Northern Nut Growers Association Incorporated 39th Annual Report
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Title: Northern Nut Growers Association Incorporated 39th Annual Report
Editor: Northern Nut Growers Association
Release date: May 24, 2008 [eBook #25583]
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED 39TH ANNUAL REPORT ***
Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|DISCLAIMER |
| |
|The articles published in the Annual Reports of the Northern Nut Growers|
|Association are the findings and thoughts solely of the authors and are |
|not to be construed as an endorsement by the Northern Nut Growers |
|Association, its board of directors, or its members. No endorsement is |
|intended for products mentioned, nor is criticism meant for products not|
|mentioned. The laws and recommendations for pesticide application may |
|have changed since the articles were written. It is always the pesticide|
|applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current |
|label directions for the specific pesticide being used. The discussion |
|of specific nut tree cultivars and of specific techniques to grow nut |
|trees that might have been successful in one area and at a particular |
|time is not a guarantee that similar results will occur elsewhere. |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[Illustration]
NORTHERN
NUT GROWERS
ASSOCIATION
INCORPORATED
39th Annual Report
[Illustration]
CONVENTION AT NORRIS, TENN.
SEPTEMBER 13-15
1948
TABLE OF CONTENTS
_Fruiting Chinese Chestnut Branches_ (_Courtesy Dr. H. Reid Hunter_) 2
Officers and Committees 6
State and Foreign Vice-Presidents 7
Constitution 8
By-Laws 9
Proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Annual Convention 12
Address of Welcome--George F. Gant 12
Response--Dr. L. H. MacDaniels 14
President's Address--John Davidson 15
Secretary's Report--J. C. McDaniel 16
Treasurer's Report--D. C. Snyder 18
Other Business of the Association, Committee Election and Reports 19
The Development and Propagation of Blight Resistant Chestnut in
West Virginia--Ralph H. Quick 26
The Present Status of the Chestnut in Virginia--R. C. Moore 31
Growing Chinese Chestnuts in Lee County, Alabama--G. S. Jones 34
Processed Chestnuts on the Market throughout the Year--J. C. Moore 38
Chestnut Growing in the Southeast--Max B. Hardy 41
_Mr. Hardy and Some Chestnuts Prepared for Storage_ 41
Marketing Chestnuts in the Pacific Coast--Carroll D. Bush 51
Chestnut Weevils and Their Control with DDT--E. R. Van Leeuwen 54
Diseases Affecting the Success of Tree Crop Plantings--G. F. Gravatt
and Donald C. Stout 60
_Chinese x American Hybrid Chestnut Trees_ 62
_The Brooming Disease of Walnuts_ 64-65
_Trees Killed by the Persimmon Wilt_ 67
Round Table Discussion on Chestnut Problems--Spencer B. Chase,
Presiding 69
Greetings from a Kentucky Nut--Dr. C. A. Moss 83
Nut Trees for West Tennessee--Aubrey Richards, M.D. 85
Marketing Black Walnuts as a Community Projects--Rev. Bernard
Taylor 87
Experiences with Tree Crops in Meigs County, Tennessee--W. A.
Shadow 88
Nut Hobbying in Eastern West Virginia--Wilbert M. Frye 91
A Look, "Backward and Forward" into Nut Growing in Kentucky--W.
G. Tatum 93
Round Table Discussion on Judging Schedule for Black Walnuts--Dr.
L. H. MacDaniels, Chairman 95
_Fruiting Black Walnut at Brooks, Alberta, Canada_ 103
Present Outlook for Honeylocust in the South--J. C. Moore 104
Possibilities of Filbert Growing in Virginia--E. L. Overholser 111
Filberts for Food and Looks in Kentucky--N. R. Elliott 116
J. F. Jones, Introducer of Many Nut Varieties--Clarence A. Reed 118
_J. F. Jones_ 118
_Mildred and Wesley Langdoc_ 125
The Value of Nut Trees in Tennessee--F. S. Chance 126
The Development and Filling of Nuts--H. L. Crane 130
The Grafted Curly Walnut as a Timber Tree--J. Ford Wilkinson 139
The Black Walnut Situation in Tennessee--George B. Shivery 142
Grafting Walnuts in Ohio--Sylvester Shessler 145
Grafting Walnuts in the Greenhouse--George L. Slate 146
Nut Investigations at the Pennsylvania State College--William S.
Clarke, Jr. 148
Black Walnuts: A New Specialty at Renfro Valley--Tom Mullins 149
Marketing Black Walnut Kernels--F. J. McCauley 152
Production of Bacteria-Free Walnut Kernels--Roger W. Pease 157
Pecan Selection in Oklahoma--Dr. Frank B. Cross 160
Pecan Improvement Program for Southwestern Kentucky--W. W.
Magill 164
Pecan Production in South Carolina--T. L. Senn 167
Preservation of Shelled Pecans by Drying and Hermetically
Sealing--Hubert Harris 169
Follow-Up Studies on the 1946 Ohio Black Walnut Prize Winners--L.
Walter Sherman 174
Final Business Session, Election of Officers, Reports of Committees 177
Odds and Ends--Dr. W. C. Deming 181
The Birth of a New Walnut Cracker--B. H. Thompson 183
Marketing of Black Walnuts in Arkansas--T. A. Winkleman 183
Further Notes on Nut Tree Guards for Pasture Plantings--Oliver D.
Diller 184
_Wire Guard Around Young Chestnut Tree_ 185
A Pecan Orchard in Glouchester County, Virginia--Mrs. Selina L.
Hopkins 186
Indiana Nut Shows Have Educational Value--W. B. Ward 188
_View of an Indiana Nut Exhibit_ 189
The Importance of Stock and Scion Relationship in Hickory and
Walnut--Carl Weschcke 190
Progress with Nuts at Wolfeboro, New Hampshire--Matthew Lahti 195
Breeding Chestnuts in the New York City Area--Alfred Szego 196
Winter Injury to Nut Trees at Ithaca, New York, in the Fall and
Winter of 1947-48--L. H. MacDaniels and Damon Boynton 199
What Came Through the Hard Winter in Ontario--George Hebden
Corsan 201
Filberts Grow in Vermont--Joseph N. Collins 202
Report of Necrology Committee 203
Carl E. Schuster 203
Mrs. Laura Selden Ellwanger 204
M. M. Kaufman 205
Norman B. Ward 205
Attendance 206
Northern Nut Growers Association, Membership List 209
Exhibitors at the 39th Annual Meeting 222
Announcements 223
+Please Note: The membership list is in the back of this volume.+
OFFICERS OF
THE ASSOCIATION
1949
_President_--H. F. Stoke, 1436 Watts Avenue, Roanoke, Virginia
_Vice-President_--Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, Dept. of Floriculture and
Ornamental Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
_Treasurer_--Sterling A. Smith, 630 West South Street, Vermilion, Ohio
_Secretary_--J. C. McDaniel, Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture, State Office
Bldg., Nashville 3, Tennessee
_Directors_ include above officers _plus_:
John Davidson, 234 E. Second Street, Xenia, Ohio; and
Clarence A. Reed, 7309 Piney Branch Road, N. W., Washington
12, D.C.
_Dean_--Dr. W. C. Deming, 31 S. Highland, West Hartford 7, Connecticut
_Nominating Committee_--Dr. H. L. Crane, Harry R. Weber, Dr. William L.
Rohrbacher, J. Ford Wilkinson, George L. Slate
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS
_Press and Publications_--Editorial Section: Dr. Lewis E. Theiss,
Dr. W. C. Deming, Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, C. A. Reed, Dr. A. S. Colby,
George L. Slate, Dr. J., Russell Smith
Publicity Section: Dr. J. Russell Smith, C. A. Reed, Dr. A. S. Colby,
Carrol D. Bush, A. A. Bungart, J. C. McDaniel
Printing Section: John Davidson, Harry R. Weber, J. C. McDaniel
_Program_--H. L. Crane, R. P. Allaman, George L. Slate, C. A. Reed, J. C.
McDaniel, Raymond E. Silvis
_Place of Meeting_--Dr. A. S. Colby, J. F. Wilkinson, D. C. Snyder,
Carl F. Walker, H. H. Corsan
_Varieties and Contests_--Spencer B. Chase, G. J. Korn, J. F. Wilkinson,
Gilbert Becker, A. G. Hirschi, L. Walter Sherman, C. A. Reed, Dr.
L. H. MacDaniels, Dr. J. Russell Smith
Standards and Judging section of this committee: Dr. L. H. MacDaniels,
Spencer B. Chase, C. A. Reed, Dr. J. Russell Smith
_Survey and Research_--R. E. Silvis, plus the state and foreign
vice-presidents
_Membership_--Mrs. Harry Weber, Mrs. Blaine McCollum, Mrs. Stephen
Bernath
_Exhibits_--R. P. Allaman, Carl Weschcke, Fayette Etter, A. G. Hirschi,
G. J. Korn, J. F. Wilkinson, G. L. Smith, Seward Berhow, Royal
Oakes, H. H. Corsan, G. H. Corsan
_Necrology_--Mrs. Herbert Negus, Mrs. Wm. Rohrbacher, Miss Jeannette F.
Johns, Barbara Sly
_Audit_--Dr. Wm. Rohrbacher, E. P. Gerber, Raymond E. Silvis
_Finance_--Harry Weber, D. C. Snyder, Carl Weschcke, Sterling Smith
_Legal Advisers_--Sargent Wellman, Harry Weber
_Official Journal--American Fruit Grower_, 1370 Ontario St., Cleveland 13,
Ohio
State and Foreign Vice-Presidents
Alabama LOVIC ORR
Alberta, Canada A. L. YOUNG
Arkansas A. C. HALE
British Columbia, Canada J. U. GELLATLY
California DR. THOMAS R. HAIG
Connecticut GEORGE D. PRATT, JR.
Delaware LEWIS WILKINS
Denmark COUNT F. M. KNUTH
District of Columbia GEORGE U. GRAFF
Ecuador, South America F. A. COLWELL
Florida C. A. AVANT
Georgia WM. J. WILSON
Idaho J. E. MCGORAN
Illinois ROYAL OAKES
Indiana FORD WALLICK
Iowa IRA M. KYHL
Kansas DR. CLYDE GRAY
Kentucky DR. C. A. MOSS
Manitoba, Canada A. H. YOUNG
Maryland BLAINE MCCOLLUM
Massachusetts I. W. SHORT
Mexico FEDERICO COMPEAN
Michigan GILBERT BECKER
Minnesota R. E. HODGSON
Mississippi JAMES R. MEYER
Missouri RALPH RICHTERKESSING
Nebraska GEORGE BRAND
New Hampshire MATTHEW LAHTI
New Jersey MRS. ALAN R. BUCKWALTER
New Mexico REV. TITUS GEHRING
New York GEORGE SALZER
North Carolina DR. R. T. DUNSTAN
North Dakota HOMER L. BRADLEY
Ohio A. A. BUNGART
Oklahoma A. G. HIRSCHI
Ontario, Canada G. H. CORSAN
Oregon HARRY L. PEARCY
Pennsylvania R. P. ALLAMAN
Prince Edward Island, Canada ROBERT SNAZELLE
Rhode Island PHILIP ALLEN
South Carolina JOHN T. BREGGER
South Dakota HERMAN RICHTER
Tennessee THOMAS G. ZARGER
Texas KAUFMAN FLORIDA
Utah HARLAN D. PETTERSON
Vermont A. W. ALDRICH
Virginia H. R. GIBBS
Washington CARROLL D. BUSH
West Virginia WILBERT M. FRYE
Wisconsin NORMAN KOELSCH
CONSTITUTION
of the
NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION, INCORPORATED
(As read at the annual meeting, Guelph, Ontario, September 5, 1947, and
adopted September 13, 1948, at Norris, Tennessee)
NAME
ARTICLE I. This Society shall be known as the Northern Nut Growers
Association, Incorporated. It is strictly a non-profit organization.
PURPOSES
ARTICLE II. The purposes of this Association shall be to promote
interest in the nut bearing plants; scientific research in their
breeding and culture; standardization of varietal names the
dissemination of information concerning the above and such other
purposes as may advance the culture of nut bearing plants, particularly
in the North Temperate Zone.
MEMBERS
ARTICLE III. Membership in this Association shall be open to all persons
interested in supporting the purposes of the Association. Classes of
members are as follows: Annual members, Contributing members, Life
members, Honorary members, and Perpetual members. Applications for
membership in the Association shall be presented to the secretary or the
treasurer in writing, accompanied by the required dues.
OFFICERS
ARTICLE IV. The elected officers of this Association shall consist of a
President, Vice-president, a Secretary and a Treasurer or a combined
Secretary-treasurer as the Association may designate.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTICLE V. The Board of Directors shall consist of six members of the
Association who shall be the officers of the Association and the two
preceding elected presidents. If the offices of Secretary and Treasurer
are combined, the three past presidents shall serve on the Board of
Directors.
There shall be a State Vice-president for each state, dependency, or
country represented in the membership of the Association, who shall be
appointed by the President.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE VI. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the
members present at any annual meeting, notice of such amendment having
been read at the previous annual meeting, or copy of the proposed
amendments having been mailed by the Secretary or by any member to each
member thirty days before the date of the annual meeting.
BY-LAWS
(Revised and adopted at Norris, Tennessee, September 13, 1948)
SECTION I.--MEMBERSHIP
Classes of membership are defined as follows:
ARTICLE 1. _Annual members._ Persons who are interested in the purposes
of the Association who pay annual dues of Three Dollars ($3.00).
ARTICLE 2. _Contributing members._ Persons who are interested in the
purposes of the Association who pay annual dues of Ten Dollars ($10.00)
or more.
ARTICLE 3. _Life members._ Persons who are interested in the purposes of
the Association who contribute Seventy Five Dollars ($75.00) to its
support and who shall, after such contribution, pay no annual dues.
ARTICLE 4. _Honorary members._ Those whom the Association has elected as
honorary members in recognition of their achievements in the special
fields of the Association and who shall pay no dues.
ARTICLE 5. _Perpetual members._ "Perpetual" membership is eligible to
any one who leaves at least five hundred dollars to the Association and
such membership on payment of said sum to the Association shall entitle
the name of the deceased to be forever enrolled in the list of members
as "Perpetual" with the words "In Memoriam" added thereto. Funds
received therefor shall be invested by the Treasurer in interest bearing
securities legal for trust funds in the District of Columbia. Only the
interest shall be expended by the Association. When such funds are in
the treasury the Treasurer shall be bonded. Provided: that in the event
the Association becomes defunct or dissolves, then, in that event, the
Treasurer shall turn over any funds held in his hands for this purpose
for such uses, individuals or companies that the donor may designate at
the time he makes the bequest of the donation.
SECTION II.--DUTIES OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the
Association and Board of Directors, and may call meetings of the Board
of Directors when he believes it to be to the best interests of the
Association. He shall appoint the State Vice-presidents; the standing
committees, except the Nominating Committee, and such special committees
as the Association may authorize.
ARTICLE 2. Vice-president. In the absence of the President, the
Vice-president shall perform the duties of the President.
ARTICLE 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall be the active executive
officer of the Association. He shall conduct the correspondence relating
to the Association's interests, assist in obtaining memberships and
otherwise actively forward the interests of the Association, and report
to the Annual Meeting and from time to time to meetings of the Board of
Directors as they may request.
ARTICLE 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive and record
memberships, receive and account for all moneys of the Association and
shall pay all bills approved by the President or the Secretary. He shall
give such security as the Board of Directors may require or may legally
be required, shall invest life memberships or other funds as the Board
of Directors may direct, subject to legal restrictions and in accordance
with the law, and shall submit a verified account of receipts and
disbursements to the Annual meeting and such current accounts as the
Board of Directors may from time to time require. Before the final
business session of the Annual Meeting of the Association, the accounts
of the Treasurer shall be submitted for examination to the Auditing
Committee appointed by the President at the opening session of the
Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE 5. The Board of Directors shall manage the affairs of the
Association between meetings. Four members, including at least two
elected officers, shall be considered a quorum.
SECTION III.--ELECTIONS
ARTICLE 1. The Officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting and hold
office for one year beginning immediately following the close of the
Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE 2. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of officers on
the first day of the Annual Meeting and the election shall take place at
the closing session. Nominations for any office may be presented from
the floor at the time the slate is presented or immediately preceding
the election.
ARTICLE 3. For the purpose of nominating officers for the year 1949 and
thereafter, a committee of five members shall be elected annually at the
preceding Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE 4. A quorum at a regularly called Annual Meeting shall be
fifteen (15) members and must include at least two of the elected
officers.
ARTICLE 5. All classes of members whose dues are paid shall be eligible
to vote and hold office.
SECTION IV.--FINANCIAL MATTERS
ARTICLE 1. The fiscal year of the Association shall extend from October
1st through the following September 30th. All annual memberships shall
begin October 1st.
ARTICLE 2. The names of all members whose dues have not been paid by
January 1st shall be dropped from the rolls of the Society. Notices of
non-payment of dues will be mailed to delinquent members on or about
December 1st.
ARTICLE 3. The Annual Report shall be sent to only those members who
have paid their dues for the current year. Members whose dues have not
been paid by January 1st shall be considered delinquent. They will not
be entitled to receive the publication or other benefits of the
Association until dues are paid.
SECTION V.--MEETINGS
ARTICLE 1. The place and time of the Annual Meeting shall be selected by
the membership in session or, in the event of no selection being made at
this time, the Board of Directors shall choose the place and time for
the holding of the annual convention. Such other meetings as may seem
desirable may be called by the President and Board of Directors.
SECTION VI.--PUBLICATIONS
ARTICLE 1. The Association shall publish a report each fiscal year and
such other publications as may be authorized by the Association.
ARTICLE 2. The publishing of the report shall be the responsibility of
the Committee on Publications.
SECTION VII.--AWARDS
ARTICLE 1. The Association may provide suitable awards for outstanding
contributions to the cultivation of nut bearing plants and suitable
recognition for meritorious exhibits as may be appropriate.
SECTION VIII.--STANDING COMMITTEES
As soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting of the Association, the
President shall appoint the following standing committees:
1. Membership
2. Auditing
3. Publications
4. Survey
5. Program
6. Research
7. Exhibit
8. Varieties and Contests
SECTION IX.--REGIONAL GROUPS AND AFFILIATED SOCIETIES
ARTICLE 1. The Association shall encourage the formation of regional
groups of its members, who may elect their own officers and organize
their own local field days and other programs. They may publish their
proceedings and selected papers in the yearbooks of the parent society
subject to review of the Association's Committee on Publications.
ARTICLE 2. Any independent regional association of nut growers may
affiliate with the Northern Nut Growers Association provided one-fourth
of its members are also members of the Northern Nut Growers Association.
Such affiliated societies shall pay an annual affiliation fee of $3.00
to the Northern Nut Growers Association. Papers presented at the
meetings of the regional society may be published in the proceedings of
the parent society subject to review of the Association's Committee on
Publications.
SECTION X.--AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS
ARTICLE 1. These by-laws may be amended at any Annual Meeting by a
two-thirds vote of the members present provided such amendments shall
have been submitted to the membership in writing at least thirty days
prior to that meeting.
PROCEEDINGS of the Thirty-ninth Annual Convention of the Northern Nut
Growers Association, Inc.
Meeting at NORRIS, TENNESSEE SEPTEMBER 13-15, 1948
The meeting was called to order by President John Davidson at 8:45
o'clock, a. m.
Address of Welcome
GEORGE F. GANT, General Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville,
Tennessee
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: It is a distinct pleasure to
welcome you to Norris and to the Tennessee Valley. You have had very
fine weather here, and we hope that you will enjoy the climate and the
scenery and the fishing and the pleasures of this part of the country
during your short stay.
The Northern Nut Growers Association is a much older organization than I
had thought, and it is much older than the Tennessee Valley Authority,
but a review of some of the things, you have done and some of the
interests you have expressed from time to time indicate that we have
many interests in common, your organization and the TVA.
You are concerned with experimentation of new and better ways of growing
tree crops. You are concerned with the environment in which tree crops
must find a place in our economy and in our culture, because, as I
understand it, your interest goes beyond mere economics to the full use
of trees.
Now, the Tennessee Valley Authority is likewise concerned with
experimentation. As a matter of fact, it is an experiment, a new and
different way of achieving a better use of natural resources.
There is nothing new in what the TVA does. There are no activities
conducted by TVA that have not been or are not being conducted by other
agencies all over the country and which have been conducted by Federal
agencies for many, many years. The TVA has no new regulatory or coercive
functions. As a matter of fact, the TVA has no coercive functions. It
has no new or unique or different governmental functions. There is only
one thing that is different about TVA, and that is the way in which it
approaches the job of resource use on an overall basis.
Now, I might illustrate that by referring to the construction of dams
and reservoirs. In the Tennessee Valley the TVA builds dams and
reservoirs to prevent floods, to produce a navigable channel, to produce
power, and in its reservoirs it also has the responsibility of
achieving the best uses of reservoirs and reservoir lands in the
interests of fish and wild life, in the interests of recreation, and in
the interests of malaria control.
Now, the unique fact here is not that these things are going on or being
done, at least in part, through a Federal agency, but that one Federal
agency is responsible for achieving a balance between all of these
activities and with the administrative responsibility for doing that. In
other efforts the situation is different, with as many as eight agencies
having something to do with the development of some one of these
activities in a way which might or might not be integrated.
Now, the second illustration, I think, is that unity can be accomplished
only if all of the agencies which are concerned with the use of
resources have an environment in which they can work effectively. The
Federal Government is not and should not in the Tennessee Valley be
developing all of these resources itself. It feels that the unified
development of the resources depends upon the participation of the
people of the Tennessee Valley and their institutions, the local and the
state agencies. There can't be unity any more if local agencies are
conducting one program and a Federal agency conducting another program,
than there can be if several Federal agencies are conducting several
programs.
Consequently, the Tennessee Valley Authority, except for the operation
of these huge new facilities which have been added to the resources of
the Tennessee Valley, conducts its activities in collaboration with
local and state agencies. That not only avoids the expense of
duplication, but it achieves the collaboration, the participation, the
active interest of the people in getting a full job done.
That is true in the field of forestry. Forestry has a particular role in
the Tennessee Valley. First of all, the TVA is concerned with the
effective use and control of water, not only in the river channel
itself, but on the land. Forestry, together with engineering and
agriculture, must come together, not only come together within the
administrative framework of TVA, but within the framework of what our
colleges and state departments are doing and with what the land owners
are doing in these watersheds.
Further than that, the TVA is fully aware that watershed protection
cannot be achieved except within the economy of the region. That means
that the best use of forest lands from the economic point of view, from
the productive point of view, as well as from the conservation point of
view, must be taken into account.
For these reasons the TVA is concerned not only with multiple-purpose
dams, but with multiple-purpose land use. These activities are not
conducted directly by TVA, but in cooperation with the land grant
colleges and with the appropriate state departments.
I think and I hope that as you review the several activities which are
going on in the Tennessee Valley area that you will keep these
characteristics of TVA in mind. We are very happy to have you here. I
hope that many of you will be able to extend your visit or to come back
and see us another time.
* * * * *
President John Davidson: I am personally very glad to have heard this
talk. I know quite a bit more about the fundamental principles of the
work underlying TVA than I did before.
Dr. MacDaniels, will you say a word on behalf of the Association?
+Response+
Dr. L. H. MacDaniels: Mr. President and members of the Northern Nut
Growers Association, I am sure that I voice the sentiment of all of the
Association to you, Mr. Gant, and all of the Tennessee Valley Authority
our very great appreciation of your allowing us to come and meet with
you and use the very fine facilities which are available here in Upper
Norris Park.
As far as I am concerned, and probably I am in the same situation as
most of you in the North; we have heard a lot about the Tennessee Valley
Authority, but mostly it is bandied around in the newspapers and usually
connected with some sort of a political argument of one kind or another.
And I think that to come here and to see the place and to live in the
cabins and drive through the forests, to swim in the lake, as some of us
did yesterday afternoon, went far away around the bend, and went in
swimming--I think you might improve the mud bottom in some places, which
is not too good, but it reminds us of our youth, at least--and to fish
in the lakes, although not too successfully. After we have done that we
certainly know much more about what sort of a development the Tennessee
Valley Authority is.
Another thing, as a member of the Northern Nut Growers Association and
as you are members, I think we all appreciate what the Tennessee Valley
Authority has done for the Northern Nut Growers Association. The
Tennessee Valley Authority has been the first, you might say, large
agency which has taken northern nut growing seriously and has used the
knowledge which has been developed by this Association in an extensive
way in the planting and developing of new varieties, developing of new
techniques in the use of the plants, the nut trees and the persimmons,
and what not, with which the Northern Nut Growers Association has been
concerned.
As we drive up the valley here and we see these thousands of walnut
seedlings which are still to be used and see the plantings which you
will see more intimately later, we can realize just how extensively the
Tennessee Valley Authority has been concerned with the development of
our forest resources and particularly these plants which are of economic
value, inasmuch as they are nut trees, and their relationship to
wildlife and a project of this kind in which forest resources and tree
resources are to be made use of.
I have noticed that you did mention fishing as one of the things that
has been developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority. I also am reminded
of the fact that some of us, including our president, tried to go out
and exercise some of these fish, without much success, and I have been
trying to think of the reason. I know, as far as we are concerned, we
used all the plugs and spinners and floating baits and sinking baits,
and I went completely through my tackle box and pulled out the one that
we call the "Christmas tree," a big bunch of spoons with a place to put
a minnow on the end, and we dragged that around, almost swamped the
motor, but did get around; didn't catch anything.
It reminds me of an incident there at Cornell. We have a director, who
was head of the Pomology Department at that time. He had a dog that
wasn't disciplined very well, he wouldn't come when he was called, and
so on. The foreman out at the orchard had a dog that was very well
disciplined. He'd say, "Go get my hat," and he'd get the hat, and "Go
quickly," and he'd go quickly. And this head of the department asked the
foreman, "Well, how was it that you trained this dog, and how do you
train a dog, anyway?"
"Well," he said, "first of all, you have got to know more than the dog."
Perhaps that's the case with some of us and the fish. Anyway, we didn't
catch any fish.
I don't care to say any more, except, Mr. Gant, to express our
appreciation to you for the excellent facilities which you have
furnished.
President Davidson: Thank you, Dr. MacDaniels.
I believe the next order is the little talk by myself.
President's Address
JOHN DAVIDSON, Xenia, Ohio
When I was notified that this Association, in session at Guelph, had
named me as its president, I was surprised and deeply honored. I suppose
there is not a single member of this body who does not have the feeling
that the Northern Nut Growers Association is "different," unique, and,
very special: Here are all kinds: scientists and rule-of-thumb planters,
experienced professionals and inexperienced amateurs, conservationists
and hobbyists, all bent on one objective--to enlighten Americans and
themselves on the values and opportunities that lie in the study and
practice of planting forest trees which bear crops--specifically, nuts.
But the interest of most of our members is rather broader than our name
would indicate. Forest _crops_, not merely nuts, are the logical
outgrowth in interest that such an organization as ours stimulates. Dr.
Zimmerman's work with papaws is a case in point. Mr. Wilkinson's work
with the Lamb curly walnut is another. The persimmon, the papaw, the
mulberry, the haws, the juneberries--you are likely to find them all,
sooner or later, among the nut trees of our members. You will hear
presently about a wood from one of our nut trees that is so valuable,
_and so possible to grow_, that we may presently be planting for
extraordinarily beautiful and valuable _timber_.
Patience is what it takes, and faith. Trees are an example to us. If we
could only look at the procession of the centuries with the eyes of the
sequoias, we should see creation moving on marvelously with magnificent
fruitfulness, and we should take courage.
Has the process of evolution been more successful with plants than with
the human race? Should benevolent creation _fail at its highest point_?
Certainly it should not. Nevertheless it certainly will fail there so
long as so large a body of the race is undernourished, ill-born,
hopelessly submerged--dragging downward rather than lifting upward.
Who knows the total answer? Education, of course, is a part of it--in
industry, in eugenics, in moral responsibility. But you can't preach
education effectively to a starving or half-starved man or child. The
multiplication of population, the better distribution of goods
throughout the world (which means in the end the avoidance of extremes
of over and under-production)--these are the world's next greatest
problems. I personally have the feeling that we are on the verge of an
almost unthinkable increase in food productiveness through chemurgy's
better and more complete use of plant life. We shall yet learn to gauge
population to food supplies and food to population. Both are essential.
We need more plant breeders and more organic chemists at work on food
supply all over the world. We need more people of good will and long
vision, fewer political and social parasites; more producers.
Singularly, at the very moment of writing these words, a letter from a
well known plant breeder is dropped upon my desk. In it he turns down
the idea of an hypothetical executive position which most people would
regard as promotion. The importance and interest of his work is so great
_in its own right_ that he would not think of changing.
That is what I mean. We need more of his kind in the world. It is hoped
that in this Association such men may find the kindredship and
comradeship they so richly earn.
This was the spirit with which our Association was organized by Dr.
Robert Morris, Dr. Deming, and a few far-sighted men in the early days
of this century and carried on by them, by Mr. Reed, Dr. Zimmerman,
Professor Neilson and their kind since. We salute them all. Their works
follow and honor them by their multiplied fruits.
I shall not take the time in this full program to review the events of
the past year. Some of our speakers will do this far better than I. But
I wish to greet our visitors and the new members who may not have been
with us before. We hope you will feel very much at home in our family of
kindred minds.
Also, these remarks would not be complete without recognition of the
efforts of those who unselfishly and unstintingly have given of their
time and strength to this important work: our Secretary, Joe McDaniel!
You all know him by his exceptional service to us all. (Let's rise and
give him a hand.) And while we are on our feet--one of the best
treasurers any organization ever had, efficient, kindly, but a veritable
watch-dog of the Treasury, Mr. Snyder! Also a hand to the members of our
important committees, Mr. Chase, Dr. MacDaniels, Mr. Slate, Mr. Stoke--I
can't name or praise them all as they deserve. The NNGA could not
possibly be what it is without them.
And now let us get on to the business before us.
Secretary's Report
J. C. McDANIEL, Nashville, Tennessee
The membership of the Association seems to be increasing fairly
steadily. When I checked the mailing list early last October, it had 667
names, as compared with 691 listed in the 37th Annual Report. When I
left Nashville last week, the number had increased to 742, according to
my stenographer's latest count. There have been some discontinued
memberships, as will happen almost every year in any organization, but
the new members have more than compensated for them, in numbers.
We did not add up a total on all the mail sent out in response to
inquiries, but it has been voluminous. Close to 800 requests for our nut
nursery list have been received solely as a result of Mr. Stoke's
_Southern Agriculturist_ chestnut article in last February's issue, and
they are still trickling in. Some new memberships have resulted from
these contacts, but more have come as a result of our column in the
_American Fruit Grower_, and a Chinese chestnut article in _The Flower
Grower_ early last spring, which gave our Association a boost.
Some members have said they did not find their _American Fruit Grower_
subscriptions of much value to them, particularly since the inauguration
of _The Nutshell_, our news bulletin which has been issued four times
since the last annual meeting. I will take some of the blame for this,
since as editor of _The Nutshell_, I am somewhat in the position of
competing with myself as columnist for the _Fruit Grower_. Space is
limited in the latter publication, too, and sometimes publication of the
"Nut Growers News" column is deferred a month or two, and again, I have
been known to miss a deadline. Most of the columns, as in the previous
years, are digests of material previously given in our Annual Reports.
This practice seems to be justified as a matter of keeping nut news
before the orcharding public and as a means of attracting some new
memberships for the Association. I do not know of a better conditioned
list of prospects than the more than 150,000 _American Fruit Grower_
subscribers all over the continent, who are at least interested in some
kind of fruiting trees or plants. In that many, by the law of averages,
are many with some interest in nuts. Several hundred will write to the
secretary or other N.N.G.A. members who are mentioned during the year,
and at least a few score normally will join us.
This does not minimize the desirability of having other publicity
outlets. More of you who have a knack at writing should try your own
contributions to national, regional or even community-wide publications.
Even short letters to the editor, in such cases, may be read by "kindred
spirits," and you will be read by men and women whose interest in nut
trees (even though it may have been a dormant interest) will be
stimulated to the extent of becoming N.N.G.A. members. Then it is up to
our officers, the program committee members, and our contributors to
keep them interested enough to renew their memberships another year!
Your comments on _The Nutshell_ have been quite flattering to its
editor. You _all_ can help make it a better publication by contributing
short original observations or clippings of good items on hardy nut
trees from other sources.
There is a continuing shortage apparent in the supply of good named
varieties of hardy nut trees in nearly all areas. This seems
particularly the case with Chinese chestnuts. Few propagators at present
have them in even enough quantity to catalogue, and the demand which has
been built up by the good publicity on chestnuts exhausts most
nurseries' supplies each spring before all orders can be filled. Our
nursery list in the Winter issue of _The Nutshell_ has gone to some
2,000 people and has helped the nurserymen to sell out their trees
quickly. We hope this will lead to a sound expansion in the commercial
propagation of _good_ nut trees.
I should again call attention to our affiliation with the American
Horticultural Society. This enables our members in good standing to
receive their good quarterly publication, _The National Horticultural
Magazine_, for only $3.50 a year. You may obtain your affiliate
membership through our Treasurer, or directly from the American
Horticultural Society, Room 821, Washington Loan and Trust Building,
Washington 4, D. C.
* * * * *
President Davidson: You have heard the Secretary's report. Has anyone
any revisions or modifications of this report to suggest?
Dr. MacDaniels: I move acceptance with thanks.
(The motion was seconded, a vote taken, and the motion carried
unanimously.)
President Davidson: If the Secretary will also read the Treasurer's
report, we will proceed with it.
Mr. McDaniel: Mr. Snyder wrote recently, regretting that he would miss
this meeting (for reasons of health). He says he can not accept the
position of Treasurer another year.
Treasurer's Report for Year September 1, 1947 to September 1, 1948
D. C. SNYDER, Center Point, Iowa
INCOME
Dues $1,396.00
Reports sold 153.75
Bond Dividends 25.00
Advertising 5.00
Miss Jones' Postage Acc't. 36.85
C. A. Reed Typesetting 32.50
Miscellaneous 7.60
_________
$1,656.70
DISBURSEMENTS
Fruit Grower Subscriptions 100.80
Reports, Stationery etc. 1,105.06
Secretary's expense 100.30
Treasurer's expense 58.17
Reporting Guelph Meeting 25.00
Miscellaneous 15.60
Bank service charges and checks returned N.G. 12.90
________
1,417.83
_________
Balance gained during year 238.87
On hand September 1, 1947 1,790.44
Paid out for Bonds 1,100.00
_________
680.44
_________
Cash total on hand, September 1, 1948 (subject to minor
bank service charges and checks which may be
returned) $ 919.31
Bonds in box at Peoples Bank & Trust Company $2,500.00
* * * * *
President Davidson: You have heard the Treasurer's Report. Any remarks?
It is a very good report. It shows that the organization is creeping up
financially and in very good condition due to the continuous care that
the Secretary and the Treasurer both have used in keeping up with our
membership, keeping dues paid up, and so on. I will entertain a motion
to accept our Treasurer's Report.
Dr. MacDaniels: I so move.
(The motion was seconded.)
Mr. O'Rourke: It should be accepted for audit.
Dr. MacDaniels: I will accept the amendment.
President Davidson: It is moved now, then, that the report be accepted
for audit. Are there any remarks?
(A vote was taken on the motion, and it was carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: The next order of business is the regular business
meeting of the Association. I think perhaps the first thing we should do
might be to proceed with the election of a Nominating Committee and the
Auditing Committee. I believe both, if I am not misinformed, are
elective and not appointive. The chair will entertain nominations for
the Nominating Committee.
+Nominating Committee Elected+
(The following were nominated for the Nominating Committee: Dr. H. L.
Crane, Harry R. Weber, Dr. Wm. L. Rohrbacher, J. F. Wilkinson, George L.
Slate. Upon motion that the Secretary cast a unanimous ballot for those
nominated, vote was taken and motion carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: Am I correct in saying that the Auditing Committee
is elective, rather than appointive by the Executive Committee?
Mr. Silvis: I understood it was three members and just appointed.
Mr. McDaniel: Yes, under Article I of the by-laws, it is appointed.
President Davidson: In that case we will do nothing about that now.
I think perhaps we might proceed with a few resolutions or motions
before going to the further order of business. The chair will entertain
a motion that the Association give its thanks to Mrs. Baker and her
committee of the ladies for their entertainment of last evening and for
future entertainment.
Mr. Weber: I so move, Mr. President.
(The motion was seconded, a vote called for, and the motion carried
unanimously.)
President Davidson: Also the chair will entertain a motion that the
Secretary be instructed to send Dr. Deming our usual affectionate
greetings and assure him that his beloved association is still carrying
on in the spirit of the founders.
Mr. McDaniel: By the way, I have a letter from Dr. Deming. Should I read
that?
President Davidson: That would be fine if you would, yes.
+A Letter from Dr. Deming+
_(Secretary's note: We substitute a more recent letter, dated May 9,
1949)._
"... You are giving me much consolation for all _my_ broken promises to
get out the annual report at an early date. I suggest that you have a
lawyer draw up a contract for the printer to get out the report at a
given date or forfeit so much per day for all delay. If you don't do
that the printer will put you off for something that will give him a
little more profit. I don't know that we ever got out a report in plenty
of time for the members to get their orders in early or get other
benefits from the report if it arrived before planting time.
"I note in the announcement of our Connecticut state medical society
that it scheduled a recess of 15 minutes or so at intervals for members
to 'view the exhibits.' It looks to me like a good idea....
"Congratulations on the fast work of Joe, Jr. The idea is to get plenty
of limbs before letting him bear. Have you tried the sweet buckeye on
him? [See page 181.]
"We have Spring here, too, as well as you in Nashville, and it is good.
"I get awfully tired after very little exertion. I'll be 87 on September
1. Too old to undertake any obligations.
"Best luck.
"Yours,
s/W. C. DEMING"
President Davidson: That is expressed beautifully, as usual. May I have
that motion?
Dr. Crane: It has been moved and seconded that the Secretary be
instructed to send Dr. Deming our affectionate greetings and assure him
that his beloved association is still carrying on in the spirit of the
founders.
(A vote on the motion was taken, and it was carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: Another, that the Association accept with deep
regrets the resignation of D. C. Snyder, and that the Secretary be
instructed to send him our affectionate greetings and thanks for his
long, efficient and outstanding services as Treasurer of this body. Are
you in favor of such a motion?
Mr. Weber: Take out the accepting the resignation part, and the rest
will be O.K.
President Davidson: That is right. As amended then, with the omission of
that "accepting the resignation."
(A vote was taken on the motion, and it was carried unanimously.)
+Clarence A. Reed Elected Honorary Member+
President Davidson: One more. The chair will entertain a motion that the
Secretary be instructed to send C. A. Reed our greetings and as a small
measure of the esteem we have for him and in recognition of his long and
extraordinary services to this Association, we elect him a life member
there-of.
Dr. MacDaniels: I think it should be an "honorary member" rather than a
"life member." A life member contributes $75.
President Davidson: I believe that is correct, an honorary member. With
that amendment, then.
Dr. MacDaniels: I would so move, Mr. President.
Dr. Crane: Second the motion.
(A vote was taken on the motion, and it was carried unanimously.)
Dr. Crane: Mr. President, I would like at this time, if I may, to say a
few remarks in regard to Mr. Reed. I saw him last Friday afternoon, and
he asked me to convey to the Association his very deep regrets that he
was unable to attend. He had planned to attend, but his doctor said
absolutely no. So he has learned from experience that he has got to pay
more attention to his doctor's orders than he has in the past.
He wanted me to tell the members of the Association that although he
wasn't here in body he was in spirit and in mind.
President Davidson: That's fine. I think perhaps we should proceed first
with the reports of committees.
The Finance Committee. Mr. Weshcke is not here. Mr. Weber is next in
order on that committee. I presume there would be nothing special to
report at this time.
Mr. Weber: Nothing.
President Davidson: Press and Publication. Mr. Stoke is chairman of that
committee. Mr. Stoke is not present at this time. Dr. MacDaniels, would
you have anything to say in the matter of Press and Publications
Committee? Have you any recommendations or reports to make?
Dr. MacDaniels: Mr. Chairman, I hadn't planned to make any report. As a
matter of fact, I had very little to do with the work of the
Publications Committee this year. I have been rather happy that it has
been handled otherwise, and I think our thanks are due to our Secretary,
who has carried the brunt, in fact, almost the entire burden of the
publication of the proceedings. Also of _The Nutshell_. That occurred
through a series of circumstances which I don't wish to outline here. I
think probably the chief determining factor was that the contract for
printing was awarded to a firm in Nashville, which almost automatically
made it at least convenient and expedient to have the matter handled in
Nashville. I believe you will concur in that general opinion.
Mr. MacDaniel: Yes.
Dr. MacDaniels: So that our Secretary has had an unusually heavy burden
which we should not expect him to carry again.
President Davidson: Thank you, Dr. MacDaniels.
The chair will entertain a motion to accept Dr. MacDaniels' report on
behalf of the Press and Publication Committee.
(It was so moved and seconded, a vote taken and motion carried
unanimously.)
President Davidson: On Varieties and Contests. Mr. Zarger is not going
to be with us, I am afraid, and if there is any other member of that
committee present who has something to say on the matter of variety and
contests, we would be very glad to hear from him. I don't hear anything,
so we will proceed to the next one.
The report of the Survey Committee. Mr. Silvis is chairman of that
committee, and I will say on his behalf that he was raring to go and
would have gone if it had been the feeling on the part of some of the
other members that a survey was timely at that time. It happened that
that was not the feeling, it was not a good year to make a survey, and
on that account I wrote to Mr. Silvis that possibly it would be well to
put off any important survey for the year 1947.
Do you have anything to say, Mr. Silvis, in addition to this?
Mr. Silvis: Well, on the cuff, no, and off the cuff I would like to make
this remark, that I just had one question I was going to require every
member to answer to me for, and that was what kind of a nut tree should
I plant, and thereby try to establish a zone between frost-free dates
for various locations or states or territories. It didn't develop.
I received as late as last week John Bregger's note explaining why it
was his reply came late. But I do want to make this remark, and for our
able Secretary's first issue of _The Nutshell_ I know this to be a fact,
that with it, it's the nuts, and without it, it's hell.
President Davidson: What shall we do with Mr. Silvis's report? We have
some action to take presently on the matter of survey in addition to
this report. Could I have a motion to accept the report of the Survey
Committee?
Dr. Crane: So move.
Mr. Weber: Second.
(A vote was taken on the motion, and it was carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: Mr. Chase disappeared again. He is chairman of the
Program Committee. We all have evidence of what he has been doing.
Perhaps his program is sufficient to report.
Mrs. S. H. Graham is chairman of the Membership Committee. I think Mrs.
Graham is not here, so perhaps we can pass on.
Report of the Necrology Committee fortunately is blank.
Mr. McDaniel: There is one that I know of. Mr. Schuster of Oregon passed
away last winter.
President Davidson: I think that points out a little weakness in our
organization. The death of Mr. Schuster should have been reported and
some notice of it taken, perhaps.
Mr. Stoke, you are here as chairman of the Exhibits Committee. Would you
like to say something?
Mr. Stoke: I don't know that I have anything to say. The exhibits speak
for themselves back there. I wish to thank those who made contributions
to that exhibit, and some still came in this morning that you haven't
seen. I think it's been fine cooperation.
I feel an apology is due for not getting out more publicity on behalf of
the committee. I had hoped that another copy of _The Nutshell_ would be
out before this meeting so I could make another call for exhibits, but
it wasn't, and I didn't get my material in to our Secretary in time for
the earlier one.
Mr. McDaniel: I believe we did have a notice in the summer issue.
Mr. Stoke: Yes, there was a notice. At any rate, we have had exhibits
here all the way from Georgia to New York. I am not sure whether they
have any from Canada or not. I think it makes a very nice display, and I
certainly appreciate your cooperation.
Dr. MacDaniels: In connection with these exhibits, we were driving along
talking to Mr. Slate about the desirability of the Northern Nut Growers
Association sending an exhibit to the Harvest Show of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society. That was done about ten years ago, and the
Society gave us a silver medal at that time. I know from talking with
Mr. Nehrling that they would be pleased to have such an exhibit put on,
and I think that if we could take much of the material from our exhibits
here and send it there that that would make an acceptable exhibit, and
we almost assuredly would get not only considerable publicity out of
that, because it would be an exhibit of the Northern Nut Growers
Association, but we might also get either a cash award or a medal. I
think if we work behind the scenes, if we preferred the cash we could
get that, which would be of some value to the Association.
Now, I speak of this merely to bring it to your attention and to point
out that any of the personally furnished exhibits that you wish to turn
over for that purpose, you may arrange with Mr. Stoke for that.
(Further discussion on the details of sending in the above-mentioned
exhibits.)
Dr. MacDaniels: I would move this Association favored sending an exhibit
to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Harvest show, provided
material is available.
Dr. Crane: Second the motion.
Dr. Silvis: May I make this remark and also be in the form of a motion,
that those exhibitors report immediately at the adjournment of this
session to Mr. Stoke and make known to him whether yes or no, whether
their exhibits can be sent up.
President Davidson: Do you make that motion in the form of an amendment?
Dr. MacDaniels: I will include that in the motion.
Dr. Crane: I accept it.
(A vote was taken on the motion as amended, and it was carried
unanimously.)
President Davidson: Place of Meeting Committee. I judge that that
committee is not ready to report, is it, Mr. Slate, for this following
meeting?
Mr. Slate: The chairman didn't realize until just before we were ready
to leave that he was a member of that committee. I have given the matter
some thought on the way down, and in the previous years I have usually
gone fishing for invitations some time before the meeting. I did drop a
line overboard a few days ago, but I didn't catch anything more than I
caught in this big lake up here.
Now, from previous experience I don't believe we can consider going to
the Middle West. Mr. Snyder, Mr. Becker in Michigan, and Dr. Colby at
Illinois, have not thought that they had enough material to make it
worth while to go out there. That throws it back to the East, and we
have been to some of the better places in recent years; Ronoake,
Virginia, Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Boston.
I think there are two places that we should consider. I think we should
consider Beltsville and the New York City region. We all know that there
is plenty of material at Beltsville. We have not been there for some
time. And in the New York City region we have the plantings of Gilbert
Smith, who is probably 85 or 90 miles above New York. He is not far from
Poughkeepsie where I am sure there are ample facilities for handling the
crowd. Then there may be possibly some of Dr. Graves' plantings that
would be worth seeing on a field trip.
Now, of course, the committee will be very glad to receive invitations
from anyone here and consider them, and we will make the final report at
the final business session at the time of the banquet, I believe. But
between now and then I want you to consider the matter rather seriously
and let me know what you are thinking about.
President Davidson: I think it would be desirable, if it were possible,
for Mr. Slate to wire the proper authorities at Beltsville or
Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Weber: Mr. President, one of our members is Mr. Bernath, who has
been quite faithful in attending nearly all our meetings, and he has, I
imagine, much of interest to show to the members, and he is located near
Poughkeepsie. I am just throwing that out for the members to think over
as to what they would think about Poughkeepsie as a possible meeting
place.
President Davidson: That's worth listening to.
Would it be advisable, do you think, for Mr. Slate at the expense of the
Association to wire to Poughkeepsie or to Beltsville to see whether an
invitation is available or not?
Mr. Slate: Those places are well represented now.
Mr. Weber: I imagine Mr. Bernath can speak for himself.
Mr. Bernath: I don't know, I think if we could delay it another year,
Mr. Smith is going to retire from the State School, and he will have
plenty of time. I am very busy, and he will have loads of time on his
hands, and then he can give it his attention. I think that would be all
right next year.
Mr. Slate: That's up to the Association to decide.
Mr. Bernath: We would like to have you come at that time.
Mr. Slate: Beltsville is very well represented in Dr. Crane.
Mr. Weber: Mr, Chairman, in view of what Mr. Bernath says, I'd accept
Mr. Bernath's suggestion and have Poughkeepsie on the list for the year
following.
Mr. Bernath: That's right.
President Davidson: Dr. Crane may have something.
Dr. Crane: Mr. President and members of the Association, we'd like to
have the Association meeting at Beltsville again. However, we have had
four years of May freezes in Beltsville Station, and I am going to tell
you all is not in any too good condition. A lot of it has been pulled,
and we have had to replant an awful lot of the stuff that is now just
planted this year. We lost a lot of the plantings that were made last
year because of injury. As you folks probably know that have been there
before, we labored under very great difficulties on soil conditions in
that we have mostly sands and gravel.
So we are kind of in a mess there right now. We'd be glad to have the
Association meet at Beltsville, and we have right good facilities there
for meetings, but as far as any plantings in the area, a lot of the work
we are doing, we are kind of going through a period of change right now
and getting re-established, and I want you to know the situation.
President Davidson: Well, we have been forewarned. It's a case, I judge,
of not being unwilling to see us, but you are not so anxious, for us to
see you, is that it?
Dr. Crane: I wouldn't want you to come there under false hopes that you
would see a lot.
Mr. Gravatt: I would like to say we have done quite a lot of work in
breeding chestnuts and also work with forest types, crossing American
chestnuts and Chinese. But I agree quite with Dr. Crane, that we haven't
so much to show you there. Of course, it's a dog-gone good thing to get
familiar with these diseases and see what you are up against, because
all through the history of nut culture, and so forth, one of the basic
defects has been the failure to appreciate the importance of insect and
disease factors. And we are very much in need of more basic research
along those lines, but I agree with Dr. Crane that at present we have a
limited amount to show you there.
Of course, there is the Plant Industry Station there with a lot of
experimental work, greenhouse work and all sorts of basic research work,
fertilization work, and so forth, going on there. A lot of people like
to come to Washington. Our plantings are pretty much the same condition
as Dr. Crane's and not a display proposition such as you have here at
TVA.
President Davidson: Suppose we regard this report, then, as temporary
and hear more from you later.
I think that concludes the reports.
The Board of Directors, unless there is some other order of business to
be taken up, have some recommendations to make to the Association. One
is the recommendation that the Association place the annual membership
fee at $3, the supporting membership fee at $10 and the life membership
fee at $75. They didn't wish to take the responsibility of doing
anything more than referring that matter to this Association.
Dr. MacDaniels: That could be handled in the by-laws under the
constitution.
President Davidson: We still also have another rather important matter
that's been referred to the Association, and that is the matter of a
sufficient amount of remuneration to permit our Secretary to hire a
stenographer to do the extra amount of work that is gradually
accumulating in that office. The resolution that is referred to you
calls for a payment of 50 cents per member to the Secretary for this
purpose.... We have no right to be set up so that the work of the
Association would encroach upon a person's job as it is set up at the
present time. That recommendation was that it was contingent, of course,
upon raising the dues to $3.00 and take 50 cents of that to offset the
stenographic help and try to re-organize our affairs between the
Secretary and Treasurer so that as much as possible of the routine
mailing, and routine stenographic work would be carried in this way.
(Discussion on the above recommendation.)
Mr. Weber: I move that the additional remuneration be granted, 50 cents
per member, to the Secretary.
Mr. Smith: I will second the motion.
Mr. Fisher: I'd like to make an amendment to that, that the dues be
raised to $3.00 in order to make this possible.
Mr. Weber: I will accept the amendment.
Mr Smith: And I will second the motion contingent, of course, to the
raising of the dues.
(Vote taken, motion carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: We will appoint a Resolutions Committee.
+Resolutions Committee+
Sterling Smith, H. L. Crane, Raymond E. Silvis, H. F. Stoke.
President Davidson: I think so far as I know that's everything except
the report of the Committee on the Constitution. Unless I hear otherwise
we will proceed with that report.
(Discussion on Constitution.)
(Constitution and by-laws approved as set out in another part of this
report, the Constitution having first been read at 1947 meeting)
President Davidson: As I understand it, then, this constitution, unless
we make some other provision, is in effect as of now.
Mr. Weber: Now with these by-laws in effect there will have to be a
fresh nominating committee elected for the next year.
Mr. Smith: Mr. President, I make a motion, if it's in order, that the
Nominating Committee as elected previously for this meeting also
continue and serve for next year.
Mr. Clarke: Second the motion.
(Vote taken, motion carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: There is one other matter that was brought up at the
directors' meeting, and inasmuch as the directors did not have a quorum,
it should be voted through here, I think, and that is that a motion is
in order to pay Mrs. Gibbs $25 for her services as stenographer at our
meeting. That was done, I believe, at Guelph, and it involves a lot of
important work.
Mr. Korn: I second the motion.
(Vote taken, motion carried unanimously.)
President Davidson: Shall we adjourn, with a continuance of the business
meeting at the banquet?
(Recess taken until 1:00 o'clock p. m.)
+Monday Afternoon Session+
President Davidson: Shall we come to order?
We now come to the interesting part of our program, and we will listen
first to Mr. Quick of West Virginia, who will take the place of Mr.
Sayers, the State Forester at Charleston, West Virginia. Mr. Quick.
The Development and Propagation of Blight Resistant Chestnut in West
Virginia
RALPH H. QUICK, Conservation Commission, Charleston, West Virginia
Mr. Quick: Ladies and gentlemen of the Association, your guests and
friends: In substituting for the State Forester of West Virginia I
realize that I am undertaking a big job. A few of you know Mr. Wilson
Sayers, who is the State Forester, and those of you who do may assure
the rest of the group what a big job I am undertaking, because I feel
that I am in pretty good-sized shoes.
The subject that has been assigned is The Development and Propagation of
Blight Resistant Chestnut in West Virginia. Now, being a forester, I am
perhaps interested in blight resistant chestnut from a little different
standpoint than the majority of this group. As representing the
Conservation Commission of that state I might say that we are interested
primarily from the game-food viewpoint. Now, that's a little bit
different, I expect, than most of you have been thinking about, or some
of you, at least. But that is the standpoint from which we are
interested.
So I would like to go along with you this afternoon and discuss some of
the things that we have done and some of the things that we are
learning--there are a few yet--that lead us along that line to believe
that we can do something with blight-resistant chestnuts in West
Virginia as a game food. We are just at the beginning, so to speak--that
is, the Conservation Commission of that state is just at the beginning
of our study. We have been fooling with it a little off and on since
back in the middle '30's, but interest has lagged and then has picked up
again two or three times.
I am sure that as far as the production of good strains of
blight-resistant chestnut, better strains of Chinese, and so on, that
there are people in West Virginia who are more capable of telling you
what has been done from a private viewpoint than anyone with the
Conservation Commission, but we are interested in learning about it and
producing it in large numbers for a game food, and, of course, if we are
interested in distributing from our nursery over the state for that
purpose, we are interested in producing better strains of
blight-resisting chestnut as we go.
Along back in the 1920's a few plantations, or a few trees were planted
in the state by what was then the old Fish and Game Commission, and the
records have been lost, as has been true in many other states. But then,
apparently, the beginning was made. In going over some of those early
plantings I will only have time to hit the high spots and the ones in
which we are particularly interested in our line, but the first ones
were back there somewhere in the '20's.
One of the best plantations, the one that we are particularly interested
in at the present time, is in Jackson County, West Virginia, and it is
of the University of Nanking strain, and there were 34 trees planted
there back in 1926, and we are told that they were planted from 2-0[1]
stock, from nuts that came from China in 1924. Twenty-six of those trees
survived, and we think they are pretty good nuts. You may be interested
to know that that plantation now averages 22 feet in height and has an
average diameter at breast height of 8 inches. The spacing in that
plantation was 26 by 26 feet.
Now, we can't take credit, nor do we want to take credit, for that
plantation. The state agency had nothing to do with it. It was put in
there through the cooperation of the gentlemen from Beltsville, but we
are very much interested in that plantation; so interested that we have
gone to the owner, along with the permission of the fellows from
Beltsville, and sewed the thing up for a five year period, during which
time we hope to get the seed and to improve our own strains and
establish blocks of our own on state-owned land under different
conditions and on different sites where we expect in the future to be
able to secure seed for our use and production at the nursery.
In the first few years that this plantation that we are speaking of in
Jackson County produced, not many people paid much attention to it or
attached much significance to it. The man who had charge of it gave the
nuts away for experimental purposes or for any reason that anybody
happened to ask for them, and shipped a lot of them free. But along in
the early 1940's he began to find out what he had, and he started
selling seed and made a pretty good thing out of it.
Last year was the first year that we had gotten seed from that
plantation. We got 75 pounds of good nuts taken in the fall of 1947.
We have another orchard, another plantation that led us to become
interested, I guess, in producing blight-resistant chestnut as a game
food and along forestry lines, and that is the orchard that we have on
nursery property. It was one of the early ones, and I expect one of the
earliest in the state, but it was planted along back in 1936, fifty-one
trees.
When we started in this we didn't know anything about it at all, so we
have built up our small knowledge in the last few years. But it didn't
take us long to realize that our orchard on our nursery property was of
badly crossed material, and it had some very undesirable trees. If we
succeeded in doing anything with them as a game food we would have to
eliminate, and only last year did we get around to the place where we
could secure authority to eliminate the undesirable species. We have
about half of the stand left now, but we are pretty sure that the trees
that we do have are of good strain.
It might be interesting for you to note--maybe some of you can top
it--we were interested when this orchard was planted, in what would
happen if the trees were planted and allowed to grow as a forest stand.
So they were planted in six-by-six spacing. Of course, we got a lot of
self-pruning and a lot of competition, as we would in forests by the
trees growing up and competing with each other and reaching for height
and light. Some of them died and some were so badly suppressed that they
failed to make any growth at all. But there is one tree that we still
have in that orchard that we are proud of, not from the standpoint of
nut production, nor does it produce a very good nut as far as the human
taste is concerned. But it has made a single stick that far surpasses
any other tree we have in the orchard. It looks like a forest tree. In
1945--it might be hard for you to believe--it grew nine feet. That isn't
an exaggeration. It was measured. We thought that was a lot better than
fair growth. Of course, it hasn't made any growth like that since, and I
don't think it ever did before, but it just had the push to go and went
nine feet in one growing season.
Leaving that orchard for a few minutes, there were 38 plantings of from
10 to 50 trees each made by the Soil Conservation Service and the
Division of Forest Pathology of the Bureau of Plant Industry in the
spring of 1939. These were examined by Dr. Diller of that Bureau in the
spring of 1940 and in 1947. He has told us that he graded those
plantings as he found them, 10 being good, and he said the next 15 were
only fair and he put 13 down as total failures.
Of those 13 that failed--from the forestry standpoint now, remember--he
said that 7 of the failures were due to poor site selection, three were
suppressed by surrounding hardwoods and other competing growth, and
three had been destroyed by cattle.
[Footnote 1: Meaning, two years old, not transplanted in the
nursery.--Ed.]
+A Commercial Chestnut Nurseryman+
I don't know whether any of you know of--I expect you do--the Gold
Chestnut Nursery in West Virginia near Cowen, and it is owned and
operated by Mr. Arthur A. Gold. He has been interested in
blight-resistant chestnuts from a commercial standpoint, selling from
his nursery for a good many years. He has worked with us some in the
Conservation Commission and has given us the benefit of his experience.
And if any of you have the opportunity I think you would be interested
in seeing Mr. Gold's nursery. He was an old-time nurseryman that handled
most of the conifers found in a commercial nursery, but in the last few
years he has gone into chestnut production almost entirely, and if you
have an opportunity, I am sure Mr. Gold would welcome you to his nursery
in Webster County.
The Game Division of the Conservation Commission of West Virginia
established three or four small plantings on the state forests in 1938
and 1939, but they had low survival. Dr. Diller in going around with
some of us and checking on those has found that we were back there where
all of us were trying to find something and trying to learn something
and that we made many mistakes and that we picked poor stock, for one
thing, and poor sites for another thing, but the great disadvantage and
the biggest limiting factor was our poor selection of sites there in the
beginning.
In handling chestnuts that you people handle maybe in small or large
quantities where all of your time can be devoted to that particular
thing, you probably have a lot of things that you do that we don't have
time to do because at the nursery in West Virginia we are interested
primarily in producing conifers and other forest trees for the
reforestation of abandoned land. So in handling this Chinese chestnut as
a game food we are working on a sideline. We have to pick it up as fast
as we can do the job and do as much as we can and learn about as much as
we can. And, of course, we learn slower than people who have the time to
spend and perhaps the money to spend at it. But we are limited in those
two respects.
But seed collections are made, and we find it necessary in collecting
from two of the orchards that we are now using for seed to collect twice
a day in the season that the nuts are ripening, because both of those
orchards which we prize are close to forest lands and squirrel country,
and they really give us a race for it. The fact of the matter is the
orchard at the nursery has attracted the squirrels on that particular
side of the mountain. I have hunted on opening day and killed my limit
of squirrels without going outside of the residence and been back at
work time at eight o'clock. It really attracts them on that side of the
hill. We are going to compete with the squirrels, but as you will see,
we have just about given up that orchard as a seed source.
We find it necessary to treat the seed, of course, before we plant it.
Many of you people, of course, go into the spraying end of it before the
nut ever develops. We haven't the time or the money right now to go into
it that way, so we try to take care of the nut after we collect it and
bring it in.
I expect it is not necessary for me to go into any of the details on any
of the methods that may be used to get rid of the weevil, because you
are all familiar with that. Maybe it suffices to say that we at the
nursery now are using the hot water treatment. The little weevil is
found in there and not always apparent. In fact, most of the time it
isn't apparent that the nut is infested, but they are, and if we take
measures to kill the weevil we haven't any germination of the weevil. We
used gas once, but we are limited in that at present. It is a lot more
expensive.
We have, in the first few years that we tried to produce chestnuts at
the nursery, stratified them. We got along pretty well with that in damp
sand, we got along fairly well in sawdust, and we got along especially
well with damp sphagnum moss. But in the end we determined that we are
getting better results if we plant the nuts as they are collected. In
other words, the seed was taken from the orchard, treated to kill the
weevil and put in the ground in the fall.
Now, you can't get away with that everywhere. Our orchard is far enough
away from the nursery that we don't have any rodent damage. We have had
some trouble from skunks, and they finally find out that the nuts are in
there in a row where we have planted them, and they go right down and
get them. But we have no trouble from mice or rats. We are far away from
woodland and buildings.
We find that some people have trouble with wind or water erosion. We
don't have that. So we can get by and do a better job and produce better
trees by sowing nuts in the fall, and we sow them in the fall, just as
if we were sowing black walnuts for production and distribution over the
state.
By the next fall when we are ready to distribute those seedlings as 1-0
stock we find that we have produced seedlings of about 14 inches in
height as 1-0 stock. From what I have seen that isn't a bad size to
produce as 1-0 stock, though it is better in some places. We find, too,
in the spring before germination, that in our particular section of the
state along the Ohio River valley we sometimes get a dry spring and find
it necessary to irrigate that land where we planted the chestnuts, just
as the seed beds where we planted pine, in order to keep the ground
moist and keep it in a condition where seeds will germinate freely.
We weed our chestnuts just as we do every row planted in the nursery,
cultivate with the tractor about three times in a season, which is all
the time we have to give to it, and hand weed it once. Perhaps it ought
to have a little more than that. Some seasons I am sure it should, but
that's about the time we are allowed or the time that we can allot to
that.
I hope, Mr. Davidson, you will check me here on this time. I don't want
to get too far out and upset the schedule.
President Davidson: All right, if necessary.
Mr. Quick: In distributing, the seedlings or blight-resistant chestnut
seed in West Virginia we began back in 1943 putting them out in
quantity. We had to limit them, the only thing in the nursery we had to
limit the amount as to seed. That was because everybody in the state
became very much interested, and the Conservation Commission makes those
available to any land owner in the state free of charge if he will plant
them as a game food but not under other circumstances. He can't use them
for ornamentals, and he can't use them for shade purposes in his yard.
But he can receive a limited number if he is willing to use them for
game. So in scattering them over the state, so many people wanted so
many of them that if we didn't watch we'd have all of our chestnuts
planted in three or four, or half a dozen spots in the state, and we are
interested in learning as much as we can by having them put out at
different elevations, different sites and under different conditions, so
we had to limit it to ten to an individual in 1943. We have gradually
upped that as our production has gone up, from 15 to 20, then 40, and
this year we are offering 50 to any land owner in the State of West
Virginia.
Now you can see why we are interested in trying to improve the nut. If
we are going to distribute them all over the state, let's distribute a
good nut, a nut that is not only a heavy bearer for the game, but a nut,
too, that is fit for human consumption.
In our site recommendations we have been trying to follow pretty well
the ideas of the boys from Beltsville, and we found out that what they
have been telling us is just about right. In other words, we are setting
our chestnuts in the cove types, moist with gentle slope, preferably on
the north, and we are getting better growth there. It doesn't mean as
far as we are concerned that it doesn't grow well on drier land and on
rich hill-tops but the growth is so much greater when it's put in good
ground and under those conditions. In other words, it needs a tulip
poplar site; where tulip poplar is growing or has recently grown might
be one way to select a site for our chestnuts.
In these five year now that we have been distributing these chestnuts we
have distributed something like 200,000. Now, we know that all of those
seedlings haven't been good strains, but they have been the best we
could do at that time as we were going along. We hope to learn from you
people, and we hope you can give us help in improving our strains so
that we can distribute better chestnuts over the state.
We haven't had a good system of checking up, until the present time, on
plantings that have been made in the past, but we are initiating a
system just now wherein all plantations that have been made from forest
stock will have regular examination all over the state of West Virginia,
and we are including chestnuts in that. We have made some checks in the
state on certain selected sites and have found out, strange enough, that
these little plantations that are spotted around on the farms, if they
were put in correctly and handled properly according to our
instructions, have given us a survival of about 80 to 85 per cent, which
is, as you will remember, about the percentage in the Nanking strain
planting in Jackson County, 26 out of the 34 original trees. That seems
strange, but it has proved true all over the state in the few checks
that we have made. But we are going into it and checking these
plantations and by so doing I believe we can eliminate a good many of
our own troubles, along with your help.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Thank you, Mr. Quick for a very interesting paper.
Is Professor Moore, present? Our next talk will be on The Present Status
of the Chestnut in Virginia, by Professor R. C. Moore of the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute of Blacksburg, Virginia. Professor Moore.
The Present Status of the Chestnut in Virginia
R.C. MOORE, Department of Horticulture Virginia Agricultural Experiment
Station
Briefly reviewing the past, Virginia has been in the same position as
many other states in regard to the large number of native American
chestnuts that once grew wild before the blight epidemic occurred. Most
of the chestnuts were found on loose, open type soils rather than on
heavy limestone soil. In mountainous parts of the state, considerable
income was obtained from the sale of wild chestnuts. Men, women, and
children gathered these nuts and traded them at the stores for
merchandise. One small country store, in Floyd County, southwest
Virginia, assembled and shipped between sixty and eighty thousand pounds
annually. A small town, Stuart, in Patrick County, shipped three
carloads daily during the peak of the season. These nuts found their way
to city markets, where chestnut roasters were as commonly seen as
popcorn poppers. Since many of these native chestnut trees grew in
forests or on wasteland, there was little expense involved except in the
time required to gather them. The demand was good but frequently the
sale price was rather low, especially during years when the crop was
heavy.
After blight destroyed the wild trees, a considerable amount of timber
was cut from the dead trees. At present this wood has largely decayed
beyond usefulness except for firewood, although in some areas it is
being gathered for pulpwood. Sprouts have arisen from the bases of the
trunks and have borne nuts, but blight sooner or later destroys those
sprouts.
Chinkapins are found in many counties of Virginia, especially on shale
or sandy loam soils. Blight affects chinkapins to a considerable extent;
but because of their bushy type of growth, new shoots arise to replace
blighted shoots, thus perpetuating the plants so that they have not died
out. Chinkapins are gathered by children for eating and for sale along
the roadside, but at present they have little total economic value.
+The Asiatic Chestnuts+
Since the native American chestnuts passed out of existence, there has
been a gradually accumulating interest in the Asiatic species,
especially Chinese chestnuts, which appear superior, in blight
resistance and nut quality to the Japanese species. The growing of these
Chinese chestnuts is such a new enterprise that its problems are not
fully solved nor its opportunities fully explored.
The earlier plantings of seedling Chinese chestnut trees were made by
cooperating growers and nurserymen. They were interested in a forest
type chestnut that might replace the dead native trees. A few of these
plantings were made under semi-forest conditions, on cut-over timber
land or on dry ridges. The first lesson that was learned was that the
Chinese chestnut is an orchard type tree requiring rather fertile soil
and ample moisture. It would not compete favorably with most native
forest trees, but rather was a slow growing, shallow rooted type of
tree. Under these unfavorable growing conditions the trees tended to be
small and to sprout from the bases of the trunks. The weakest seedlings
died.
In other cases the trees were planted in yards, back lots, along the
sides of ravines, or in other locations where the soil was fertile and
moist. Under these favorable conditions most seedlings have grown and
produced crops of nuts, especially when the trees were pruned and
competing weeds and brush were mowed. Very few of these first seedlings
of the Chinese chestnuts showed much promise although a few of them were
fairly satisfactory.
Several old Japanese chestnut trees have been observed. One of these is
estimated to be 50 years of age with a trunk diameter of 18 inches and a
height of about 50 feet. It is growing in a very fertile spot and heavy
crops in the past have broken its limbs. Chinkapins growing nearby
appeared to have supplied pollen. Recently the nearest chinkapins were
cleared away and hence at present the nuts fail to fill well. Another
large tree in eastern Virginia produces many burs but the nuts fail to
develop, indicating self-sterility. The nuts of both trees are rather
coarse and of poor quality.
More recent plantings have been rather widely scattered over the state,
although the total number of trees is not large and no one person has
planted many trees. One large general nursery, serving this area,
reported sales last spring of 196 Chinese seedling trees to thirty-five
different customers. The largest single sale was for fifty trees.
Several customers purchased only one tree each.
+Problems Encountered+
In visiting and corresponding with individuals who are growing Chinese
chestnuts, I have made a few observations, as to problems that have
arisen.
+1. Site and Soil.+ The most successful trees from the standpoint of
growth and production were those growing on fertile, well drained soil
in which moisture was plentiful. The Chinese chestnut tree appears to be
shallow rooted and to require good growing conditions. Dry ridges were
unfavorable for growth, and in bottom land the trees frequently were
subjected to late spring freezing of tender shoots.
2. Blight injury to the trees and weevil damage to the nuts seemed to be
the most serious enemies of chestnuts. Seedlings varied considerably in
their resistance to blight. Some of them showed no indications of
blight; others were damaged but outgrew the injury; and a few trees were
weakened and died.
Weevils appeared to be quite prevalent. One grower reported almost 100%
wormy nuts. It is my understanding that a spray program has been
developed for control of the weevil. Mr. H. F. Stoke of Roanoke believes
that the Illinois No. 31-4 chestnut (a hybrid) is resistant to weevil,
probably because of its thick burs and closely set spines.
+3. Cultural Care.+ Chinese chestnuts benefited from pruning; it being
especially important to cut away the sprouts at the bases of the trunks.
Mowing weeds and brush around the trees seemed helpful. Applications of
nitrate of soda stimulated more rapid growth of young trees, and in
limited amounts benefited the older trees. It appears, however, that
there may be a danger of overstimulation which increases the hazard of
limb breakage by snow and ice, especially in the case of younger trees.
The largest crops of nuts, however, were frequently produced on trees of
only moderate vigor.
+4. Freezing damage to the bark of the trunks and large limbs.+ This
occurred in the VPI Horticultural Department planting in 1945, when a
temperature of about 17 deg.F. occurred after the trees had started growth
in the spring. This injury appeared as a darkening of the outer bark and
cambium. Trees that were severely damaged became weakened and tended to
sprout vigorously from the bases of their trunks. Other trees overcame a
slight injury with little apparent ill-effect.
+5. Seedlings or Varieties.+ The question is whether to grow seedlings or
grafted varieties. Seedlings are more easily propagated, the nursery
plants less expensive, and the trees longer lived on the average; but
seedling trees and nuts are quite variable. Named varieties are
difficult to propagate, the nursery plants expensive, and stock-scion
incompatability may occur; but the trees and nuts are uniform. Seedlings
serve a useful purpose in developing new varieties; but with more
planting of superior varieties and a fuller understanding of propagation
methods, and of cultural care, chestnut growing on a commercial scale
may be more likely to become a reality.
+Future Prospects+
For the present, at least, it appears that growing Chinese chestnuts may
be limited to small specialty plantings rather than any large commercial
enterprise. The trees seem well adapted to yard and back lot planting
as ornamentals and to furnish the family with nuts. Also hobbyists and
specialists find them to be interesting plants with which to work.
The industry is new and involves uncertainties and risks, which a
commercial grower should not be expected to assume. Further study is
needed to clear up the uncertainties, especially as to production costs,
markets, and profits to be expected. As additional trees come into
bearing over a wider area, a better understanding may be had of the
economic value of these chestnuts in the various sections of the state.
There is a market for high quality chestnuts, but it remains to be seen
whether there will be sufficient profit with the risks involved to
attract commercial growers.
+Summary+
In conclusion, the following points are to be stressed in regard to
growing chestnuts in Virginia:
(1) Chinese chestnuts are adapted for home planting or for planting by
hobbyists and specialists; but their commercial prospects as yet are
uncertain.
(2) The trees require fertile soil with ample moisture but should not be
planted in frost pockets.
(3) Weevils and blight have been the most serious pests.
(4) Seedlings serve a useful purpose in developing new varieties; but
greater progress should be expected from growing superior named
varieties.
(5) Additional study is needed to determine the profit prospects, to
evaluate varieties, and to work out details of cultural practices,
harvesting, and storage of nuts on a variety basis.
Although the chestnut blight has destroyed the native _Castanea dentata_
trees, it is hoped that breeding programs may produce a blight
resistant, hardy tree, of a size that will lend itself to orchard
planting and cultural practices, and which will be regularly productive
of high quality nuts.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Thank you, Mr. Moore.
The next thing on the program is the talk by Mr. G. S. Jones of Phenix
City, Alabama, on Growing Chestnuts in Lee County, Alabama.
Growing Chinese Chestnuts in Lee County, Alabama
G. S. JONES, R.F.D. 1, Phenix City, Alabama
Ever since childhood, chestnuts have held a fascination for me. How well
I remember the delightful Sunday afternoon trips we used to make in the
fall up on Earkett's Hill to gather a few small nuts from some native
trees which often had been burned by woods fires. I occasionally revisit
this area to see these trees, which are in better condition now than
then. Native chestnuts were never, to my knowledge, very abundant in our
area and are now indeed scarce, but I still hear of a few living trees,
some of which grow as far south as North Florida.
I first became interested in Chinese chestnuts from an article I read in
the early '30's in a Department of Agriculture yearbook which I think
had been written by Mr. Gravatt. This article told about these trees
being introduced into this country because of their high resistance to
blight. Until this time I had heard little about chestnut blight. In
order to find out more about these trees I wrote Mr. Gravatt, who in
reply said seedling trees were available for distribution on an
experimental basis. I applied for some of these, more, I must admit, to
get them to grow on our place just to have some chestnuts than with any
thought of disease resistance. When these trees came in the spring of
1934 I even had some trouble in getting permission to set them in an
open field near the house, for chestnuts were considered as a tree of
minor importance, to be grown in some out of the way place.
These trees were set in sandy loam soil with a porous yellow subsoil in
a field of medium elevation which has excellent air drainage so I have
had little damage from cold injury. The soil is of fair fertility for
the Upper Costal Plain area. Of the trees sent me, fourteen of the ML
selection, originating, I am informed by Mr. Gravatt, from seed obtained
in Anhwei Province of China, and 10 MO selection originating in Chekiang
Province were set in my orchard. Only two of these failed to survive,
leaving a total of twenty-two. These were cultivated with the field
crops, mostly cotton and corn, and I must admit didn't have much
individual attention for several years. I even left the side branches to
minimize injury from the mule and plow used in cultivation. Some leaves
and trash were put around them at times and they received some benefit
from the fertilizer of the row crops. I mention this to show that my
chestnuts grew quite well though only moderately fertilized, but
receiving good cultivation while young. I might mention that I set two
trees in stiff Piedmont clay soil a few miles above here, to try them
under woodland conditions. These have never done well, although one had
burs but I found no nuts. Other trees which I observe have not been
given cultivation grow very slowly, although I have not seen any tried
on what I would consider _good_ woodland areas.
My trees, spaced about 40 x 40 ft., have grown quite rapidly so that now
some of the limbs are almost touching. Tree ML No. 2, which is about
average size, measured last fall in diameter 12-1/2 inches, in height 24
feet, with a limb spread of 30 feet. By 1943 the trees were getting so
large that cultivation was discontinued. An attempt is made to keep all
litter possible in the orchard, which, with the shade of the trees, has
caused much of the soil to become loose and mellow. Since our sandy soil
is very low in calcium I applied limestone one time at the rate of about
1500 lbs. per acre. This I hoped would improve the texture of the soil
and make better conditions for growing bur clover between the trees.
Basic slag which contains about 10% phosphate was applied at the rate of
about 600 lbs. per acre in the early '40's. For the last four or five
years I applied about 200 lbs. of guano (4-10-7 usually) and 200 lbs of
basic slag annually. Since 1944 I have been adding about 50 lbs. of
minor mineral elements to the above mixture. Whether it is a coincidence
or not I cannot say, but the next year after applying these elements my
yields increased from 430 lbs. the previous year to 961 lbs. and have
remained high ever since. Minor mineral elements show beneficial results
on our garden crops, and I am inclined to believe they are needed, since
our soil is so sandy and porous, and especially the soil that has been
cultivated so long. Since my trees have produced so well with this
moderate fertilization, I have made no check against higher rates of
application. In fact I am against the use of large amounts of mineral
guanos since I know certain tender shrubs and plants are injured by
their use and some soil bacteria and animal life are also harmfully
affected, according to reports I have read.
Three of my trees bore a few nuts at four years. No record of yields was
kept until the seventh year or 1942, in which I gathered about 328 lbs.
of nuts. After that my records show for 1943, 554 lbs., 1944--430 lbs;
1945--961 lbs; 1946--1722 lbs; 1947--1554 lbs. No individual tree
records were kept except in a few cases. I kept a rough record by
looking at the burs at the end of the season, and classed trees as
excellent, good, or poor producers, along with other characteristics of
the trees. However, I know several of my trees produced over 100 lbs.
each in 1946 and one tree, ML No. 2, of which I kept a record by weight,
in 1947 produced a little over 150 lbs. of nuts.
[A note from Mr. Jones early in 1949 reports a crop of 1,836 pounds of
chestnuts harvested from his 21 trees in 1948, the largest yield to
date. His ML No. 2 tree produced 165 pounds.]
Nuts on a few of my trees begin ripening the latter part of August, but
September is the heavy month, with some extending to the middle of
October. Their early ripening period while the weather is usually hot
and dry, I think tends to cause damage to nuts from the effects of the
hot sun and rapid drying. Damage to the nuts and consequent spoilage can
be kept at a minimum if they are gathered promptly, which should be
daily.
+Preparing Chestnuts for Market+
Here is how I generally handle my crop. As soon as the nuts are gathered
I put them in a container with water and remove the nuts that float.
This eliminates practically all spoiled nuts and those beginning to
spoil. Those that sink are then placed in coarse mesh burlap bags (about
25 lbs. to the bag) which are tied near the top. These bags are laid on
a slatted platform under a shade tree and pressed out flat, so nuts will
not be thicker than 2 or 3 inches. These bags are thoroughly wet with
water once or twice daily, depending on the weather, until I can carry
them to cold storage and store at 30 deg.F., or they are marketed fresh,
advising buyer of the perishable nature of these nuts. Last year my nuts
kept excellently in cold storage, and after remaining there about six
weeks had dried sufficiently to keep much better after taking out than
when they were fresh.
Nuts for planting purposes can be kept in excellent condition for
several weeks by spreading them thinly between layers of damp sphagnum
moss and storing in a cool place. This cannot be allowed to get very wet
or sprouting will begin. While holding the nuts out of cold storage I
attempt to keep sufficient moisture available so the nuts are not
allowed to dry much, and yet have plenty of ventilation to keep them
from heating or souring. Until I began using this method, a large
percentage of my nuts began spoiling soon after gathering, which caused
me much discouragement, as I did not want to offer such a product for
sale. Since then my losses still run around 12%, but this could be
reduced still further by more prompt gathering and by the elimination of
several trees which retain nuts in the burs to a large extent.
I have been able to dispose of my nuts quite easily in near-by Columbus,
Ga. and for the last few years have had quite a demand for nuts to use
in planting.
My orchard as a whole has been very healthy, showing no blight signs
that I can detect, although there is little chance of exposure to blight
in my section. One tree is slowly dying, which may be due to cold
injury, as it comes into leaf early and also ripens very early. So far I
have noticed no damage from chestnut weevils. As my trees are seedlings,
there is quite a bit of variation in size of nuts and production of
individual trees.
+Undesirable Traits in Seedling Trees+
I might mention some undesirable traits which I notice in my trees.
First, I would place retention of nuts in the burs as the worst trouble.
This is quite bad in five or six of my trees. Next, nuts too dry and
loose in the hull at time of falling, which is present in four or five
trees, some of which retain nuts in the burs and some which do not. The
dry textured nuts seem to spoil more easily than plump well filled ones.
Some trees produce too small nuts but the trees which produce extra
large nuts do not usually yield nearly so heavily as those producing
small to medium size nuts. I consider too early ripening as undesirable,
for those that ripen later are usually better keepers, but this does not
always hold true as some of the later ripening ones are also poor
keepers.
This year my trees have an excellent crop of burs and show promise of a
good average yield on each tree. Considering all things, I am highly
pleased with my Chinese chestnuts and believe they have a good future in
our section if no greater troubles arise than I now know of although
there is much room for improvement.
+Other Tree Crops+
Although Chinese chestnuts are my largest producing tree crop, I am
working with a number of other trees and shrubs for both nut and fruit
production, as well as other purposes. I have several Thomas black
walnuts which I set about 1938. Three of these have grown quite rapidly
and are beginning to produce nice crops of nuts, although the kernels
have a tendency to be spongy at times.
Of course, I have a small orchard of budded pecans, which do so well in
our section. These trees, which are young, are just coming into
production. Some other nut trees which I am trying in field plantings
include native chestnuts, chinkapins, hazel nuts, native black walnuts,
and scaly bark hickory (_Carya ovata_). Since most of these are young
and grow so slowly, I cannot say much about their production yet. I have
also planted quite a large number of white oaks from a high production
tree in hopes of producing acorns for hogs and wild life, also some cork
oaks on an experimental basis.
Among non-nut producers I am trying honeylocust, persimmons, and
mulberries. I also grow catalpa and black locust for fence posts. This
makes no mention of the great variety of native timber trees such as
pines, tulip poplar, and others which I try to protect from fires so as
to get as great a variety of trees as possible to use for various
purposes. I also encourage the growth of ornamental trees and shrubs
such as dogwood, redbud, and holly to add beauty to the landscape in
season.
Dr. J. Russell Smith's book, "Tree Crops" has been a great inspiration
to me along these lines, and I am attempting to study and use as many
trees, shrubs, and plants here on my place as possible because I
believe we can live easier and better and make better use of the land
both for ourselves and nature when we learn how to use our various
native plants to the best advantage along with many of the exotic ones.
I might end by saying that I would much rather work in the shade of
trees than in the open sun and benefit by their long life and varied
uses than to depend so heavily on short lived crops which often require
such intensive care.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Thank you, Mr. Jones. A very interesting paper with
details that are worth listening to.
Professor J. C. Moore of the Department of Horticulture, Alabama
Polytechnic Institute, will give us a talk on Processed Chestnuts on the
Market throughout the Year.
Processed Chestnuts on the Market throughout the Year
J. C. MOORE, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, Ala.
Professor Moore: Mr. President, members of the Association: I have a few
packages here that I just wanted to pass around after we get through
with a short discourse on processed chestnuts. It might be somewhat of
an inspiration to look while I talk a few minutes about it.
These nuts, of course, have been put up from the 1947 crop, but I have
nuts put up in 1945 that are still in fair shape. The quality on the
1945 product is not too good. The quality on the 1947 product is
excellent when the nut is hot. For instance, a toasted chestnut, I
think, has a quality that no other nut has. When the nut sits in a bag
sealed for several weeks and gets cold it still is good, but it doesn't
have quite the crispness that it has when it is really fresh and hot.
We were very much disappointed with Chinese chestnuts when they first
began to bear at Auburn. We got some plants from Mr. Gravatt and the
Bureau of Plant Industry in Beltsville in 1938. They were planted; some
of them started bearing in 1941. The nuts were large in size; the trees
seemed to be perfectly healthy. The early bearing habit gave us a great
deal of encouragement. Then we sampled these nuts, and the quality was
not good. While the nuts were green and in storage the nuts decomposed
in just a few days' time.
The first nuts that we harvested in 1941 were picked, placed in paper
bags, set in the office, and we forgot about them, because they were not
good when we put them in the bags, and we just put them back for our
record purposes. A few days afterwards they were moldy and ruined. In
1942 we had a little better crop, but again the nuts rotted. In 1943 we
had a still larger crop, and the nuts rotted again. We did not know how
to take care of those nuts at the time.
In 1944 Mr. L. S. Holden was with the Soil Conservation Service. He was
transferred to Auburn at the time I was transferred down into Haiti to
do some work on rubber production, and he took my place at Auburn on the
hillculture project. In the fall of 1944 Mr. Holden had an idea that he
could can those chestnuts and preserve them. So he took the nuts,
cracked the hull off of the nut, ground it with a little food chopper,
and placed the nuts in cans, pints and quarts, put them in a pressure
cooker at 15 pounds pressure and cooked them for 15 minutes.
During the fall of 1944, or after the crop was produced, Mr. Holden left
Auburn, and he told me when he left that he had sent some of the samples
to different parts of the United States and had gotten favorable replies
from the samples that he had sent out. That gave me a renewed courage,
and along with that in 1945 we sold quite a few raw nuts on the market
at Auburn. Those nuts sold just like hot cakes for 40 cents a pound.
There were quite a few comments came back to us about those nuts. They
were the most beautiful nuts the people had ever seen, and several
different ones made comments that the nuts toasted had excellent quality
and the nuts boiled had excellent quality, and raw nuts after they were
cured had an excellent quality.
Those few different peoples comment on the material and Mr. Holden's
work that he had done on canning gave me an idea that maybe he had
something, and I have worked since that time trying to perfect a product
that would be edible from the hand from a cellophane-bag standpoint. At
the present time we have a plan worked out whereby we can produce large
quantities of Chinese chestnuts in Alabama.
The thing that is going to confront us in the near future is the
marketing possibility. We have to handle Chinese chestnuts rapidly if we
put them on the market raw. This processed method that we have has been
worked out to perfection, we think, for cold storage purposes.
Now, you can put Chinese chestnuts raw in cellophane bags and seal them
with a hot iron. These bags are not sealed. It is a non-sealable
cellophane. I didn't get hold of the type of cellophane that you can
seal. They are unsealed. They have been in this package about a week,
and the nuts are in good shape. On cold storage I have held those nuts
for 40 days. Last year was the first time that I tried them in sealed
cellophane, but sealed in cellophane bags in cold storage last year they
remained perfectly good for 40 days. At that time the cold storage plant
went bad, and, of course, the nuts molded.
We think that on the cold storage proposition, and if you have followed
food processing and cold storage possibilities on strawberry shortcake,
strawberry pies, apple pies and other types of cold storage products, I
think when you go to the locker and pick out a little bag of lima beans
in a cold storage locker or any other kind of cold packed foods, if you
see a pack that looks attractive, chestnuts, after you get accustomed to
their flavor especially, it will be a difficult thing for you to fail to
pick up a bag of chestnuts and walk out with them among your other
grocery purchases. That type of marketing has possibilities throughout
the year.
With that possibility from last year this crop came in. We had an
excellent crop. I contacted Mr. Harris, who is one of the professors
working with food processing at Auburn, and we went over the work quite
carefully together, what I had done and the possibilities for the work
in the future, and with some suggestions from him and with his help we
think we have just about fixed a product that will be a permanent thing
on the grocery shelves throughout the year.
Up to the present time all of the nuts that were canned in cans with the
shells on developed throughout the year somewhat of a soured condition.
When you opened the can and smelled, the odor was foul. When you cracked
the shell and tasted the nut, the flesh had just the least bit of a foul
odor. Mr. Harris suggested that probably that was a flat sour. We
weren't sure that it was flat sour, but we haven't had the bacteria
check to find out whether it was caused by one of the thermophilic
bacteria or not, but we are pretty confident that it was a flat sour
that caused the foul odor. With careful heating and careful drying we
have developed some products here that I think have a possibility, and
these products will maintain their quality throughout the year.
+Nuts Cured Before Canning+
I have canned chestnuts that have been canned for three years, and the
quality is just as good as it was a month after they were canned. The
product, however, when it is canned green does not have the quality that
it does when it is canned after curing. The way we handle these, to
begin with, is to take the nuts from the field, put them on a woven wire
and elevate the wire so that air can go under and over, cure at room
temperature for about three days. If you cure longer than three days you
will lose quite a few of your nuts. That is a rapid cure. We have not
tried curing under cooler conditions to see if we can eliminate part of
the damage that is caused by deterioration, but curing the nuts rapidly
you get a deterioration on quite a few of the nuts after the third or
fourth day. If you take the raw nuts three days cured rapidly where the
air can circulate over and under, the quality is excellent raw, and I
have those nuts cured for three days in cellophane bags on cold storage
that can be sold throughout the year. Those nuts must be heated enough
to stop the deterioration, whatever it is. It may be a physiological
condition, I am not sure, it may be a vitamin reaction, I am not sure,
but when the nut dries too fast it turns white on the inside, gets hard,
loses its flavor, and it is no good.
This nut (indicating) canned in cans, I will give you the treatment for
it. I told you we cured them on those drying racks for three days. Then
we put them in a pressure cooker and run the temperature up to about 10
pounds pressure for 30 minutes, take them out of the pressure cooker and
hull them, and at that stage they hull quite easily. The hull itself
will turn loose from the nut quite easily if you heat it a little while
before you try to hull. A machine which can thresh the hulls off very
easily will be simple to develop. After the shell is taken off, then
they are put in an oven (a drying oven that has an automatic control at
270 degrees), for about 10 minutes in order to evaporate the excess
moisture that you get in the steaming process. Then they are put in the
cans hot, set back into the oven and heated for just a few moments to
get your temperature up again and you put lids on at a boiling
temperature. You get quite a vacuum created by sealing them hot. We have
had as high as fourteen and a half pounds of vacuum on those cans the
third day after they were canned, and if you can get a vacuum like that
by sealing the nuts hot, you can preserve their quality for a long
period.
I don't care if you open any bag that's here and taste these products.
You will find that the ones with the shells off are much better than the
ones with the shells on. I believe you will find that. However, the
quality of the nut with the shell on is excellent.
[Illustration: Mr. Hardy and some chestnuts prepared for storage
(Courtesy Southern Agriculturist)]
Chestnut Growing in the Southeast
Max B. Hardy,[2] Leeland Farms, Leesburg, Ga.
+Introduction+
Just about forty years ago the first blight resistant chestnuts were
introduced into the Southeast. This event was to have more far-reaching
effects than could be foreseen at that time, as is illustrated by the
present extensive interest in the growing of these chestnuts as an
orchard crop.
Chestnut blight, a fungus disease of the native American chestnut
(_Castanea dentata_ (Marsh) Borkh), first appeared on Long Island in
1904 and destroyed this magnificent nut and timber tree. A Phytophthora
root disease added its toll so that a bearing tree of this species is a
rarity in the East at the present time. The U. S. Department of
Agriculture began making introductions of two species of chestnut from
the Orient in 1906, both of which were resistant to the blight which was
then destroying the native American chestnut. Of the two species, the
Japanese chestnut (_C. crenata_ Sieb. and Zuce.) and the Chinese
chestnut (_C. mollissima_ Bl.), only the latter proved to have much
merit other than blight resistance and chestnut growing in the eastern
United States in recent years has been confined almost entirely to the
Chinese chestnut.
About twenty-five years ago, after the first introduction from the
Orient of seed nuts of blight resistant chestnut species, the U. S.
Department of Agriculture distributed a few seedling trees to various
interested growers in the Southeast. Some of these trees are still
growing and bearing good crops of nuts and have reached rather large
size. The distribution of trees produced from nuts imported at
subsequent intervals was continued by the U. S. Department of
Agriculture until rather widely scattered planting of several species
under varied soil, climatic, and cultural conditions was attained. As
time passed it became clear that only the Chinese chestnut had promise
as a commercial crop for the production of nuts. As a timber tree none
of the introduced species has as yet shown outstanding merit.
[Footnote 2: Formerly Associate Pomologist, U. S. Pecan Field Station,
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, Georgia.]
+General Observations+
The Chinese chestnut grows well throughout the southern part of the
natural range of the American chestnut and southward to the Gulf Coast,
and possibly even into central Florida. Farther north it apparently
grows and produces better crops along the Atlantic Coast than inland,
thus indicating the need of this species for a long growing season and
freedom from late spring and early fall frosts. In the plantings in
Georgia, from Atlanta to the southward, no loss of crop from late spring
frosts has ever been noted. In the Gulf States and northward along the
Atlantic seaboard the Chinese chestnut tree is vigorous, healthy, and
productive, coming into bearing at a fairly early age and thereafter
producing regular crops. The trees grow to be rather large in size,
developing a somewhat rounded form with a spread of branches about equal
to the height. Without pruning when young many sprouts usually develop
near the ground so that the mature tree has numerous trunks of about
equal size, with the lower lateral branches resting on the ground.
Nearly all of the Chinese chestnut trees being grown at the present time
are seedlings and exhibit a wide range of tree and nut characteristics.
A few trees develop a somewhat more upright type of growth than that
commonly seen, but this type is generally less productive than trees of
more spreading habit, and the nuts are smaller and less desirable. Some
trees showing the most upright type of growth originated from nuts
imported from the more northern provinces of China and may represent a
distinct strain or form of _Castanea mollissima_. The degree of
incompatibility exhibited when southern China strains are grafted on
northern China strains would indicate the same conclusion.
Unfortunately, several different species or strains have been included
in the plantings of most cooperators with the U. S. Department of
Agriculture so that seedlings resulting from cross-pollination of these
types may exhibit an even wider range of characteristics and performance
from the standpoint of commercial production than is commonly seen at
present. A few of these hybrids may be superior to pure _C. mollissima
seedlings_ in certain important respects because of hybrid vigor, but
taken as a whole the best types of _C. mollissima_ seedlings are
superior to the other blight resistant species for purposes of nut
production.
The earliest introductions of blight resistant chestnuts from the Orient
are represented by very few trees in the Southeast, but a small number
of plantings of trees distributed in 1926 have been observed. These are
producing good nuts and the trees are quite healthy, regardless of
conditions of planting except when they have been given no attention of
any kind. In one planting the trees were planted about 10 feet apart on
the square with the result that they are tall and spindly with nut
production only in the tops and very light on a per tree basis, which
indicates the need of adequate spacing if the trees are to be vigorous
and productive. Incidentally, this close spacing has not resulted in a
desirable timber type of growth.
In two other plantings the trees are planted in cleared areas in
cut-over timber and then given no further attention. In both locations a
few trees are still living but are of no value either for timber or nut
production. In still another planting on a bench about halfway up a
mountain, where infrequent cultivation or mowing is practiced, the trees
are growing and producing moderately well but the nuts are small. A few
other scattered plantings of a few trees each are doing well around
homes though receiving only moderately good care.
The distribution of trees by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1935
and 1937 has resulted in a few plantings that have done moderately well.
In one planting the trees are growing fairly well without care but are
producing few nuts. In another planting the trees are planted on rather
heavy soil that is terraced; they are given applications of commercial
fertilizers and infrequent cultivations and have been producing fairly
good crops of nuts in recent years. Still another planting of a
considerable number of trees has been entirely removed through lack of
interest of the new owner. The plantings described have all been on
private property.
Plantings at various experiment stations have received somewhat more
attention in general than those on private property; but because of lack
of keeping quality of the nuts have not for the most part been accepted
as a promising crop and have been the subject of very little study.
From the foregoing observations it is evident that the Chinese chestnut
cannot withstand the effects of crowding either in a solid planting or
in competition with native growth. The trees have performed moderately
well with a minimum of care, but respond to good care by increased
production and nut size. The rotting of the nuts soon after harvest as a
result of improper methods of handling and storage has prevented an
earlier acceptance of the crop as of potential economic importance in
the Southeast.
+Experimental Studies at the U. S. Pecan Field Station, Albany, Georgia+
In 1926, twenty-eight seedling trees of _Castanea mollissima_ were
planted in the Champion experimental block at Philema, near Albany,
Georgia. These trees grew well and began producing nuts in 1932. In
1935, an additional 16 trees were planted in the same block. The trees
in both plantings have shown good vegetative vigor and have been fairly
productive. All the variations common to any group of Chinese chestnut
seedling trees have been in evidence. One or two trees have lacked
vegetative vigor but have produced heavy crops of nuts for their size.
Type of bur opening has varied from free dropping of nuts to those burs
from which the nuts are removed with difficulty; nut size has varied
from about 35 to about 90 nuts per pound; the date of earliest and
latest ripening of the nuts varies by about three weeks; nut color has
ranged from light browns to dark mahogany and dark chocolate brown; and
keeping quality and eating quality have ranged from good to poor.
However, nut production, as shown by the data presented in Table I has
been good and nut quality has been acceptable, so that with increasing
knowledge of the storage requirements of the nuts the trees have paid a
good profit in recent years. One of the older trees has consistently
produced close to 150 pounds of nuts each year for the past few years.
Some of the trees in this planting have been topworked to selections
from other plantings, including the variety Carr which showed up very
poorly in comparison with most of the seedlings. Some of the trees have
been culled out because of poor yield or nut size; and some have died as
a result of poor drainage.
An additional planting at Philema in the Brown tract was made in 1938.
The trees were planted in a portion of a five-acre block at some
distance from the original plantings, with a spacing of 25 feet apart on
the square in soil of rather light and sandy texture with fair subsoil
drainage. The fertility was low but has been improved through the use of
winter leguminous green manure crops and commercial fertilizers. Some of
the trees planted consisted of trees grown from carefully selected
_Castanea mollissima_ nuts imported from south China and designated by
the initials MBA, MAY, MAZ, and MAX. Others carried the designating
letters of "FP." The nuts from which these trees were grown were
imported by the Division of Forest Pathology of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture which also grew and distributed the trees. Still others were
selections of _C. crenata_, the Japanese chestnut; and _C. mollissima_
selections from an experimental planting in California were also
included. In 1940 the remainder of the five-acre block was planted with
trees grown from seed produced by the original Philema planting.
Table I. Summary of chestnut yields at Philema, Georgia.
______________________________________________________
| |
| HARVEST DATA |
|______________________________|
| |
| 1926 and 1935 Planting[3] |
Length |______________________________|
Date Harvest | |
Year Harvest Period | Yield No. Trees Av. Yield |
Began in Days | in Lbs. Bearing per Tree |
_______________________|______________________________|
| |
1932 | 14 3 4.7 |
1933 | 7 7 1.0 |
1934 | 80 16 5.0 |
1935 8-29 22 | 222 22 10.1 |
1936 8-26 33 | 379 25 15.1 |
1937 8-26 37 | 278 18 15.4 |
1938 8- 6 42 | 480 21 22.9 |
1939 8-15 42 | 995 26 38.3 |
1940 8-27 38 | 740 34 21.8 |
1941 8-14 51 | 1,467 38 38.6 |
1942 9- 3 41 | 876 32 27.4 |
1943 9- 9 26 | 1,335 38 25.1 |
1944 8-15 44 | 560 29 19.3 |
1945 8-18 34 | 1,450 27 53.7 |
1946 8-20 41 | 1,455 28 52.0 |
1947 8-26 43 | 1,975 27 73.1 |
_______________________|______________________________|
_______________________________________________________________
|
| HARVEST DATA
|_______________________________________
|
| 1938 and 1940 Planting[4]
Length |_______________________________________
Date Harvest |
Year Harvest Period | Yield No. Trees Av. Yield Range in
Began in Days | in Lbs. Bearing per Tree Yields
_______________________|_______________________________________
|
1941 8-14 51 | 44 63 .7 .1-6.9
1942 9- 3 41 | 30 46 .7 .1-5.2
1943 9- 9 26 | 357 108 3.3 .1-29.7
1944 8-15 44 | 716 136 5.3 .1-37.0
1945 8-18 34 | 3,025 208 14.6 .1-50.7
1946 8-20 41 | 1,447 173 8.4 .1-48.3
1947 8-26 43 | 6,615 188 35.2 .1-108.5
_______________________|_______________________________________
[Footnote 3: 28 trees planted in 1926 and 16 planted in 1935, at spacing
of 25 to 40 feet.]
[Footnote 4: 274 trees planted in 1938 and 60 in 1940, at spacing of 25
feet on square.]
The yield's produced in the 1938 planting have been outstanding, as
indicated by the data in Table I, The trees began bearing when younger
and developed heavier production than those of the 1926 planting,
whether judged by age of tree or years of bearing. Many of the trees
have produced nuts of outstanding size, attractiveness, eating quality,
and keeping quality. There has been the usual degree of variation common
to any collection of seedlings, but the best trees in this planting have
been superior to any previously seen. Nut size has varied from 23 to
more than 100 to the pound; the color of the nuts has varied from light
tan to deep mahogany, and a few are nearly black. All have been of good
eating quality. The keeping quality has varied materially, some keeping
very well and others quite poorly.
Bur opening, has likewise varied so that at one extreme the nuts drop
entirely free from the burs on some trees and at the other extreme the
burs drop with the nuts in them and considerable work is required to
remove the nuts. It is out of this group of trees that the three
seedlings have been selected that the U. S. Department of Agriculture is
considering worthy of variety status. These have not yet been officially
released and no official description is yet available. The yield data
for these three selected Seedlings are given in Table II.
Table II. Yield data by years, of three seedlings tentatively proposed for
variety status, Philema, Georgia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tree Proposed Yield in Pounds by Years Total yield No. Nuts
(in Lbs.) per Lb.
---------------------------------------
No. Name 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 from Planting
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
7880[5]Meiling .2 3.6 20.9 36.9 23.9 73.1 36.9 195.5 38-43
7919 Kuling 4.0 3.8 5.8 6.5 13.8 34.2 50.2 38.2 168.5 35-43
7930 Nanking .1 3.8 28.0 37.8 1.0 87.7 54.6 213.0 30-43
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Footnote 5: Meiling ("Beauty") is the first name of Mme. Chiang
Kai-shek.]
The trees of the "FP" designation and, of other species were grown to
fruiting, but have since been removed or topworked in entirety because
of their lack of desirable characteristics and because they produced
pollen for cross-pollination which would result in undesirable progeny
when the _Castanea mollissima_ nuts were used for seed. Furthermore, a
number of trees of the three-letter designations have been removed or
topworked because they produced very small nuts, or showed poor keeping
quality, or because of some other undesirable characteristic. Therefore,
the nuts now being produced in this experimental orchard are of pure _C.
mollissima_ inheritance of the best type, and, as such, represent some
of the best and purest seed nuts available in this country today. This
procedure is being continued so as to maintain the quality of the nuts
for seed purposes at its present standard.
Unfortunately, many of the nuts offered in the general trade for seed
purposes at the present time are coming from orchards composed of a
mixture of species or types comparable to the 1938 Philema planting
before culling. This is very undesirable because of the great
variability in the nuts produced by trees with such an origin. When
grafted or budded trees of the newer and improved varieties are
available to orchardists chestnut growing for nut production may be
based on the same sound practices as the other fruit industries.
In the topworking of "FP" trees at Philema with scions from other
strains of _Castanea mollissima_ the degree of incompatibility has been
so great, that the scion tops will have either blown out or died at the
end of four or five years from grafting. At the present time this
failure can only be attributed to the fact that the stocks were of mixed
ancestry. On the other hand, scions of pure _C. mollissima_ placed on
the same stock strains have made good unions and are entirely normal
after as long as 13 years from grafting. This problem of incompatibility
between stock and scion is one that yet remains to be completely solved.
The topworking of trees in the five-acre block at Philema has been
generally successful where incompatibility is not a problem.
Bearing-size trees topworked one spring will generally produce a few
nuts in the second subsequent growing-season. Growth the first year
after grafting will frequently be as much as 12 feet long and very
stocky. Both cleft grafting and inlay bark grafting have been practiced,
the latter method proving to be the more satisfactory from all
standpoints. In this method of grafting scaffold limbs from 1 to 6
inches in diameter are cut off square across. Scions 6 to 8 inches long
are prepared by making a slanting cut 2 to 3 inches long and ending
about three-fourths through the scion at its basal end. A strip of bark
just wide and long enough to receive the scion, with about one-half of
the upper end of the bevel showing above the cut surface of the stub, is
then removed from the stub. The scion is then nailed into place with
5/8-inch nails and painted over with melted grafting wax. Two or three
scions are required for most stubs. This work is done just as growth is
starting in the spring and the bark is slipping well. The scions may
generally be cut directly from the trees, but sometimes they may need to
be cut several days earlier and stored in damp material in a
refrigerator to keep them dormant.
In south Georgia the Chinese chestnut normally begins growth soon after
March 1, but in some years it has started as much as a month after this
date. Between south and north Georgia there is a differential in the
time growth starts in the spring of one to two weeks. This differential
also carries over into the date of blossoming and the date the harvest
period begins. In south Georgia pollination generally occurs during the
latter part of April and early part of May, and the harvest period
begins about 100 days later. The peak of harvest averages 185 days after
the initiation of growth in the spring. Dormancy comes only after the
first frost sufficiently heavy to kill the leaves, usually about two
months after nut harvest is completed. This period between harvest and
leaf fall is undoubtedly an important factor in the annual bearing habit
of the chestnut in the Southeast since it permits the food reserves in
the tree to be replenished after the crop is mature. This is true under
favorable conditions but does not hold under conditions of crowding, low
soil fertility, or premature defoliation. For best growth and production
the tree should be in foliage approximately nine months out of the year.
+ORCHARD MANAGEMENT+
The planting of chestnut trees in the Southeast should be done as soon
as possible after the trees become dormant in the nursery. They should
be planted on fertile soil which is well drained but not subject to
serious drought injury. The Chinese chestnut cannot withstand a high
water table, or free standing water, but appears to be somewhat
resistant to drought injury when once well established. The chestnut
trees have not yet reached an age at which their largest potential size
has been attained, but trees of 50-foot spread have been observed. It
appears likely, then, that orchards should be planted at 50 to 60-foot
distances on the square, unless closer planting and subsequent thinning
is resorted to in order to build up high nut production per acre at an
earlier age of the orchard. Planting distances of 25 x 25 feet, 30 x 30
feet, 25 x 50 feet, and 30 x 60 feet are recommended for this reason,
but only if the orchardist will plan to thin the stand at 10 to 15 years
of orchard age and at later intervals as required. In no case should the
branches of adjacent trees be allowed to touch as under such conditions
competition between trees will reduce the yield per tree and nut size,
and induce alternate-year bearing.
In planting the young tree it is usually advisable to fill the hole in
which the tree is to be set with top soil, packing it firmly around the
roots as the hole is being filled. Usually no fertilizer is used at the
time of planting, although mixing about a handful of bone meal with the
soil around the roots has given a higher percentage of living trees and
has increased growth the first year. A shallow basin around the tree to
facilitate watering when necessary during the first growing season, or
the application of a mulch around the tree, or both, will be helpful in
obtaining a high percentage of living trees and good growth. Adding
water at the time of planting is good insurance that the soil will be
well settled around the roots. A wrap of newspaper tied loosely around
the trunk of the young tree will aid in preventing winter injury and
sun-scald.
Under conditions of little or no care the seedling chestnut tree will
generally develop several trunks as a result of the forcing of multiple
sprouts from near the ground line. The tree should be trained to one
trunk, as such a form seems to be less susceptible to winter injury
while young and makes a much more desirable orchard tree when older.
Pruning of the young trees subsequent to the development of the head at
a 4 to 5-foot height should be confined to the removal of crossing
branches and those so near to the ground as to interfere with the
necessary cultivation and harvesting work under the tree.
Most soils in the Southeast are somewhat low in fertility and must
receive good care if chestnuts are to grow well. The annual application
of commercial fertilizers is generally required as is the growing of a
winter green manure crop, preferably a legume. One of the most
satisfactory systems is to plant hairy vetch, Austrian winter peas, or
blue lupine[6] in late October or early November, applying broadcast at
the time of planting from 400 to 600 pounds per acre of a 0-14-10 or
0-14-7 fertilizer mixture. This green manure crop should then be disced
in by April 15 of the following spring, with subsequent shallow
cultivations at about six-week intervals through the growing season. The
ground should be clean by the middle of August to facilitate harvesting
the nuts. If such a system of culture is not feasible, as on too steep
slopes or around buildings, mowing or mulching can be used to advantage,
but the trees must be given annual applications of a complete fertilizer
mixture, such as 4-8-6, 6-8-8, or 5-7-5. These should be made each year
about a month before growth starts at a rate of 2 to 3 pounds for each
year of tree age. This should be broadcast under and slightly beyond the
spread of the branches.
It has not yet been found necessary to spray the trees for the control
of any disease or insect. This does not indicate that control measures
may not be required at some time in the future, for it is the history of
horticultural crops when planted in any concentration that diseases and
insects increase in number and degree of injury. As yet, the chestnut
weevil has not been found at the lower elevations in the Southeast.
In a few plantings a condition causing some premature defoliation has
been observed at infrequent intervals. The condition begins as a leaf
scorch which may or may not develop to the point where the leaf drops.
It is thought to be caused by some mineral deficiency or unbalance
associated with erratic weather conditions, but the exact cause is yet
unknown. A leaf spot disease has been observed but has caused no
appreciable defoliation and no control measures have been thought
necessary.
[Footnote 6: Blue lupine is winter-hardy only in the warmer coastal
areas, not adapted north of Columbus, Georgia, Meridian, Mississippi, or
Shreveport, Louisiana. Ed.]
+Harvesting and Nut Storage+
Harvesting of Chinese chestnuts has proved to have definite requirements
if the nuts are to be obtained in the best possible condition. The nuts
are quite susceptible to rots of several kinds and must be properly
handled to keep losses at a minimum. They are also very easily and
quickly injured by exposure to the sun, with the consequent, high
temperatures and drying. If the nuts are to be stored for any length of
time, as is necessary when they are to be used for seed purposes and as
will be necessary when they are to be marketed for eating purposes
during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, it is paramount
that they be picked up from the orchard at not more than two-day
intervals. Cleaning up all dropped nuts at daily intervals is most
desirable.
At the end of each day the harvested nuts must be placed in cold storage
at temperatures between 32 deg.F. and 45 deg.F. It has been found that a nearly
air-tight container is required in order to maintain a relative humidity
of 100% and prevent too much drying of the nuts. A 50-pound tin lard can
with one 20d nail hole in the side near the lid has proven to be a good
container for large quantities and these same cans also make good
shipping containers merely by wiring on the lids. One-gallon friction
top syrup cans with a single nail hole in the side make a good container
for smaller quantities. In air-tight containers the nuts do not decay
but germination capacity is quickly destroyed and bitter flavors develop
quite rapidly. Nuts to be used for eating purposes shortly after harvest
may be stored at lower relative humidities but should be placed in cold
storage. A loss of about 15% in weight from the fresh weight of nuts is
necessary to reach proper eating quality. Nuts dried to this extent are
sweet and palatable but cannot be stored for any length of time and fail
to germinate well when planted.
The experimental study of chestnut storage problems is being continued
with the hope of working out still better methods. The manner of
marketing chestnuts so that they will reach the consumer in a desirable
condition also is still to be worked out, but it appears possible that
retail cold storage and packaging in moisture-proof bags which are
pervious to CO_{2} and O_{2} give promise at present. Probably the most
promising aid to an increased storage life of chestnuts will come
through the selection of trees for propagation and planting that produce
nuts of superior resistance to storage rots. There is rather great
variation among seedlings in this respect, some being-quite superior,
although no completely resistant seedlings have yet been found.
+Discussion and Conclusions+
The perishable nature of the nuts of the Chinese chestnut has probably
been the greatest drawback to an earlier acceptance of this crop as an
adjunct to the horticulture of the Southeast. It has been only in the
past few years that enough has been learned about the harvesting and
storage requirements to permit the storing of these chestnuts so that
they can be marketed in an orderly manner either for eating or for seed
purposes. Storage losses through periods up to six months have been held
to less than 10% for a mixture of nuts from all the trees at Philema.
Storage tests of nuts from individual trees have shown a range in
keeping quality from no loss after six months' storage to nearly 100%
loss. By culling out the trees producing nuts with a high rate of
spoilage under the best storage conditions it should be possible to
reduce storage losses to a minimum. Every grower of seedling trees
should follow this same process of culling out or topworking trees
producing nuts of poor keeping quality if the industry is to grow and
prosper, since otherwise the offering of spoiled nuts for sale to the
consumer will soon destroy the demand for the nuts.
There is no question but that the Chinese chestnut tree is very well
adapted to the Southeast. It has proven to be healthy, vigorous, and
productive. Yield records at Philema show actual yields of more than
1,000 pounds per acre and potential average annual yields of 1,500 or
more pounds per acre are not out of reason. In 1947, in the Brown tract
at Philema, if all the trees that bore nuts had been collected into a
solid block the yield per acre would have been nearly 2,500 pounds.
Crowding of the trees in the Brown tract is becoming serious at 11 years
of age with a 25 x 25 foot spacing. Alternate-year bearing is becoming
apparent and the stand of trees must be thinned immediately. Because of
such potential yields and because rather extended storage of nuts of
varied keeping quality is now economically possible the future of the
chestnut industry in the Southeast is very promising.
The selection and propagation of selected seedlings is desirable as a
means of advancing the industry at a more rapid rate. The propagation of
selected seedlings offers a problem because of lack of compatibility
between some stocks and scions. Since the chestnut is almost completely
cross-pollinated it may be necessary to develop special plantings of two
or three selections as a source of seed nuts for the production of
stocks. Such plantings might possibly produce seedlings of quite uniform
and desirable characteristics, but this prospect, is not very promising.
Certainly, the evidence points to the conclusion that scion selections
must be worked on stocks of the same strains if incompatibility is to be
held at a minimum.
There is a further problem in the propagation of varieties on seedling
rootstocks in the nursery. Only one propagator appears to be having much
success in this art but others must learn it. Topworking of older trees
by the inlay bark graft is generally successful and older seedling
orchards can be worked over to improved selections without difficulty so
long as the stocks are of compatible strains. Time will be required to
work out the details of the solution for this problem but they will be
worked out.
In the selection of improved seedlings for propagation the strictest
attention should be paid to the important characteristics of tree
vigor, precocity, productiveness, nut size, attractiveness, and keeping
and eating quality, and type of bur opening. These characteristics have
been previously discussed but it is well to emphasise their importance.
The tree that comes into bearing at an early age seems likely to be more
productive in later years. The nuts should be no smaller than 45 nuts to
the pound and be attractive to the eye of the buyer. Most individuals
prefer nuts with a bright and shining surface free of fuzz and with a
fairly rich mahogany or chocolate color. Keeping quality is, of course,
of great importance and should be carefully determined. Eating quality
is generally good but distinctly superior selections may be found in the
future. For the most part eating quality is dependent on the proper
curing of the nuts. The type of bur opening is more important than
usually considered, as it materially affects the satisfactory harvesting
of the nuts. From the commercial standpoint it appears that the most
desirable bur should drop from the tree with the nuts still in it but be
well split so that the nuts can be readily removed. Such a bur type
prevents exposure of the enclosed nuts to the hot sun while on the tree
and reduces injurious drying to a minimum yet permits rapid gathering of
the nuts in the burs for later mechanical separation. Nuts that drop
free from the burs are more subject to injury by drying and require more
hand work in gathering. Burs that do not split readily would be more
difficult to separate mechanically; and mechanical aids will be
necessary for the economical daily gathering of the nuts in commercial
orchards.
If is encouraging to note that many of the present new plantings in the
Southeast are being made by orchardists rather than hobbyists. Many home
owners are planting a few trees but the acceptance of the Chinese
chestnut for commercial production by men already growing other orchard
crops portends the future success of the industry. The hobbyist has been
of great service and should be given full credit for his far-sighted
interest in a crop that now has commercial promise, especially in the
Southeast. Much experimental work is still needed by both State and
Federal agencies and by individuals. This work needs be concerned now
more with details of refinement rather than with basic possibilities of
the crop.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Mr. Carroll D. Bush, of whom I am sure you have
often heard and whom very few of you, including myself, have met, of
Grapeview, Washington, will now tell us something about the Marketing of
Chestnuts on the Pacific Coast. Mr. Bush.
Marketing Chestnuts on the Pacific Coast
CARROLL D. BUSH, Grapeview, Washington
Mr. Bush: Friends of the Association: There are so many here that I have
known through correspondence that I have welcomed this opportunity to
say something to you today. I don't think that I will add very much to
anything that has been said. I hope perhaps we will have some ideas from
what we have been doing on the Coast.
We were in the nursery business near Portland, and during the war we
went out of it, but we are working back in trees again[7], and all this
time we have been preaching the gospel of nut trees, and we find that we
can't preach a gospel unless there is some reward. There is no market
for chestnuts in our section of the country, and yet we had quite a few
of them around Portland. We could not talk about chestnut trees when
there was no market. Buyers there had been offering as low as three
cents a pound or not buying them at all, and we, ourselves, had quite a
few nuts to sell. So I took a trip up to Seattle and found a commission
man there that would take our nuts and arranged with him, and we have
sent nuts to Seattle ever since that year and got a very good price.
Then a neighbor had me send some of his, and we are still sending nuts.
+Introduced on Mid-West Markets+
The next year through Carl Weschcke of St. Paul I got in touch with a
reliable Minneapolis firm. They evidently had been burned and they were
somewhat skeptical. They said if we would send a sample there they would
look them over. So I went out and picked up a mixed sample and shipped
to Minneapolis, and they said if we could send nuts as good as the
sample they could use some.
We began to send them. When we shipped them we made sure we sent nuts
that were considerably better than the sample, and the rewards for
shipping there were also very good. Then we went on to Chicago, and we
have been shipping to Chicago over since. At this time I am out here to
find a little more market for some of the nuts that we have in Oregon.
At first we put the nuts in cold storage at about 32 degrees, expecting
to get a better price on the Thanksgiving market. We found out that we
were making a mistake and that the earliest nuts on the market brought
us our best price. So now we are shipping just as early as we can ship.
We first adopted the western cranberry box as being open enough to allow
a little drying off and tight enough so that it wouldn't allow too much
and yet we didn't get any mold. We were very much afraid of that,
because a good many of the California chestnuts had molded on the way to
market. Later we turned to the splint bushel basket, and lately we have
been in favor of the half-bushel basket. There seem to be buyers who
don't like to stock up more than a half bushel at a time, chestnuts
being of a rather high price. They dry out too fast.
We found that cold storage above 32 degrees keeps chestnuts in good
condition with little dry-out. One dealer in Oregon we know of wraps his
cold storage nuts in waterproof paper, keeps them that way clear on into
January. A very little mold will develop on chestnuts kept in storage
from 32 to 35 degrees, but not enough so we take any precaution. We have
had a few batches that people have stood in sacks on damp nights, and
they started to mold, especially on the open end, and we find we can
kill the mold with Clorox. We have just used a little Clorox in water.
We think this would prevent mold from developing on all nuts if they
were put through a chlorine bath. We haven't taken the trouble to do
that. I might say our walnuts, and filberts have been put through a
chlorine solution, and, of course, after a chlorine solution is used you
have to put the nuts through water again and wash that off.
We have on our place a nice washer. We have graded the European
varieties, which we handle mostly, into three grades: standard, fancy,
and extra fancy, by size. All our grading has been done by hand, except
we expect to have a simple grader this year.
[Footnote 7: Mr. Bush informed the secretary by letter, early in 1949,
that he did not then have any nursery stock ready for sale at his Eagle
Creek, Oregon, nursery. From that location about 10 years ago he
introduced, under numbers, three selections of Chinese chestnuts grown
from seed imported in the early 30's. Two of these, in 1941, were named
Abundance and Honan. The Abundance is now considered one of the most
desirable varieties from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, while Honan is
slightly less desirable.--Ed.]
+"Sweet" Nuts Sell Faster+
We have a few "sweets." All of those on our farms are Riehl varieties,
hybrids, I think. All of our European chestnuts have an astringent
pellicle, heavy with tannic acid. We classify as sweets any of those
that have a pellicle that is sweet enough to be eaten. We label these
the sweets and mark them as they go into the market. And while, I say,
we don't seem to get a better price for the sweets than for the
European, they do sell faster. There are some people in the eastern
cities that are grabbing these in preference to the large ones. While
the large nuts sell very well, I suppose they go to the Italians and
Europeans who are used to cooking them, and out on the West Coast
nothing but the large nut goes; the larger the better. In the Seattle
market we try to send in large nuts.
We also grade out all "cracks" by hand. They mold easily, and we have a
lot of cracked nuts in our climate there, but we have been able to
dispose of all of these through the Seattle market where they move off
very fast and are lower priced.
+California Supplies Distant Markets+
Last winter we went to California and looked into the chestnut market
there. We found them in the Sierras and found them growing in the Coast
Range without irrigation, but the largest growers were in the San
Joaquin Valley near Stockton. The largest grove was 30 acres at Linden
owned by Caesar De Martini. He gave us our best insight into California
chestnut growing. He used to grade and package his own, and he still has
his cylinder grader. It has three different size holes, one inch, one
and a quarter and one and a half. Anything that goes through the
one-inch hole is discarded as a cull. That leaves three sizes, the size
that goes through the one and a quarter, the one and a half, and the
size that goes out the end, which is, of course, a class of jumbos.
All the chestnuts in California, I think, now go to buyers to do the
grading and packing much as De Martini worked out. All of the California
nuts have to be soaked in water just as Mr. Jones does, as they come to
the packer dried out. The largest buyer that we found in California
shipped about seven carloads, and he shipped them all over the world,
the Philippines, Honolulu, Alaska, and other places where the chestnut
hasn't been growing.
+Early Autumn Best Marketing Season+
Now, I am going to sum up what our experience has been and what we
recommend as general from our experience. Your experience may be
different. We clean the nuts, wash them, if necessary, grade them; large
and small nuts do not sell well together. We would pack in baskets, half
bushel for sweets. We are trying to make that half bushel basket the
mark of the sweet nut in the markets where we sell, so that when a buyer
comes in there and sees a half bushel basket he knows that's sweets.
Then we ship as wet as possible, and they dry out on the way. And just
as fast as we can get those nuts off the ground we pack them and ship
them. Our greatest trouble now is, of course, the imported chestnut.
They are beginning to come in in great quantities, and they hit the
market in Chicago last year at about the 20th of October, and we tried
to beat that line if we possibly can with our nuts, because just the
minute the carloads of chestnuts come in on the East Coast the market
drops right down.
Without question we could use some of the preparations that we use on
filberts to put a gloss on the chestnut, run them through, I think it is
a paraffin mixture, put a gloss on the shell and give us a better
chestnut in the market, make it look nicer and, of course, make it sell
better.
+"Stick-tight" Burs Preferred for Pacific Coast+
I disagree, I think, with two of the former speakers in regard to the
chestnut that falls free from the bur. I would prefer a chestnut that
sticks tight to the bur. We have threshers out there that thresh them
out. We can pick up those nuts in the bur with a shovel or fork, throw
them into the wagon, take them in the wagon, thresh them out. You have a
cleaner nut, you don't have to pick around on the ground with rubber
gloves that we use, which is easy enough, but it certainly adds a great
deal of work as compared to threshing them out easily after they are
once picked up.
I thank you.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Thank you, Mr. Bush. We are glad to have that
western angle. It is going to be very useful to us.
Next on the program is a paper on the Control of the Chestnut Weevil,
the author of which is absent, but I believe Mr. Gravatt is going to
read that.
Chestnut Weevils and Their Control with DDT
E. R. VAN LEEUWEN
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
Administration, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Division of
Fruit Insect Investigations.
Failure of the American chestnut to resist the chestnut blight has
resulted in the planting of a few blight-resistant species obtained from
foreign lands. These foreign chestnuts would now be planted more
extensively in certain districts, were it not for the fact that the nuts
are injured by two species of weevils, for which heretofore there has
been no practical control.
The 1947 season marks the fourth year of the experimental use of DDT for
control of the chestnut weevils. During these years our knowledge of the
spray and how best to use it has been advanced by conducting laboratory
and field tests. Unfortunately, few chestnut orchards now exist in the
Eastern States, and the scattered plantings consist mostly of a large
number of Asiatic seedlings, some of which had to be top-worked to other
Asiatic species and varieties. Many of these trees are grown for
ornamental, shade, or timber purposes rather than for nut production.
Owing to these conditions and to a series of spring frosts since 1945,
it has been impossible to conduct insecticide experiments on an adequate
basis of replicated plats.
Although much is to be learned regarding time of application of the
sprays and the proper dosage, the use of DDT can be recommended as a
standard practice, because it has proved highly valuable in protecting
chestnut trees from heavy losses due to the chestnut weevil. It is the
purpose of this paper to discuss some of the experiments that have been
made with DDT and the observations made on the time of egg deposition.
+Nature and Extent of Injury+
The worms attacking chestnuts are the larvae of two very similar species
of weevils, one larger than the other. The adults are medium-sized
beetles having extremely long, slender beaks. With these they drill
through the husk of the nuts, making openings through which they insert
their eggs into the nuts. From these eggs the familiar worms develop.
Weevil injury varies greatly in different chestnut-growing localities.
It is not unusual for 50 to 75 percent of the nuts to be wormy, and
often infestation reaches 90 to 100 per cent. The small weevil does the
most damage, but there are indications that this may not always be true.
Because the mouth parts of the adult are situated at the end of an
extremely long and slender beak, it can obtain most of its food from
beneath the surface of the host plant. For this reason, stomach poisons
applied to trees have not been eaten by these weevils, and hence have
been of no practical value. As DDT kills by contact, it is necessary
only for the body of the insect to come in contact with DDT.
+Life Histories of the Weevils+
In the vicinity of Beltsville, Md., the adults of the large chestnut
weevil[8] leave the soil about August 15. The date will vary, of course,
with season and locality. Both males and females soon begin to feed by
piercing the burs with their long beaks. Mating begins soon after the
weevils collect on the trees, and egg laying follows shortly. The eggs
hatch within a few days and the worms develop within the nut. A few of
the worms will complete their growth and leave before the nuts fall, but
most of them emerge from the nuts after they have fallen. The worms then
enter the soil, where they build cells and remain until they change to
pupae the following summer. This weevil has a one-year cycle, or one
generation a year.
The life history of the small chestnut weevil[9] is somewhat similar,
except that in the vicinity of Beltsville the weevils leave the soil
late in May or early in June, when the trees are in bloom. Several weeks
later the females deposit eggs in the nuts. At Beltsville, egg laying
begins late in August and continues for several weeks. After the nuts
have fallen from the tree, the full-grown larvae leave them and enter
the soil. Earthen cells are constructed at a depth of 4 to 12 inches,
where some of the larvae remain for two winters.
The small chestnut weevil completes its life cycle in two years, and a
small percentage requires three years, whereas the large chestnut weevil
completes its transformation from egg to adult in one year. The large
weevils pass the winter as larvae, whereas the small weevils pass one
winter as larvae and the second winter as adults. With the few
individuals of the small weevil which require three years for
transformation, the first two winters are passed in the ground as larvae
and the third in the same location as adults. This habit of the small
weevil complicates control measures, as one season's spraying with DDT
does not reduce the entire infestation of weevils.
[Footnote 8: +Curculio proboscideus+ Fab.]
+Proper Time for Spray Applications+
Application of DDT sprays at the proper time is very important. An
examination in 1944 of many unopened chestnut burs disclosed the fact
that eggs of the small chestnut weevil were being deposited many weeks
before the burs would open. It was also noted that great numbers of the
larvae were leaving the nuts soon after the burs cracked open. Evidently
these full-grown larvae had hatched from eggs deposited several weeks
before the burs split.
In 1945, 1946, and 1947, cloth bags were tied over developing burs at
various intervals during the season to prevent further egg laying in the
nuts. At harvest time, the bags were removed and the nuts examined.
Occasionally adults were hidden among the spines of the burs and were
inadvertently enclosed in the bags; therefore, all nuts in bags
containing female adults that might have continued ovipositing were
discarded. The data in Table 1 show the approximate time prior to which
the nuts were infested.
Because of difficulty in obtaining sufficient burs for bagging, and
other orchard conditions, the results of these studies were far from
conclusive. They indicated, however, that many eggs had been deposited
in the nuts before the burs had reached maturity. They also suggested
that the seasonal histories of the two species are closely parallel. At
Glenn Dale, Md., and Fairfax, Va., the small weevils predominated,
constituting about 69 to 90 per cent of the total numbers taken. At
Elkton, Md., only 42 per cent of the weevils were of the small species.
[Footnote 9: Curculio auriger Casey.]
Table 1. Results of studies to determine the time of oviposition of the
chestnut weevils.
Nuts Infested with
Date of Total Small Large Wormy
Bagging Nuts Chestnut Chestnut Nuts
Nuts Bagged Weevil Weevil
Year and Orchard
Number Number Number Percent
1945 July 9 52 2 5 13
Glenn Dale, Md. Aug. 1 46 4 2 13
Aug. 15 107 18 11 27
Fairfax, Va. Aug. 21 110 22 13 32
Sept. 12 123 63 11 60
1946 July 12 65 0 0
Glenn Dale, Md. July 18 40 0 0
July 26 67 0 0
Aug. 1 71 0 0
Aug. 9 29 1 0 3
Aug. 14 88 3 2 6
Aug. 23 53 18 2 38
Aug. 29 53 23 11 64
Fairfax, Va. July 26 98 0 0 0
Aug. 15 168 0 0 0
Sept. 4 164 139 16 95
1947 Aug. 15 54 5 1 11
Glenn Dale, Md. Aug. 25 38 8 0 21
Sept. 2 24 7 1 33
Sept. 9 42 18 4 52
Sept. 15 56 29 7 64
Sept. 22 90 27 11 64
Sept. 29 143 83 22 73
Fairfax, Va. Aug. 26 35 9 1 29
Sept. 10 58 25 4 50
Sept. 28 50 35 7 84
Oct. 7 217 177 22 92
Elkton, Md. Aug. 21 139 11 13 17
Sept. 4 83 22 25 57
Sept. 18 116 21 35 48
Oct. 1 108 31 44 69
+Spray Experiments in 1944+
Shortly after adults of the large chestnut weevil first appeared in the
orchards in 1944, six trees isolated from other chestnuts were selected
for treatment. Five trees were sprayed with from 1 to 5 pounds of
technical DDT plus 1/2 pound of sodium lauryl sulfate to 100 gallons of
water, and the sixth tree was left untreated as a check. A thorough
application of a coarse, drenching spray at a pressure of 400 pounds per
square inch was used in an attempt to force the DDT between the many
spines of the burs. The DDT used was very coarse, and difficulty was
experienced in getting a proper suspension. This formula was used,
however, in preference to one which contained other ingredients that
might have formed a protective coating over the particles of DDT. Heavy
rains prevented later spray applications.
Adult weevils obtained by jarring untreated trees were then confined in
screen cages placed over the lower branches of the trees. At the end of
each cage was a cloth sleeve which was tied to the limb to hold the cage
in place. The treatments used and the results are given in Table 2.
Table 2. Percentage mortality of chestnut weevils placed in field cages
on trees at different intervals after they had been sprayed with with
DDT, 1944.
Strength of
DDT (lb. per Small Chestnut Weevil Large Chestnut Weevil
100 gal.) 48 Hrs. 96 Hrs. 144 Hrs. 48 Hrs. 96 Hrs. 144 Hrs.
1 0 61 100 25 50 100
2 19 69 100 0 34 100
3 4 50 100 0 40 100
4 27 87 100 0 50 100
5 18 50 100 30 46 100
Check 0 0 0 0 7 7
Although the results obtained the first few days in the cages containing
treated foliage were somewhat irregular, because of the small numbers of
tests made, all weevils were killed within 6 days. The results indicate
definitely that DDT is toxic to the adults of both species of weevils.
No consistent differences between species were noted.
As the matured nuts dropped from the treated trees, daily collections
were made, and one-third of each collection was used as a sample in
determining the percentage of wormy nuts. At the time the nuts drop, the
holes in the shell through which the eggs were inserted are very
difficult to detect. The nuts were therefore held in wire baskets to
permit most of the larvae to emerge before the final examination. All
nuts not showing exit holes were cut open to find out whether they were
wormy. The marked increase in clean nuts after all treatments indicates
that DDT is a promising insecticide for use against the weevils. The
treatment and infestation records for the sprayed trees and the check
tree are given in Table 3, which also includes the results obtained in
later years.
+Spray Experiments 1945 to 1947+
Spring frosts in 1945 destroyed 95 per cent of the crop of chestnuts in
the Eastern States. Only six trees of different species and ages in the
Government orchard at Glenn Dale, had sufficient nuts for experimental
purposes. Applications of a 50 per cent DDT wettable powder in the
proportions of 4 and 6 pounds plus 1/2 gallon of summer oil as a sticker
to 100 gallons of water were made on August 20 and September 9.
Spring frosts again damaged the orchards in 1946, destroying about 80
per cent of the possible chestnut crop, and leaving only eight trees in
the Government orchard that were suitable for experimental purposes. The
remaining trees having a small scattered crop were disregarded. A
mixture consisting of equal parts by weight of DDT and kaolin 41 was
used in the strength of 2 pounds of DDT to 100 gallons of water. The
time and number of applications were varied.
Table 3. Results of spray tests with DDT against chestnut weevils,
1944-1947.
Larvae Emerging from Sample
Reduction
Nuts Small Large Wormy of
DDT (per Application in Chestnut Chestnut Nuts Injured
100 gal.) Sample Weevil Weevil Nuts
Year
Pounds Number Number Number Percent Percent
Government Orchard, Glenn Dale, Md.
1944 1 Aug. 14 533 1896 21 44 42
2 646 402 45 25 67
3 712 421 5 18 76
4 951 814 5 22 71
5 1844 850 10 16 79
0 976 3238 100 76
1945 2 Aug. 20 & Sept. 9 660 434 38 30 57
3 305 285 58 22 69
0 297 1164 61 70
1946 2 Aug. 15 & 30, Sept. 11 621 131 12 9 90
2 Aug. 15 & 30 371 171 23 19 79
2 Aug. 30 & Sept. 11 292 87 21 26 71
2 Aug. 15 & Sept. 11 949 553 190 43 53
2 Aug. 30 1267 1407 98 43 53
2 Aug. 15 1212 3207 66 43 53
2 Sept. 11 368 1832 53 58 36
0 870 5364 134 91
1947 2 Aug. 13 & 29, Sept. 12 4084 3817 234 30 66
2 Aug. 13 & 29 2618 4255 151 52 40
2 Sept. 12 3029 9498 402 79 9
2 Aug. 13 2639 5049 198 51 41
0 974 4714 121 87
Van Reynolds Orchard, Elkton, Md.
1947 2 Aug. 21, Sept. 4 & 18 1153 264 64 14 84
2 Sept. 4 & 18 338 5 118 67 23
2 Aug. 21 & Sept. 18 149 18 59 34 61
2 Aug. 21 & Sept. 4 669 102 12 51 41
2 Sept. 18 324 63 129 77 11
2 Sept. 4 270 303 67 56 36
2 Aug. 21 500 192 127 57 34
0 338 152 118 87
Sprays containing DDT were applied in two orchards in 1947, the
Government orchard at Glenn Dale, and the Van Reynolds orchard at
Elkton, Md. Spring frosts injured 50 per cent of the chestnut crop at
Glenn Dale and 70 per cent at Elkton, and as a result only a few trees
suitable for tests were available. The remaining trees were not
sprayed. Four pounds of the standard mixture of equal parts of DDT and
kaolin were used to 100 gallons of water in all applications.
In Table 3 will be found information on the quantities of DDT used, the
schedules followed, and the results obtained during the period 1944
through 1947.
These results indicate clearly the effectiveness of DDT in chestnut
weevil control, in spite of numerous discrepancies brought about by the
small number and variability of the trees available for the tests. As
might be expected, programs of three applications were more effective
than those of only one or two. Of the single applications, those put on
during the latter half of August were much more effective than those
made during the first half of September, presumably because most of the
eggs had been laid by the early part of September.
These experiments gave fairly exact information on the relative
abundance of the two species of weevils. At Glenn Dale the small
chestnut weevil constituted 92 to 98 per cent of the population; at
Elkton, 61 per cent.
The matured nuts that fell from count trees were collected daily, and
one-third of each lot collected was used as a sample for determining the
percentage of wormy nuts. It was possible, therefore, to obtain a rough
estimate of the numbers of larvae produced on each tree. In 1946, from
1,863 nuts on a tree sprayed three times, 429 larvae emerged; and from a
comparable unsprayed tree having 2,610 nuts 16,494 larvae emerged. In
1947, 1,350 larvae were produced on 9 trees with an average crop of
1,361 nuts sprayed three times, compared with 14,505 larvae from 2,922
nuts on an unsprayed tree. These figures indicate that DDT sprays bring
about large decreases in the numbers of weevils and that the proper use
of DDT sprays on all host trees over a period of a few years would
doubtless reduce the infestation to a point where fewer applications
would be necessary for effective control of the chestnut weevils.
+Tentative Recommendations+
For the benefit of those who wish to try DDT for chestnut weevil
control, the following tentative recommendation is made:
Thoroughly apply +to all parts of the tree+ 2 pounds of DDT in 100 gallons
of water. For example, use 4 pounds of a wettable powder that contains
50 per cent of DDT, or 8 pounds of one that contains 25 per cent of DDT.
Make three applications, the first about 30 days before the first nut is
due to drop, and the second and third after intervals of 12 days. Unless
the entire bur, especially that portion near the stem end where most of
the feeding punctures are made, +is thoroughly covered+ with a film of
DDT, the weevils may feed without being affected by the insecticide. In
handling DDT, one should use the same care as with such well-known
poisons as lead arsenate, Paris green, calcium arsenate, and nicotine.
* * * * *
Mr. Gravatt: I might say that Mr. Van Leeuwen has used only a small
section of our experimental orchard, and right near-by would be large
sections not used. The weevils are not killed quickly by the DDT, they
are somewhat resistant, and so we think quite a number of weevils come
over and deposit eggs before they are killed by this DDT, because they
don't lose any time getting to work on the nuts. He hopes to have much
better results where the entire orchard is sprayed. This year we
sprayed our entire orchard twice, and it is a real pleasure to go out
there now and gather up nuts and not be eating weevils when we do eat
them.
President Davidson: Well, Mr. Gravatt will now give us a talk on
Diseases Affecting the Success of Tree Crop Plantings, and I am sure we
all are on our toes to hear about that. Mr. Gravatt.
Mr. Gravatt: I only ask a few minutes to show a few slides.
(Slides shown.)
Diseases Affecting the Success of Tree Crop Plantings
G. F. GRAVATT and DONALD C. STOUT
Division of Forest Pathology, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville,
Maryland.
Mass plantings of many trees of the same kind frequently result in an
increase in the severity of insect pests and diseases. Leaf diseases,
for instance, spread quickly through such plantings when weather
conditions favor growth of the causal organisms. Plants on sites
unfavorable to a specific tree species also are responsible for disease
increases. Chinese chestnuts grown on a site where they are subject to
early-fall and late-spring frosts will fail. Not only will crops be
reduced by the killing of buds or blooms, but the twigs, or even whole
trees, may be killed by freezing. The blight fungus develops rapidly on
such injured trees and may mislead people into thinking that the blight
fungus is the primary cause of the killing.
Still another factor that determines the damage by diseases, and thus
the success or failure of nut tree plantings, is the ignoring of soil
and fertilizer requirements. Trees weakened by drought, because they are
on a site having a soil too shallow for good root growth, are much more
subject to attack even by weakly parasitic fungi than those growing on a
site with deeper soil. Innumerable dying twigs and branches with fungi
growing on them are sent to the U. S. Department of Agriculture or State
experiment stations with requests that the disease be identified, when
the real trouble is lack of water for the roots. Weak trees are much
more subject to winter injury than vigorous ones.
Trees require a good supply of plant food materials and water to produce
profitable crops. Tho heaviest bearing chestnut trees we have observed
were grown in an irrigated orchard in California and in a poultry yard
in the East where chicken droppings actually formed a mulch under the
trees. However, if you wish to kill a young chestnut tree quickly, just
apply a very heavy application of chicken manure; the point is that
trees must become adjusted to chicken manure by gradual applications.
Another way to damage a tree is to keep it growing late in the fall by
cultivation and fertilizers so that it does not harden off properly.
Many plantings, representing heavy investments, fail because of lack of
organic matter in the soil. This is related to water-holding and
water-supplying capacity of the soil, and lack of proper fertilizer. Dr.
Harley L. Crane and his assistants, in their work with tung and pecan
trees, have shown the vital need for certain elements on some soils.
Trees weakened by the lack of these elements are early prey for some
diseases. The element most frequently deficient is nitrogen, but
sometimes boron, copper, or iron is lacking; or the elements are not in
balance, because of the excess of some, or the lack of others.
By adjusting the various soil, water, and site factors necessary for a
continuous, vigorous growth of trees, many so-called disease conditions
are eliminated. Many fungi and viruses, however, will attack trees in
the pink of condition; a few of the more important of these are treated
in the following sections.
+Chestnut Blight+
The destruction by blight of the native stands of the American chestnut,
and of the small eastern orchard industry based on European and American
chestnuts and their hybrids is almost complete. Blight has been found in
the planted European chestnut orchards of the Pacific Coast from time to
time, but it has been kept under control by eradication. Chestnut trees
or nuts from the eastern States, where blight is common, should not be
shipped into the Rocky Mountain or Pacific Coast States.
Finding the Asiatic chestnuts resistant to the blight, the Division of
Forest Pathology sent R. Kent Beattie to Asia to make selections of
chestnuts for introduction into this country. Later Peter Liu, a Chinese
collector who worked with Mr. Beattie, continued to select Chinese
chestnuts for introduction. These introductions, together with the
earlier ones made by the Division of Plant Exploration and Introduction,
were grown at Chico, Calif., Savannah, Ga., and Bell, or Glenn Dale, Md.
Altogether some 300,000 chestnut trees, of pure species and hybrids,
were distributed to cooperators for forest and orchard plantings. (Fig.
1.) These constituted a fine lot of material from many parts of Asia as
a basis for selecting the best ones for our use. Private nurseries and
State game and forestry departments are now growing these chestnuts and
the Division of Forest Pathology has discontinued general distribution
of trees to cooperators.
Chinese chestnuts have proved to be the most valuable for forest,
orchard and ornamental use. The Japanese chestnut is being discriminated
against because of the poor quality of its nuts. Orchardists having
mixed plantings containing Japanese chestnuts are advised to top work
the trees or remove them, if the seed is to be used for plantings. In
fact, for orchard plantings, nuts should be used only from the best
individual trees of the Chinese chestnut.
The Chinese chestnut should be planted on sites with good air drainage
as it is very susceptible to injury from early-fall or late-spring
freezes. Many persons think their trees have been killed by the blight
when the primary cause of the trouble was injury to the trunk by
freezing followed by growth of the blight organism over the injured
parts. This fungus may grow for many years in the outer layers of the
bark without doing any material damage to the tree. An important factor
in resistance of the Chinese chestnuts to the blight is to keep the
trees growing vigorously. Avoid late growth in the fall as this favors
fall freezing damage.
[Illustration: Figure 1.--F1 hybrids between the Chinese chestnut and
the American chestnut.]
+Nut Spoilage+
In the Southern States one of the most serious problems with some
selections of the Chinese chestnut is the spoilage of the nuts. Marvin
E. Fowler made a study of this trouble at Savannah, Ga., and found that
most of the trouble in that restricted area was caused by a
Gleoesporium-like fungus that infects the nuts at the tip.[10] Because
spraying experiments did not give control, the more susceptible trees
have been removed. In most parts of the South, however, this fungus is
not the primary cause of nut spoilage and the limited work so far
carried out has not revealed the cause. Part of the trouble may be due
to physiological break-down. As individual trees vary greatly in
susceptibility to this deterioration of the nuts, orchardists are
advised to top work or eliminate the more susceptible trees. Some people
have believed that exposure of the nuts to the hot sun while in the bur
or on the ground may cause damage. The market for Chinese chestnuts can
be ruined by shipping nuts that are partly spoiled by the time they
reach the consumer.
[Footnote 10: Gravatt, G. F., and Marvin E. Fowler. Diseases of chestnut
trees and nuts. Northern Nut Growers Assoc. Rept. (1940) 31: 110-113.
1941.]
+Phytophthora Root Disease of Chestnut+
Phytophthora root disease, caused by _Phytophthora cinnamomi_, is
treated briefly here, and interested nut growers can consult the
detailed earlier article.[11] Briefly, this fungus is considered as
introduced into this country over a hundred years ago. It killed the
chestnut and chinkapin growth over large areas in the southern States.
Asiatic chestnuts are highly resistant to this disease, and when grown
on well-drained soils have not been damaged. Our test plantings of
Chinese chestnuts growing in the same soils where susceptible trees of
American and European chestnuts were killed, continue to make a vigorous
growth. The European and American chestnuts and their hybrids growing in
the western States are in danger from this fungus as it has now been
reported in the West. This same fungus sometimes kills thousands of
young nursery trees of the black walnut, but these epidemics are usually
brought on by unusual weather conditions. Poor soil aeration, induced by
excessive rainfall and poor drainage, makes ideal conditions for damage
to the walnut and other hosts by _Phytophthora_. Even the very resistant
Chinese chestnut roots are invaded by the fungus when the soil remains
waterlogged for extended periods.
+Brooming Disease of Walnut+
A systemic brooming disease, observed on planted walnuts as early as
1917, has been the subject of considerable discussion during recent
years, because it has now spread widely into the native black walnut
growth. In 1932 Waite published that he had been observing the disease
for some 15 years but that "it was unknown on the black walnut in the
wild in this country or on planted trees away from the Japanese walnut."
The disease has continued to increase in prevalence in recent years and
is now widely distributed in native black walnut growth in Tennessee,
Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. This
extensive spread into the native growth during the last 15 or 20 years
and the fact that reports indicate that all of the early cases of the
disease were found near nursery-grown trees offer some evidence that the
disease is an importation from another area or continent into the
eastern black walnut zone. From the literature and oral reports, it
seems that the disease is now present also in North Carolina, West
Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Michigan. Surveys probably
would uncover the disease among native wild and planted walnuts in other
States.
[Footnote 11: Crandall, B. S., G. F. Gravatt, and M. M. Ryan. Root
diseases of Castanea species and some coniferous and broadleaf nursery
stocks, caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi. Phytopathology 35: 162-180.
Illus. 1945.]
+Economic Importance and Hosts+
The black walnut is a valuable native forest tree, widely but not
abundantly distributed in the eastern United States. It is extensively
planted as a forest tree. The numerous plantings and natural stands
around farm homes, along fences, and in pastures are also very valuable.
More and more grafted ornamentals, and orchards of black walnut are
being planted. For these the per-tree investment is high.
[Illustration: Figure 2.--The brooming disease of walnut. Severe
brooming on Japanese walnut.]
The ultimate effect of the brooming disease on the black walnut is not
known. Dr. Waite stated, "Trees even moderately attacked soon become
worthless for nut production." Some affected black walnut trees,
however, continue to produce small crops of nuts. Visible symptoms have
been known to disappear. In addition, some seedlings, and probably large
trees also, are infected without showing symptoms. Such observations
indicate the complex nature of the disease. Detailed studies are needed,
but at present this Division is not in position to do more than limited,
part-time work on the disease.
The butternut, a widely distributed forest tree of minor importance, is
seriously injured or killed by this disease. The disease severely
damages or kills the Japanese walnut, which has been planted to a
limited extent but is of little importance. According to Dr. Waite's
report, the Persian, or English, walnut is attacked, but very few trees
of this species are planted in the eastern States. Precautions should be
taken to prevent the introduction of this disease into areas where it is
not now present, particularly the western states.
Symptoms expressed by infected trees are viruslike, and Hutchins and
Wester[12] were able to produce the brooming symptoms on a small number
of trees by means of bark patch grafts, indicating that the brooming
disease probably is caused by a virus.
[Illustration: Figure 3.--Brooming disease on black walnut. Ascending
type, upright, sucker growth is typical of this species.]
+Description of Symptoms+
The entire range of symptoms of the brooming disease has not been
determined. Symptoms are recognizable during mid-July but they are most
pronounced during September and October. Curling and cupping of
leaflets, chlorosis, narrowing and basal tapering of leaflets appear to
be associated with early stages of the disease. On severely affected
trees there are distinct broomlike growths at branch terminals, along
primary or secondary branches, or on the main stem to the ground line
(Fig. 2). The broomlike growths are formed by the continuing abnormal
development of normally located buds into short, succulent branches.
Upright, suckerlike branches appear on primary and secondary branches
and on the main stem of the affected tree. (Fig. 3).
The broomed parts usually die back during the dormant period following
their appearance. The dead brooms on trees that appear to be healthy
during the early months of the growing-season indicate that the trees
are infected. Usually the diseased trees, even those severely affected,
exhibit normal growth during the early summer months.
Evidence that walnut trees may be infected for a considerable time prior
to appearance of recognizable symptoms was obtained when 37 per cent of
a total of 300 severely pruned trees exhibited brooming disease
symptoms. These trees had looked healthy until they were pruned.
Unpruned control trees showed a 4 per cent increase in disease during
the same period.
[Footnote 12: Hutchins, Lee M., and Horace V. Wester.
Graft-transmissible brooming disease of walnut. Phytopathology. 37 (1):
11. (Abstract) 1947.]
+Summary+
There is strong evidence that a virus disease is active among certain
species of walnut in central and eastern United States. The disease
exhibits distinctive symptoms and appears to damage infected trees,
sometimes severely, over several growing seasons. Present data indicate
that recognizable symptoms of the disease may not appear for some time
after infection, unless the host is subjected to severe shock. Thus,
nursery stock may be one means of spreading the disease into new areas.
It is recommended, without experimental work to back up the
recommendation, that walnut nurserymen remove infected trees in the
vicinity of their nursery sites.
Investigation of this disease to the present time has been limited.
General observations indicate that severely broomed trees produce poor
nut crops. Mortality caused by the disease appears to be quite low among
black walnut trees. Butternut and Japanese walnut trees are, in general,
more severely affected by the disease than the black walnut and many
seem to be killed by it, although the killing process is slow. As a
result of experience with other virus diseases, orchardists who have
only a few infected trees among their black walnuts are advised to
remove them. Whether the disease can be kept under control by repeated
roguing is uncertain. If an owner has just a few trees of value as
ornamentals as well as nut producers, one hesitates to advise him to
remove a lightly infected tree until more information is obtained
concerning the disease.
This Division will welcome information from persons having experience
with the brooming disease of walnut, as it is in a position to do only a
limited amount of work on the disease.
+Persimmon Wilt+
Persimmon wilt is very destructive to the native persimmon (Fig. 4). It
is caused by the fungus _Cephalosporium diospyri_, which was described
in 1945 by Bowen S. Crandall[13]. The fungus grows in the wood of the
trees, producing discolored streaks. Most trees are rapidly killed,
with yellow, wilted leaves making quite a contrast to the normal green
trees.
This disease was found in spots from central Tennessee south to the
Gulf, east into Florida, and up the coast into North Carolina. The
American persimmon seemed to be in danger, as this quickly killing
disease appeared to be spreading. The limited work on this disease was
discontinued because of the war and the transfer of Mr. Crandall to
Peru. However, this summer Mr. Crandall and the senior writer spent two
weeks surveying some of the old infections and nearby territory, and
were pleased to note that the disease had made very little progress into
new territory. On several small areas where the disease was present some
six years ago practically all of the larger trees had been killed, but
some new small trees were coming up. At Chattanooga National Park, where
the wilt was rampant about six years ago, it is continuing to kill
trees, but many new ones are coming up. No northward extension of the
disease in Tennessee or North Carolina was noted in the limited time
spent in inspection.
[Illustration: Figure 4.--Small persimmon trees killed by the wilt.]
What does the disease mean to the grower of grafted persimmons, both
native and Oriental? The Japanese or Chinese persimmons do not grow as
well on their own roots, although they are quite safe that way as these
two species are very resistant to the wilt. In the East, most of the
Oriental persimmons are grafted on American root stocks, and trees in
one case were killed by the wilt fungus getting in on the susceptible
root stock. No attempts to control the wilt have been made, and these
recommendations are based on procedure with other diseases and on
knowledge of the spore production of this fungus. An owner of a valuable
planting of grafted trees in a region where the disease is present
should watch his trees for the first indication of trouble. The planting
will be safer, if there are no nearby native trees; and if native trees
are growing nearby and cannot be removed, they should be given a general
inspection. Prompt removal and burning of any infected trees found is
advisable. The fact that usually fungus spore production does not take
place until after the tree has been dead for a while makes the prospect
for control better than with most diseases. Care should be taken not to
bring in scions or trees from infected areas.
Most members of the Northern Nut Growers Association have only a few
grafted persimmon trees, usually located outside of the infected zone
and therefore in little danger. Persimmon scions and trees should not be
shipped from infected to healthy regions. The disease has not been
reported in nurseries, but it could occur there because it attacks small
trees.
[Footnote 13: Crandall, Bowen S. A new species of +Cephalosporium+ causing
persimmon wilt. Mycologia 37 (4): 495-498. 1945.]
+Thyronectria Disease of Honeylocust+
Honeylocust is widely distributed both in native stands and in
plantations. Some farmers plant this species or leave native trees in
their pastures for the pods, which have a high sugar content, up to 38
per cent. J. C. Moore, of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station,
reported preliminary tests indicating a per-acre yield of livestock feed
equal to that of oats.
In many areas the growth of honeylocust is seriously affected by a
canker and twig fungus, _Thyronectria austro-americana_. The disease
often kills many twigs and branches and sometimes results in death of
the tree. In most areas it causes only slight injury. Bowen S. Crandall
and Jesse D. Diller have made a few observations on the prevalence and
damage by this disease, which is present from New England south into the
Gulf States and west into the Great Plains States.
The fungus causing this disease is morphologically somewhat similar to
the chestnut blight fungus, having two spore stages produced in
reddish-brown pinhead-size fruiting bodies on the bark. Cankers are
produced on the smaller branches, but they usually are not noted until
some of the affected ones wilt and die. In the exposed outer wood of a
branch cut above or below the canker there are reddish-brown streaks
several inches long, indicating that the fungus has grown in the
vascular system.
As no control experiments are known, recommendations are based on
general knowledge of sanitation. If an owner has only a few valuable
planted trees, he should cut off the diseased parts a foot or more back
from the lower edge of the affected bark and burn or bury them in the
soil. If he has many trees scattered over extensive pasture areas, it is
questionable whether any action other than elimination of the more
susceptible trees is justified. We will be interested in the results
obtained from control work.
* * * * *
President Davidson: Now I will turn over the chairmanship of the meeting
to Mr. Chase, who will have charge of the Round Table Discussion.
Round Table Discussion on Chestnut Problems
SPENCER B. CHASE, Presiding
_Panel of Experts_: Max E. Hardy, Carroll D. Bush, H. F. Stoke, G. F.
Gravatt, J. C. McDaniel.
Mr. Chase: Gentlemen, in the last hour and a half we have heard perhaps
more about chestnuts from qualified specialists than we will ever hear
in any meeting of ours, and we requested each one to withhold questions
until this point. So now we will have some questions from the floor,
please.
Mr. Slate: What is the present status of breeding chestnut species for
timber purposes?
Mr. Gravatt: The prospects are coming along. We have one cross between a
none-too-promising Chinese chestnut and an American chestnut, with a
good bunch of hybrids and they are different from other hybrids. It
looks like they will stand up against blight. They will have blight
canker growth from 10 feet down to the ground but it doesn't go into the
cambium region. It is too early to evaluate the hybrids, but they do
have the upright form and rapid growth of the American chestnut.
Now when we take these first-generation hybrids, cross them back with
the Chinese and get more resistance, as we have done so many times in
the past, we lose that rapid and more upright growth habit of the
American chestnut. But we have a lot more work to do before we are ready
to say anything final on this question.
Dr. Arthur H. Graves
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