kind. This was enough to convince him that in the future he would use grafted trees, and know what he was doing and what kind of nut he was raising.
"Counting out trees of other kinds, he has four acres in walnuts, and these produced—
| In 1905 | 700 pounds |
| In 1906 | 1200 pounds |
| In 1907 | 2000 pounds |
| In 1908 | 3000 pounds |
"This spring he set out 450 more trees and wisely he put them 50 feet apart and will grow peaches in between for a few years. While it is generally said that walnuts come into bearing after 8 years, Mr. Terpening states that the grafted tree will bear commercially in 6 years, which tallies exactly with my experience.
"The Terpening walnut trees are grafted on American black and his favorite variety is the Mayette and lately the so-called Improved Mayette."
WALNUT GRAFTING
Walnut grafting is in a class by itself, and walnut budding is not a success as practiced at the present time, although the ordinary method is shown in the cut. The top grafting method shown is easy and sure if you have "the know-how and skill." One of the important things to remember in tree surgery as well as other kinds, is to work quickly and deftly. Don't let the wounds of the scion or stub remain exposed longer than necessary. Make the cuts smooth with a very sharp knife, kept sharp by frequent "stropping.'" Expert walnut grafters are few, but the ordinary skillful orchardist or amateur can do fairly successful work by a study of the drawings in "Details of Walnut Grafting" on next page, and using common sense methods.