Chapter XII: Section X: Amendments to By-Laws (5)

Safety of operation is still another matter for consideration. If I wish to create an estate for my family or for my last years, how can I go about it with the best chance for success? Shall I go prospecting for precious metals? Thousands have failed at that job where but few have succeeded. Shall it be manufacturing? Count up the failures. For each success, at least ten go broke. Wall Street? The Wall Street journals themselves give the statistics. More than 90 percent of all persistent Wall Street gamblers lose money in the end. Farming? Much safer, but most farmers who have made much money in the past have accomplished it by way of an increase in the value of their land rather than through their farming operations. This is the result of fluctuating prices. Bad years often eat up the savings of good years. Then, too, the good farmer is a busy man. The better the year the busier he is. Very little time remains for side issues, such as the planting of trees.

As a matter of fact, as erosion of the soil progresses, as good, productive land becomes more scarce, and as farm labor becomes more and more difficult to employ, the attention of informed farm owners and operators has been turning more and more to soil-building, perennial, permanent and labor-saving crops. Of these, grass and tree crops are, far and away, the most promising today.

In view of what I have found out during the last 20 years, I am quite sure that, if I were starting now, I should expect to make farming a major element in my estate building, but it would be mostly tree and grass farming, not grain farming. I should need livestock, of course, to make use of the grass. And I like livestock.

This is what I ask of life: First of all, I must enjoy my work. I do not care to spend all my days in getting ready to live. My job must lie along the road I like to travel. I do not care to work at a task so burdensome, so time-consuming that I have no heart for the enjoyment of living. At the same time, a big part of the plan must be to find a good, safe way to build an estate. It must be feasible, practical, enjoyable.

I believe, in the light of my own recent experience, that if one is properly situated, there is much to be said for the idea of undertaking the practice of forestry upon a rather liberal scale using Eastern Black walnut trees as a foundation.

In the first place, I ask, what living thing upon one's farm will cause less labor than a forest tree? I know of none. This fulfills the first requirement. A forest tree calls for a minimum of attention as compared with other crops. This is especially true if one permits livestock to keep down weeds and brush. And here I am likely to be called a heretic. The authorities say, "No grazing in a forest". However, in this field of forestry there are some traditional maxims which, to say the least, are not capable of universal application. The authorities, too, have been known to rely upon what other authorities tell them--without investigating the facts for themselves. It is not well to rely too implicitly or trustfully upon the "authorities", either ecclesiastical or scientific. "No grazing" is a valid enough rule to follow in the ordinary forest, but I have found that after the trees are well grown we can graze the land under a deep-rooted walnut tree which is planted in deep, rich soil as we would graze any meadow land--in reason and in moderation. The practice is profitable for annual income and it keeps down the fire hazard. One bad fire in an ungrazed or unmown piece of brush-covered undergrowth can destroy in an hour 50 years of timber growth. If we plant deep-rooted nut trees in deep, rich soil, and if we fertilize that soil as any valuable permanent pasture land is fertilized, we can graze that land without injury to the trees or the land.

One other reason which is given for the prohibition of grazing is the desire to save young tree growth. This is justified in ordinary forestry practice by the need to get annual income through successive cuttings. The young growth must be encouraged to come on. Even so, it must be thinned as it comes. However, a forest of black walnut trees yields its annual income in another way--through its nuts and its livestock.

Trees in such a forest should be planted close enough together to cause them to reach straight up as they grow. They will not all reach straight up, of course, but enough will do so to produce as many saw-logs as will normally grow in a forest; that is, if they have been properly planted in the first place.

In my own modified forest-type planting, the black walnut trees stand 8 feet apart in rows 20 feet apart. The 20-foot spacing between rows was planned to provide more sunlight for nut production during the early years. No one ever planted a forest in that way, so far as I know. The trees are now 17 years old, about 3250 of them in all. In the best soil of this 20 acres I can count about 1000 forest-type, straight, well-grown trees. There are about 1500 lesser trees, low-limbed trees which will eventually be used, perhaps, for posts or some such purpose. There are, I regret to say, about 750 trees that will never be worth anything. An eroded slope and a hidden clay bed explain these misbegotten dwarfs.

The variable growth of these trees proves that the first care in making a planting of walnut for timber should be to plant in good soil, deep and well drained. Bottom land, even some that is occasionally overflown with flood-water, and therefore not the best wheat land, should be excellent for Eastern Black walnuts if the drainage is good. Rule two:--Select your seed or seedlings from large, straight-growing, healthy parents. This rule needs explanation.

In last October's NUTSHELL, an organ of the Northern Nut Growers' Association, Spencer Chase, its editor, called attention to a showing of Carpathian Persian walnuts by Mr. H. F. Stoke which illustrated what was called "the variability of seedling trees." The progenitor of these seedlings was a Lancaster Carpathian Persian walnut tree. Differences in size, appearance and quality of nuts from these seedlings were said to have been remarkable. Such differences, we know, are greater with some species than with others. A variable ancestry often results in a variable progeny. On the other hand, I know that my Eastern American black walnuts do tend to reproduce the characteristics of their parents. I have long rows of seedling trees, all from one parent tree, standing alongside long rows of seedlings from another parent. The similarity of the tree growth and nut production of the trees in their own rows, and their contrast in growth of trees and nuts to those in adjoining rows is striking and to me conclusive. A photograph taken by Dr. O. D. Diller, of Ohio State University, in 1946, shows trees in a right-hand row grown from seed of a tree on the Kinsey farm, while on the left are seedlings of a tree on the McCoy farm. The circumference of trunks of Kinsey seedlings averages more than twice that of McCoy trees. Same soil, same age (11 years), same treatment.

Those same trees, now 17 years old, still show these striking characteristics. It is true that each tree in a row of seedlings is an individual in its own right. No others are exactly like it. Nevertheless, the family resemblances in that row are very like those in human families. They are especially noticeable in the nuts--with, for example, rough shells in one row and smooth shells in another; mainly large nuts in one and mainly small nuts in an adjoining family. Also, some rows have mostly straight-growing trees, others are predominantly branchy, like the Thomas.

It should be said in this connection that practically all of the parent trees of these seedlings stood in isolated positions and little subject to pollination from other trees.

So much for the Eastern Black walnut's evidence of hereditary influence. So, let us take inventory.

Today, I figure that the thousand well-grown trees in this planting are each adding a dollar per year to the value of the 20 acres upon which they stand. $1000 per year in all. This estimate, which of course seems optimistic, is based upon the statement of a walnut tree buyer--a sawmill man--who tells me that a well grown, deep-soil, 50-year-old Eastern Black walnut tree should average about $50 in value. Thus far, my 17-year-old youngsters, some of them nearly 3 feet in girth (9-1/2 to 11 or more inches in diameter at breast height) look promising.

In addition to the potential added value of $1000 per year, this 20 acres has produced about two tons of in-hull nuts from selected trees only, in each of the past two years, (with more than that in prospect this year), while the land beneath the trees grows good pasture and helps to support a small herd of cattle and calves.

Once the trees were thoroughly established, the labor investment has been very small. Nature, for the most part, has done her own pruning, and has done it better than I deserve. Since the first half-dozen years, there has been no cultivation. The trees have been practically trouble-free. Winds have damaged a few and one wet spot has killed three trees. There are a few black locust trees among the walnuts. I can see no evidence that the walnuts have made either better or poorer growth because of the proximity of these nitrogen storers. Perhaps the evidence will show up later. We shall see.

The last item in this inventory, added value to the estate, is still potential, but the potential is surprising. If my walnut timber buyer's estimate is trustworthy, in 17 years the best 1000 trees have added 17,000 potential dollars to the value of that 20 acres. And they have done it with safety, with little labor on my part and, lately, with annual dividends of excellent nuts and good pasture. No other kind of forestry that I know of can do that.

It would, of course, be foolish to claim that the kind of management here described would be wise or workable with other forest species. Wise forest management requires, first of all, that the choice of species shall be adapted to the soil and climate favored by that species. It requires a proper density of stand. Finally, good management demands that a choice be made of the most valuable type of timber that can be produced upon your land. If you can grow walnut successfully, it would be foolish to grow Willow or Box Elder.

One necessary thing I must do, a thing that I should advise others similarly situated to do, namely, place a tight legal fence around this twenty acres in order to assure the trees' survival until 50 years have proved or disproved my faith. For, after all, these trees are guinea pigs--pioneering. They break some traditional rules. The land they stand on is grazed. They are not set the traditional 80 feet apart. Their nut crops may dwindle away. One never sees walnut trees growing in pure stands--always with other species which scatter their seeds and push in. They are not monopolists--like the pines.

Very well, we shall see. My own small experiment in unorthodox ways has the temerity to suggest a new treatment for a species of timber tree which I personally regard as America's very best gift of its kind to the world. For 17 years my modified forest-type planting of black walnut trees has not disappointed me. That is why I now believe that the farmer in the Eastern black walnut's native habitat who fails to set out these nut trees wherever he can is losing a good opportunity.

The McKinster Persian Walnut

P. E. MACHOVINA, _Columbus, Ohio_

The McKinster Persian walnut first attracted public attention when it received first place in the preliminary Persian walnut contest conducted by the Northern Nut Growers Association in 1949. In the follow-up contest of 1950, the variety was granted third place. The McKinster tree resulted from Crath Carpathian seed secured through the Wisconsin Horticultural Society by Mr. Ray McKinster of Columbus, Ohio. The seed was obtained and planted in the spring of 1938, hence the tree is now 15 years of age. Probably this seed was secured by Rev. Crath during his last trip when, presumably, he made some of his most careful selections.

Altogether, Mr. McKinster planted eleven Crath nuts in the back yard of his small city lot, nine of which germinated. All but two of the resulting seedlings were distributed to friends and relatives living in the countryside. Many of these trees have disappeared due to accidents and lack of care; a few, however, have produced nuts which apparently are not exceptional. One such nut examined was of medium size with a fairly thick shell; the kernel was of good flavor but somewhat bitter. Of the two trees retained by Mr. McKinster, both were permitted to grow where the seed was planted, however one died of an unknown cause when five years of age. Nuts produced by this tree were inferior to those produced by the survivor which later became known as the McKinster variety.

The McKinster tree may be viewed in the accompanying illustrations which show it without foliage and with foliage. The pictures were taken in March and August, respectively, 1953. Since it is a very beautiful and relatively clean tree, the McKinster would be desirable in any yard. From the pictures, it will be noted that the site is unfortunate being restricted by two garages, an alley, and with numerous overhead utility wires. Some effort was made two years ago to keep the tree out of the wires by cutting back top growth. The trimming stimulated the usual vigorous, annual growth to produce terminals as great as 10 feet in one year. Ordinarily, annual growths of 6 feet of husky wood are not unusual. New wood and buds are hardy in appearance and assume a rich brown color upon maturing. With such growth, cutting 1000 feet of scion wood annually would be no problem. The tree is now about 35 feet in height with a like spread.

The bearing record of the McKinster Persian has been excellent. Its first crop of five or six nuts was borne at five years of age and large crops have been consistently set each year since with but one exception. Crop records have been impossible to maintain since the tree is located in a section of the city where squirrels abound. Any nuts saved must be protected by screen-wire cages. The hunger of the squirrels for the nuts is amazing. For example, in 1951, they descended upon the tree during the first week of July and destroyed all nuts of the large crop within two weeks. These nuts could not possibly have been filled and, consequently, could have been of little nutrient value. In their voracity, the squirrels frequently work on the cages and sometimes manage to break through. To facilitate this endeavor, limbs up to one inch in diameter carrying cages are sometimes cut off so the squirrels can attack more conveniently from the ground.

It could be that nuts saved by caging are sometimes inferior. The cages used are made by folding window screen into a doubled, 4 to 6 inch square, producing an "envelope" with wire sewn edges. Crowding from one to three nuts into a cage may result in inhibited development, especially since considerable leaf surface must be removed when installing a cage. Because Mr. McKinster has been ill for several years, it has been difficult to accomplish the caging; consequently, but few nuts are saved. For example, in 1950, there were insufficient nuts to meet the 25 nut sample required by the contest judges. All available nuts, some probably inferior, were entered, and it is a matter of conjecture whether the nuts might have been judged higher under different circumstances. Also conjectural are the questions of crop size and regularity of bearing in the event the tree was permitted to mature its nuts.

The McKinster nuts, which were the principal consideration in the contests rather than the tree itself, are excellent in nearly all aspects. They are of medium size, averaging around 35 to the pound, with about 52 per cent kernel. The shell is moderately thin, light in color, well sealed, of a satisfactory shape (see illustration), and with excellent cracking qualities. The kernel is light, plump, of excellent flavor, and in the words of one authority, "probably rank with the best in freedom from bitterness." The nuts are matured by the middle of September and, later, drop, free of the husk.

Blooming of the parent tree usually occurs during the first week of May. In 1951, the staminate flowers were first observed April 29 and the pistillate flowers May 2. The narrator visited the tree on May 4 at which time some catkins had fallen; it was estimated that one-half to two-thirds of the pollen had been shed. The pistillate flowers appeared to be either receptive or slightly past at this stage. Mr. McKinster commented that the blooming period of 1951 was from a few days to a week earlier than usual. In 1952, the shedding of pollen started on April 29. From the foregoing, it may be noted that the McKinster Persian is entirely or largely self-pollinating. No other Persian walnut trees which might assist in pollination occur in the vicinity and all known seedlings raised from nuts of the parent McKinster tree have appeared to be pure Persian. Leafing out starts about a week before the bloom appears. In the fall, leaves are colored a beautiful bronze and are brought down in a great shower by the first frost.

A sample of the soil in which the McKinster tree is growing, taken at a depth of 6 inches, was tested in July 1950. The results specify that the soil is mostly silt with an average amount of organic matter and that evidence indicates it to contain ashes. The acidity is specified as "neutral", potash "high", and phosphate "low". No mention is made of available nitrogen; however, the dark green color of the leaves and vigorousness of growth would indicate a satisfactory supply. Fertilizer in small amount was applied once or twice during the early life of the tree; also, during this period, Mr. McKinster "spaded in" garbage, etc., to increase the humus content of the soil. In 1951, the narrator checked the pH of the soil near the surface and obtained a value of 6.5.

Only one instance of damage due to climatic conditions and none whatsoever from insects and diseases has ever been observed with the parent McKinster tree. Undoubtedly, the city location offers some protection from frost, but may also be detrimental, on occasion, through heat reflected from the many surrounding white-painted buildings. For example, an unseasonable warm spell occurred in Columbus during the latter part of the first week in April of the current year. The heat, lasting for several days, reached a high of 80.4 degrees and, as a result, the McKinster tree started vegetating. Leaf growths of from one-half to one inch had been reached when normal conditions returned. Two weeks later, a cold spell with snow and temperatures of 22 degrees killed the new growth but did not injure the wood. Following this, leafing re-occurred, but at a slower rate and somewhat later than normal. The size ultimately attained by the leaves is about one-half their usual size, and, consequently, the accompanying illustration, taken this summer, does not exhibit the usual luxuriant appearance of the tree. A large part of the bloom was damaged by the cold, hence the tree set a lighter crop of nuts than usual.

In connection with early vegetating, it may be remarked that Mr. McKinster, several years ago, presented two small grafted trees of his variety to a relative living in eastern Kentucky. These trees were planted on low ground and were killed the first year by late spring frosts after leafing out twice. Thus it seems evident that the McKinster tree has the fault, common in Carpathians, of leafing out too early and being injured by late spring frosts, especially when planted too far south. Three other trees, grafted by Mr. McKinster and now about four years from the graft, are situated in the countryside several miles south of Columbus, Ohio, where they are doing excellently, having never been damaged.

The writer has several three year old McKinster grafts at his property in southeastern Ohio which were deliberately set on stocks located in a bad frost pocket. The grafts, which are adjacent to a woods, have made fair growth each spring but are injured during the summer by an insect laying eggs in the succulent growth. The portion of terminal above the point of sting invariably dies the following winter and has the appearance produced by winter killing. This damage has not been unique with the McKinster, having also occurred with the McDermid, Watt, Burtner, and other Persian varieties growing nearby; some of the latter were killed outright the first winter after grafting.

A one-year McKinster grafted tree with three feet of growth above the graft was cut back and transplanted by the writer to the yard of his Columbus, Ohio, home during the winter of 1952. Growth the following spring was about two feet and obtained in rather poor soil. After a long absence during the summer which was attended by a prolonged drouth, the tree was found in a dying condition, having lost all its leaves. Hurried watering resulted in a complete new coat of leaves and a small amount of additional terminal growth. The tree matured its growth and withstood the winter nicely, but suffered, similar to the parent, from the April, 1953, unseasonable weather. Growth this summer from adventitious buds has been poor.

Unfortunately, the McKinster variety saw but little testing in other parts of the country prior to its recognition in 1949. So that this report might be as complete as possible, requests were sent to several dozen experimenters who are known to have grafted the McKinster, asking for their experiences and opinions of the variety. The requests went to people scattered generally throughout the northeastern portion of the country, a very few of which had received scion wood in 1950, a larger portion in 1951, and the bulk in 1952. For the most part, replies indicate satisfaction and even enthusiasm; very few report failure. Definite conclusions cannot be drawn because of the short time of trial; however, a general description of experiences will provide indications.

Few experimenters report failure in grafting, most stating the variety to be "easy to graft." Any who mention the characteristic, state that "grafts are vigorous," or that "it is a fairly rapid grower." For the experimenters, the McKinster seems to be about "average" in its time of leafing out. Many report a set of nuts the second year after grafting. As to time of maturing new growth, the reply of Mr. Stephen Bernath of New York, "New growth matures about the end of September," is fairly typical, as is the reply of Dr. R. T. Dunstan of North Carolina, "It appears to harden wood well ahead of frost." Most reports indicate no winter injury but are tempered by cautious observations that temperatures had not been low. Mr. H. F. Stoke of Virginia, who grafted the McKinster in the spring of 1950, reports: "Pistillate buds developed during the summer of 1951 were killed by a frost catching new growth in the spring of 1952." Mr. John Howe of Missouri was the sole reporter of catastrophe when he stated: "My McKinster graft was killed by the November, 1951, cold while the Lake and McDermid varieties close by were not hurt." Mr. Sylvester Shessler of northern Ohio reports: "The McKinster withstood, without injury, the 1951 winter which killed 4 hybrids and a Crath, and injured several others." Mr. Harry P. Burgart of Michigan reports the variety as doing extra well for him. The only reply mentioning disease came from Dr. Dunstan who says: "It has been fairly clean in foliage so far, less susceptible to leaf spot than some." Mr. John Gerstenmaier of Massillon, Ohio, grafted the McKinster in 1951 and reports excellent growth with a diameter of 2 inches at the graft after two years. He reports temperatures of 16 degrees very early in November which caused no harm, and pistillate bloom from May 8 to 16, 1952, which materialized into a crop of two nuts; pollen was supplied by adjacent Carpathians. Leafing out ordinarily starts about a week prior to the bloom for Mr. Gerstenmaier; but, in April, 1953, the unseasonable weather conditions also occurring in his vicinity caused early vegetating and killing, while at nearby Orrville, the variety was undamaged.

Mr. Gilbert Becker of Michigan, who is enthusiastic about the McKinster variety, believes the qualities of the nut to be superb and the characteristics of the tree satisfactory. He is of the opinion that the too-short dormancy of the variety is not a serious objection, particularly with climatic conditions such as those experienced in Michigan. Even in central Ohio, where peach and apple crops are frequently lost due to spring frosts, the McKinster has not been injured when located in the countryside and injured but once during its 15 years, with a resultant smaller than usual crop, when located in the city.

In closing, it might be well to comment on the fact that nuts of the McKinster, Hansen and Jacobs varieties alone placed high in both the 1949 and 1950 N.N.G.A. contests and that different panels of judges served in the two events. Certainly the nuts of these varieties are of a superior quality, and it would seem important to determine those parts of the country where these varieties are sufficiently hardy to be of commercial value. Certainly these varieties should be given every opportunity to prove themselves.

Carpathian Walnuts in the Columbia River Basin

LYNN TUTTLE, _Clarkston, Wash_.

Mr. Chairman and friends of the nut culture, I regret that I cannot meet with you at this time, but fate seems to have decreed otherwise. The pleasant memory of the meeting at Guelph is still with me and I must admit a feeling of humility as I prepare this paper for a group of sincere and devoted people united in a common interest.

The Pacific Northwest extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. This area is divided by the Cascade Mountains which run north and south. Between the Cascades and the Pacific we have a coastal area wherein winters are generally mild, summers cool, and rainfall abundant. Under these, conditions many plants do not attain a high degree of dormancy. Zero weather in Seattle will damage walnuts as much as will twenty-five degrees below zero in the more continental climate east of the Cascades. Carpathian walnuts have proved their value under both coastal and interior conditions. This hardiness is at least partially due to their tendency to mature their buds and harden their growth earlier in the fall than do other types of English walnuts.

Between the Cascades and the Rockies is a vast area part plateau and part mountains. It is scarred with deep canyons and crossed by swift streams fed from springs and mountain snows. Roughly the elevation of farm lands varies from five hundred to over forty-five hundred feet. Depending largely on slope and elevation, rainfall varies from about eight to twenty-five inches. In general, summer days are bright, dry, and fairly hot. Nights are clear and cool. Winters are unpredictable but always vary much according to location and elevation. Infrequently temperatures may drop to more than twenty below zero at Clarkston. Other areas of similar elevation may be five to ten degrees colder.

For the sake of clarity and to reduce the territory covered, we will confine ourselves largely to that part of the Columbia Basin irrigated and to be irrigated in Central Washington. The application is general, however.

Grand Coulee Dam has made feasible the irrigation of about 1-1/4 million acres of sage brush, bunch grass, and marginal wheat lands. Irrigation is already practised over other vast acreages. This land is level to rolling, and is of sandy loam nature. It is deeply under-laid by layers of lava rock--in places thousands of feet thick. As in most arid climates the soil is rich in minerals but low in nitrogen and organic matter. Under irrigation production is amazing. The growing season is sufficiently long for Carpathian walnuts anywhere in the irrigated area.

Walnuts originally from Southern Europe have proved unsatisfactory because they killed at 20 to 25 below zero. It was discouraging to have a ten or fifteen year old tree killed outright by an unusual winter. But it was just these conditions that led to the discovery of the Schafer walnut. This tree survived the winters of 1936 and 1937 in a part of the Yakima valley where all other varieties similarly located were killed. So far as I know, none of these were Carpathians.

Many Carpathians are now being planted, mostly for yard trees, but promise to eventually become one of the big commercial crops of the area. However, skepticism on the part of the public and scarcity of nursery stock has delayed commercial planting. A fair portion of good growers are now convinced that commercial growing is profitable and stock, our own and others, is becoming more plentiful.

Our experience has been confined largely to the Schafer walnut and it is, aside from some promising seedlings, so far as we know, the only proven Carpathian in this area. We do not wish to discredit possibilities of any other variety, but must speak out of our own observations. There are numerous small, commercial plantings now producing, the nuts being sold locally. Accurate production figures are not available and if available would vary greatly due to the care given the trees. The Schafer, and this will undoubtedly hold true of some other Carpathians, bears more at five years than a Franquette does at ten. I have seen apple boxes (about one bushel) of nuts harvested from five and six years old trees. Production increases rapidly with age.

As with fruit trees good air drainage and good soil drainage are desirable for the walnut orchard. The Schafer starts fairly early in the spring and new leaves are easily nipped by late frosts. A severe late freeze might also injure new growth although I do not recall a crop having been lost due to this cause. Although pollinizers have not been used, we think that on young trees and in some years they might insure a better crop. We are now propagating two pollinizing varieties the catkins of which come out later than the Schafer.

Trees planted sixty feet apart permit inter-planting to row and other crops for several years. Columbia Basin lands under irrigation produce enormous crops of potatoes, beans, sugar beets, rutabagas, green peas, clover or alfalfa seed, peppermint oil, and fruit. Average potato--20 tons, alfalfa hay--7 tons (three cuttings), alfalfa seed--800 pounds, dry beans--2,500 pounds, wheat--70 to 100 bushels. In some areas peach or apricot trees make good fillers.

Carpathians also fit into the picture as yard trees, for border plantings,--either to utilize run-off water or to use water wasted along ditches and pipe lines and for wind breaks. This open country is naturally windy and trees greatly reduce the ground velocity of wind.

Nut production in this area appears to be much heavier than on the coast or in California with varieties now being grown there. So far we are pest-free. The potentials of good Carpathian walnuts in this area are unlimited.

Walnuts and Filberts in Southern Wisconsin

C. F. LADWIG, _Beloit, Wisc._

My farm is located a few blocks north of the Illinois-Wisconsin line on a rise overlooking the city of Beloit, whose western limits are almost adjacent to my land. Temperature in this section ranges from 100 degrees above to 30 degrees below zero; rarely reaching either extreme--with an average frost free period of 173 days. Rainfall averages approximately 35 inches. Walnut, butternut, bitternut, hazel and hickory are native, but just about non-existent in my vicinity except on my place in the young state.

The land on my place has been tobaccoed and corned out for over 100 years and its once rich clay loam with sandy streaks was unable to grow ragweed over 2 inches high when I bought it. Trying to grow nut trees in this soil presents problems as you well know. My problem was not to get them to grow vigorously but to get them to grow at all. However, by using fertile spots, formerly barnyard and around the house, I got several walnuts and filberts started.

I have an eight year old Crath #1, two Myers black walnuts, about the same age, Cochrane and Thomas, 6 years, all obtained from Mr. Berhow, and a fine assortment of Jones hybrid filberts from Mrs. Langdoc, a Rush filbert from Mr. Burgart, two European filberts from the New York State Fruit Testing Association, some hybrid seedlings, some native hazels from seed, some bitternut seedlings from Mr. Weschcke, a few native hickory seedlings, an American chestnut seedling from Scarff, 2 butternut seedlings, 2 nice Chinese tree hazels from Mr. Shessler, several Jacobs walnut seedlings, and _regia_ & _hindsii_ hybrids from seed of Mr. Pozzi, some Crath seedlings and a number of Thomas black walnut seedlings--also native walnut seedlings.

Mr. Shessler and Prof. J. C. McDaniel have been a source of help, advice, and inspiration to me and I am deeply indebted to them, as well as to many other members of the N.N.G.A. who have shared their experiences with me.

How have the trees done? The Crath #1 is bearing a few nuts this year. It had no catkins, but the Cochrane was loaded with staminate bloom at the right time. I got busy with the Cochrane pollen and a brush and went to work on the Crath pistillate bloom. Very pleased with this cross I looked the Crath over a few days later to check on progress. I picked the little nutlets off the ground and inspected them carefully, then threw them into the chickens to see if they would eat them. Back in my mind was the feeling that Mother Nature thought I was getting too big for my britches and decided to teach me a lesson. However she generously allowed a few air pollinated nutlets to grow, and so there will be a small crop of the round and plump smooth green balls.

The Crath #1 is not perfectly hardy as it freezes back an inch or two in the cold winters. Two years ago the warm wet fall left it unprepared for the sudden onslaught of winter and several whole branches died and the trunk split open, the split sounding like a rifle shot one cold, crisp evening. I happened to be standing by it at the time.

The Myers black walnuts are splendid trees and just about hardy. They bore a few nuts and second and third year from planting, which sapped their vitality. They then bore nothing for about three years, which happened to be unfavorable years for walnuts anyway, and began to bear again this year with a moderate crop. It looks like the plum curculio, my arch insect enemy, is trying the nuts for size. I saved some Cochrane pollen and went to work on the Myers, with you know what results. However three of the nutlets stayed on the tree; so that I may have effected a cross between Myers and Cochrane.

Thomas has acted peculiarly for me. It went thru the devastating winters of 1950 and 1951 in fine shape, then froze back last winter when the temperatures never went below 5 degrees below zero. The very dry fall should have ripened all branches to perfection. My mule, Zombie, took a liking to the branches and leaves of this tree, so it is now trimmed up like an umbrella. The small nut crop must have also gone down Zombie's gullet. He is more destructive to walnut and plum than the curculio. (Tie him up. Ed.) Thomas does not seem to have a great future up here.

Now Cochrane is different. If that little tree has as many nuts on it as it had catkins this year, I'm going to have to move the corn out of the crib and put the walnuts in there. It is not a fast growing tree, but this may be the fault of the spot it is in, judging by the color of the leaves. I never got around to fertilizing it.

Now that I told you about the Cochrane, I'll have to tell you about the "Wayne" black walnut. It is eight years old, stands about eight feet high and is hardy. My Black Walnut seedlings stand from six inches to six feet high. They go back to six inches every other year when I cut them down to graft them. Nobody in the nut tree field can call me a grafter. I'll make him prove it!

The hickory, butternut, bitternut, and chestnut are step children and fend for themselves on less desirable soil. All are small. The regia-hindsii hybrids are small and young and are being given special care, but may not be perfectly hardy. They grow well.

The Jones hybrid filberts stand from six to eight feet high, except those planted recently. This year they have a fair crop. The catkins came thru the winter in good shape for the most part. My two European filberts, which have lost their identity, but are either Italian Red, Cosford, or Medium Long, (one of the three perished) usually suffer the loss of their catkins and occasionally lose a branch or two to winter's icy fingers.

To me, the filberts are fascinating at all times of the year. When the snow is deep and the cold bites deep, their tight little catkins always hold forth the comfortable promise of spring. When spring does come the thrill of the tiny red blossoms and lumbering catkins is as real and enduring as the promise of a crop of the shiny nuts is fickle. Then, of course, after the last tiny blossom has faded and the last catkin has withered, the leaves push forth. To me, these tiny leaves are a sight comparable to the opening and unfurling of the various varieties of the grape. Then enters the element of suspense, between the time of leafing out and the time when the little nut clusters appear.

My bushes are all growing together on a rise of ground near an old barn foundation. The ground is rich and they love it. Each bush is individual and distinctive as are their nuts--some tucked far in the husk, some bulging out in a precarious fashion, some fat and round, others long and narrow. They're interesting. I can let the butternuts, bitternuts and hickories pass, the heartnuts, chestnuts, and pecans can wait until I am sure they will bear here. The walnut will grow up along with the other trees--blending into the landscape, but the filberts, like Zombie, call attention to themselves every day of the year.

Somebody said recently that the emphasis in England is in being, and in our country in becoming. I imagine our land stopped being with the disappearance of the Indian and the primeval forest and is now in the process of becoming something else. What that something else is we don't know, and each generation carries a new set of values, but we all know that to become something better, trees must and will figure in the plans of all generations--better and more useful and more disease resistant trees. It is significant that nut trees lead in these requirements.

Biology, Distribution and Control of the Walnut Husk Maggot

DR. F. L. GAMBRELL, _New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y._

DR. GAMBRELL: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, some 22 years ago, I believe it was, I attended one of your meetings at the Experiment Station in Geneva, and at that time I gave a little talk on the walnut husk maggot. Perhaps some of you are old enough to have been there and remembered something about it, or maybe you are old enough so that you have forgotten as much as I have, so it would be worth talking over again. At any rate, when the chairman of your program committee wrote Dr. Chapman, asking him if he might talk, he came to me and said, "Would you be willing to do this?" I said I'd be willing but I didn't know whether I'd be able. But finally, the pressure was so great that I said yes, and I am here.

After I accepted the invitation, I made up my mind that I would like to bring myself up to date as much as possible on recent developments on walnuts, so I took the liberty of writing to a lot of our entomological colleagues and talking to one of your members, Mr. Slate, in the hope that I might get some more recent information on the maggots, or, particularly, the control of this walnut husk maggot. I wrote to some 10 or 15 entomologists in 15 states, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington and to our neighbors on the north in Ottawa. I must say that I have had a very fine response from everybody. They were all very willing to help, but practically all of them had the same answer: while they knew there was such a bug, they didn't know too much about it as an economic pest. So that left us all right in the same boat, with about two exceptions, as when we began. Our friends to the north in Canada sent some very nice information. We also had some information from the U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Washington, D. C., together with some illustrated material. Also our good friend, Dr. Boyce, at the Citrus Experiment Station, in Riverside, California, with whom I have discussed the walnut husk maggot problem quite a few years ago, had a very nice bit of information and illustrative material which he provided. Incidentally, he is the man who has been mainly responsible for the development of the walnut husk fly control program for the nut industry in California. I would certainly like to take this opportunity to acknowledge any contributions he or the other people have made towards this discussion.

In New York State we have in our official list of insects about 30 species of fruit flies that are catalogued, but only about five of these can be classified as of economic importance. Two of these occur on the cherries, both sweets and sours, and are called the cherry maggots. Another one on apples, known as apple maggot, and a related form on blueberry. And then, of course, the walnut husk maggot, and one other which occasionally occurs on currants, but this one, of course, is of less importance than the others.

The fruit industry, of course, in New York is quite large, both apples and cherries, so that there is a considerable problem there as far as control is concerned. The growers spend thousands of dollars every year in combatting the various species of fruit flies. The interesting thing in this connection is that throughout the last 25 years with which I am familiar with the cherry fruit flies--in fact, that was one of the first projects I worked on in cooperation with Dr. Hugh Glasgow when I came to the Experiment Station in 1925--the control measures which we developed in 1925 to 1927 are essentially the ones which we are still using today; that is, for the most part. There have been various attempts to change the control program through the introduction of these newer insecticides, and some progress has been made, but in every case they have been wrought with some difficulties. At the present time the official state recommendations for the control of apple maggot and cherry maggot still include the use of arsenate of lead under some conditions. I mention that at this point because it is of some significance in the overall control. I am going to discuss that later on.

As far as the host plants and distribution of the walnut husk maggot is concerned, according to the original description which was published almost a hundred years ago, it was listed as occurring in and to the Middle States. That is a little bit indefinite, but at least it occurs all over the Eastern United States and as far west as Kansas. Then the one which occurs in California, which has since been called _Rhagoletis completus_ (?) looks very similar to the one that we have here, but there are slight taxonomic differences, so at least it is considered a different species. At any rate, it is very similar to the one we have here, and this whole group of fruit flies that we have been talking about have a lot of similarity in their wing patterns and things of that sort.

And the fact that I mentioned the control as generally as I did is of significance in that all of these flies of the various species are apparently susceptible to the same type of control measure.

As far as the host plants are concerned, I have personally observed injury on all of our common _Juglans_ species that I have run across in New York State and in some of the states to the south of us, including butternut, Japanese walnut, English walnut and black walnut. I have seen reports of infestations which were recorded in hickory, but I personally have not seen them.

I'd just like to have a show of hands. How many in the audience here have had experience with the walnut husk maggot or had injury on the fruit? (Showing of hands.) I see the majority of you certainly know what it is, but just as a brief reminder, the type of injury, of course, varies somewhat depending possibly on the variety and time of year at which the fruits first become infested. We know, of course, that the flies do not begin to puncture the husk until they attain a certain degree of softness. Early in the season they are not able, apparently, to penetrate the husk with the ovipositor, and that, of course, varies not only with hardness but with varieties. The flies, of course, may be seen on the fruit even though they are not able to penetrate the husk and deposit their eggs. These husks, of course, many of them, become dry and hard after they have been tunnelled out, and it is almost impossible to clean the shells. Occasionally you have nuts in which you have a separation of the suture, and in those cases you very frequently get the exudate from the husk penetrating through the suture in the shell onto the kernels themselves, and in those cases molds may grow on the kernels so that those fruits are no good.

In connection with this injury I am going to show you some slides in a few minutes, but the preceding speaker made reference to a type of injury which occurred on the terminal growth of a walnut tree and that is one that we have had a lot of inquiries at the Experiment Station about, injury to the new terminal growth fairly early in the season. That probably, in most cases, is caused by the butternut or the walnut curculio. Early in the season these adults begin feeding on the new terminal growth, and they even puncture the new growth and lay their eggs there before the nuts are large enough for them to attack and very often considerable killing back of the terminal growth occurs. I have seen it on English walnut seedlings in nursery rows where there would be very large kill-back from the walnut curculio. Superficially the injury on the fruit is quite similar to that of the husk maggot.

(First slide.) This first slide is just to give you some idea of the general areas of fruit growing and distribution in New York State. The eastern section, right-hand side, Champlain Valley and Hudson Valley, are primarily apple maggot regions. Some walnut husk fly probably occurs there, but they are predominantly apple-growing areas. In the central part of the state, northern, particularly, we have fruit, and as far as I know, there are no plantings of walnuts there, though you people may know of some. In The Ontario Plains section south of Lake Ontario is one of our big fruit belts in the State. Some walnuts are also grown here. Consequently this area has in it apple, walnut and cherry maggot flies, and, of course, they will be lapping over in all those areas into surrounding territories. But this gives you an idea, in a general way, of the distribution of the host plants and the flies about which I have been speaking.

(Next slide.) Those flies get pretty big when you get them up there. They are not that easy to see in the field. The ones on the top are the species found on cherries. The one on the lower left is the apple maggot, the one on the lower right is walnut husk maggot. The only difference you can see here is in the wing pattern but in nature they differ in color. They all have a little different wing pattern. Also, there is a little difference in size, the walnut husk maggot being the biggest of the four species shown here.

(Next slide.) I have shown here the emergence date of the various species, including the cherry fruit flies, the apple maggot and the walnut husk fly. And you notice that beginning over about the first week in June you have emergence of the cherry fruit flies, and you have a continuance of emergence of some of these species up until at least the first or second week in August. These points going up and down just show the number of flies that were taken on given dates, and there is a very definite correlation between the proportion of flies that emerge on any given day with the temperature or moisture condition. Some years, when you have very hot, dry weather, there is considerable mortality of these flies as they just do not seem to be able to emerge from the soil, which is a good thing.

(Next slide.) This photograph is one that I wasn't sure I was going to get back in time for the meeting, but it is a Kodachrome of a pair of flies mating on an English walnut. This happened to occur on some of our own trees at the station, so that we are not immune from attack by this bug.

(Next slide.) That is a close-up of an egg puncture, just a very tiny little hole in the husk, and once in a while they lay an egg even on the surface. Those eggs are quite small, about a millimeter in length and about two-tenths of a millimeter in width, but the next slide will show you that what they normally do is to put them inside that puncture in groups. They vary quite a bit, but the average number of eggs is about 20 in each puncture. But that doesn't mean you won't have maybe four or five different punctures on a given nut, so you may end up with at least a hundred or more maggots in a shuck.

(Next slide.) And the next picture is a photograph of the same English walnut taken about six or seven days later, showing the young maggots that have just hatched out. What they will do, they will begin boring in, and they will just radiate out in all directions into the shuck. When they have gotten that far along, of course, there is no hope for control.

(Next slide.) This slide is one taken when the maggots were almost mature, showing the type of damage that you get.

(Next slide.) This is the resting stage, or the pupa, the one which spends the winter in the soil and from which the flies emerge in New York, at least in our section, beginning about July 15th and going through up until August 15th.