Chapter VII: Part 7

The Major and Greenriver are excellent performers but are a little late maturing for us. The Posey nut is slightly earlier and makes an excellent quality but is not to be compared with Major and Greenriver for bearing. Our Butterick trees are excellent growers but bear few nuts. This variety is the poorest bearer that we have. Our earliest pecans of the better known varieties are Indiana and Busseron, of the newer varieties, Stephens and Gildig No. 2.

The Giles pecan which Mr. Wilkinson discovered in Kansas is our outstanding nut for yield, size and early bearing but it should also be earlier maturing. Although the Giles has been late when grafted on some of our native trees, it has been early on others. In 1945, which will always be known by the Illinois weather man as the year without a summer, we found a great difference in our Major, Greenriver, and Giles nuts from tree to tree as to size and maturity. This question of compatibility between stock and scion is of the utmost importance and it impedes investigational work, complicating comparisons we are trying to make. Some of our new varieties which we are trying out might be checked immediately if we knew the effect of the under stocks of our trees.

Our farms are about 50 miles north of St. Louis, Mo. Our first problem with pecans is maturity. The old named varieties are a little late for us. I personally feel that we should get grafts from no farther north than New Haven, Ill., or Rockport, Ind. I am interested in Mr. Gerardi's varieties at O'Fallon, Ill., because they should be early. Dr. Colby has brought to light three new ones from Cass County, Ill. which should make excellent maturity in central Illinois.

We are blessed in our community with large numbers of native pecan seedlings. The behavior of different nuts on different stocks is not the same. Before any nut should be condemned we feel it should have an opportunity to perform on different stocks over a period of years. For this reason we always try to graft a number of trees to each variety.

Most things taken from nature are subject to improvement and can be better adapted to the use of man. I would like to see some new varieties of pecans developed for our northern zone. I would like to see large plantings of nuts from all our leading varieties of pecans. From these seedling studies, great good would come and possibly a good variety. I would like to see Major, Greenriver, Giles, Posey, Busseron, Indiana, the Gildigs crossed with some early prolific nuts. I would like to see every nut that had any good quality crossed with every other good nut in a mass planting so that genetics could operate and have these trees planted where they might be permitted to reach maturity and the "get" of each union studied. We might get an early heavy bearer which would revolutionize the pecan industry. I would like to see some of our good Southern varieties like Stuart crossed with early northern varieties. This search for new nuts should be accelerated.

Let us rededicate ourselves to the problem of getting the "super-nut." Let us explore these new fields of nut germ plasm which lie all about us, pull these old nuts apart genetically and recombine their good with the good of other nuts into new varieties. If we should fail 10,000 times and succeed once, success would be cheap.

Random Notes from Eastern New York

By Gilbert L. Smith, Wassaic, New York

During the past few years I have found it increasingly difficult to keep up my nut tree work. However, three years hence, I expect to retire from my job as Farm Manager at Wassaic State School and then to devote much of my time to nut work. Mr. Benton now has even less time than I do for the nut work. Our work of previous years is now beginning to show results, especially our variety tests which should become more significant each year as more varieties come into bearing and repeat crops bear out or disprove our earlier opinions. Following are some of our findings on such varieties as have borne enough for us to form an opinion.

Black Walnuts

THOMAS, no doubt, is still entitled to first place. We made a poor start with Thomas as our first graft was placed on a stock growing at the edge of low swampy ground and the nuts of this graft have never matured properly, while those from two younger grafts, on higher ground, have matured their nuts well. This shows that black walnuts should not be planted in low wet ground, that is, land that is actually swampy; low ground which is well-drained is all right.

We have found Thomas to be a fast growing and very good type tree. The nut is large, thin-shelled and cracks excellently, giving light-colored fine appearing kernels, largely in whole quarters. We do not consider the flavor of Thomas to be one of the best. I have tested this many times by cracking nuts of Benton, Snyder, Sparrow and Thomas, and then, without revealing which is which, have had various people try them and pick out the ones they like best; Benton and Sparrow in all cases were liked best, Snyder second and Thomas always least in favor. Thomas is a consistent bearer here.

SPARROW is a little known variety which has a good many good points in its favor. In my opinion, it surpasses Thomas in everything except size of nut and cracking quality. In cracking quality I consider them to be about equal. Sparrow originated near Lomax, Ill. Wood of it was sent to us by C. A. Reed in the Spring of 1938. It has never been entered in any contest so is little known. The tree may not be quite as fast growing as Thomas, but it retains its foliage in the fall until cut by hard frost, long after its nuts have ripened, while Thomas will be nearly bare of leaves for some time before frost or its nuts are ripe. Sparrow ripens its nuts a full two weeks ahead of Thomas.

The nuts of Sparrow are medium in size, being about 27 to the pound while Thomas will run about 19 or 20 to the pound. The nuts of Sparrow look small while on the tree because it has a thin husk. Yet it husks easily, coming out of the husk cleaner than any other black walnut I know of. Also I have never seen a husk maggot in this variety while some varieties with thick husks were badly infested. As the nut ripens, the husk turns yellow. The nut yields practically 30% kernel (29.94%) with 96% unbroken quarters. Color of kernel is bright and the flavor is excellent. Sparrow has borne consistently.

SNYDER is a fairly well-known variety, having won first prize in the New York and New England contest of 1934. The tree is a little slower in growing than most varieties, yet it bears young and consistently Like Sparrow, it retains its foliage well until cut by frost. The nut is large, being about 21 per pound, with a very thick husk, on which account it should be husked as soon as gathered, as the husk will turn dark and stain the kernel. It ripens at the same time as Sparrow, last of September here. The nut cracks well, yielding about 25% kernel of good quality, about 95% in unbroken quarters. The color of the kernel tends to be a little dark.

Certainly Snyder should prove to be a valuable variety for short season locations and possibly as a pollinizer for Sparrow. Also the retention of foliage in fall, until cut by frost, make this and Sparrow of considerable ornamental value. Early dropping of the foliage in the fall is a serious fault of some varieties as an ornamental.

BENTON originated with us, the original tree growing in Mr. Benton's dooryard. It won second prize in the New York and New England contest of 1934. The nut is rather small, running about 34 to the pound. However, it yields about 29% kernel of excellent quality, light in color and about 86% quarters. It ripens about a week later than Snyder and Sparrow. It is a consistent bearer, a fairly fast growing tree, but only fair as to retention of foliage in the fall.

STAMBAUGH is a well known variety, but we are a little too far north for it, 41 deg.45' N. Lat. It matures well here only in our most favorable seasons. It appears to be an excellent nut, large, good cracking quality and good flavor. It appears to be a little capricious as to bearing, two years ago our one graft was heavily loaded, but there was no crop last year and a light one only this year. In spite of the lateness in maturing the nut, the tree sheds its foliage early.

Hickories

WILCOX is the outstanding variety of hickory of those which have borne in our test orchard, so far. This originated near Geneva, Ohio. It. won second prize in the Ohio contest of 1934. It appears to be a consistent, alternate bearer. The nut is only medium in size for a shagbark, about 90 to the pound. It cracks almost perfectly, yielding about 38% kernel, mostly in whole halves. Color of kernel bright and of very good flavor.

MINNIE has also appeared very good. It is a trifle larger than Wilcox, being 85 to the pound. It cracks excellently and is of good quality. But so far it has not yielded as well as has Wilcox.

DAVIS has shown up quite well. Our oldest graft is on a bitternut stock; it has borne well but the nuts have not cracked as well as those from the original tree or the ones grown at Cornell. In size the nut is between Minnie and Wilcox, kernel bright, plump and of good quality.

FOX has been rather disappointing as produced on grafts so far. Not that it is a poor nut, in fact it is a good nut, but because it has fallen so far short of what was expected of it. Fox is the mystery variety of the hickories. How it could unanimously win first prize in the Northern Nut Growers Association contest of 1934, with a sample of nuts so excellent in every way and then for the grafts to bear only fair nuts, is a mystery. Some have advanced the idea of bud variation in the parent tree. To prove or disprove this, I made a trip to the original tree in the spring of 1943 and gathered grafting wood from various parts of the tree. This wood was grafted on various stocks in our test orchard, so that we now have living grafts from 13 different parts of the original tree. If there is a bud variation, we should certainly have some of the good ones and are anxiously waiting the time when these grafts begin to bear. To lend a little credence to the bud variation theory, I found that at some time in the past the Fox tree had been broken off in a storm and had since formed a new top, largely from a single leader. Mr. Fox stated that he had naturally taken wood from the lower portions of the tree as it was much easier to do so. (The late Dr. Zimmerman made a similar study of this tree and its nuts from different branches. He was firmly convinced that there were differences.--Ed.)

Heartnuts

We have really tested only two varieties so far, these are the Fodermaier and Wright. Both are very good, but we now consider Wright to be by far the better of the two. It is somewhat hardier than Fodermaier, nuts ripen earlier, and bears better with us. Fodermaier is also more severely affected by the butternut curculio than is the Wright, some years nearly all of the Fodermaier nuts have been destroyed by the curculio.

GELLATLY has borne only one year with us, so we cannot form much of an opinion on it. It appears to be a very good nut.

Crath Carpathian Persian Walnuts

Several of our seedling Crath trees have nuts this year. In all cases, there are only a few nuts on each as our trees are still quite small. I had to hand-pollinate the blossoms this spring; this resulted in a rather small percentage of sets; then the curculio took a rather severe toll, so we will have only a few of each variety.

In 1944 one of our seedlings bore 12 nuts. These were so good that we have named the variety "Littlepage" in honor of the late Thomas Littlepage, and are having it patented. We have published a little booklet on this variety, and upon request, we will be glad to mail a copy to anyone interested.

This is about all we have to offer at this time in regard to our variety tests.

We have a problem which I wish to bring before the members of the Association. It is that of controlling the butternut curculio. This insect is very bad on butternut, heartnut and Persian walnuts, with us it does not attack black walnuts or hickories. I fear that it is going to prove hard to control, as the larva is of the boring type, being found inside the green nuts, inside the new growth of the terminals and in the fleshy part of the leaf stems. In these places it cannot be reached by poisons. It appears that we will have to work entirely on the adult beetles. These eat very little and seem to make puncture-like holes, eating little outside tissue but mostly deeper tissues, thus poison will probably have to be applied heavily in order for it to get enough to kill it. D.D.T. is not effective against the apple and plum curculio so probably will not be so against the butternut curculio. It might be effective to apply a heavy coating of D.D.T. bearing dust under the trees so that as the larva drop to the ground to pupate, they will be killed while the adult beetle may be immune to D.D.T., it is not likely that the pupa could survive in heavily impregnated soil.

The adult beetles are present from the time the first leaves appear until late summer. A spray of 4 to 5 pounds of arsenate of lead and 12 to 15 pounds of hydrated lime to 100 gallons of water, applied once a week throughout the early part of the season might prove effective but it will certainly prove expensive.

Planting of the affected varieties at some distance from woodlands and wild butternut trees is helpful in avoiding this insect, but as the trees grow older the pests may build up a population of their own. Some sections of the county may not be affected; I hope so.

Maybe we can get some of our entomologists to work on this insect. Let's put a little pressure on our State Experiment Stations and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Maybe Mr. Reed can help us.

Another subject I wish to mention is that of hardiness in nut trees. In reading the NNGA reports and in some of the letters I have received, I have found that many people confuse killing of the young leaves in the spring by late frosts, with winter hardiness. In my opinion there is no connection at all. I have seen many trees that were not hurt at all by -34 deg.F. in mid-winter yet had all of their leaves killed by a late frost in the spring. In fact all species and varieties of hickory and walnut will have their leaves killed by a hard frost if the leaves have opened out of the buds; this includes our native wild trees as well as the grafted varieties.

The only hardiness against late spring frosts is the characteristic of leafing out late, thus escaping most of such frosts. Of the different species, the black walnuts seem to be best protected in this way, with the hickories next and the heartnuts and Persian walnuts least protected. Of course there is a considerable varietal variation within each species.

Then the protection we can provide, is to plant nut trees on side hills or other high ground where there is good air drainage, thus avoiding the frost pockets. Of course many want to plant nut trees and have no place except in low frosty sites. To these I say that they can expect to lose an occasional nut crop by these late spring frosts, but that only in exceptional cases will the trees suffer permanent injury. In years when the crops are lost the trees will still be good ornamentals and shade trees. My door yard is quite a frost pocket, yet I have lost only one crop of heartnuts out of four or five crops, no permanent injury to the tree.

Yield and Nut Quality of the Common Black Walnut In the Tennessee Valley[12]

By Thomas G. Zarger, Tennessee Valley Authority

Black walnut occurs on open, non-crop land in the Tennessee Valley region. Trees grow around the farmstead, along fence rows, and in pastures on most farms. In recent years harvesting of walnuts for market from these trees has increased significantly. Looking forward to a fuller utilization of the wild black walnut crop, knowledge on the bearing habits of these open-grown black walnut trees was required. To supply this information a study of tree growth, nut yield, and nut quality was undertaken in 1940. Results on nut yield available from this study after six years are summarized in this report.

[Footnote 12: Contribution from TVA Forestry Relations Department, Forestry Investigations Division on a project conducted in the Forest Products Section.]

This study was initiated with the selection of representative open-grown walnut trees throughout the Tennessee Valley. In 1940, 96 sample trees were selected and 36 trees were added to the study in 1942. These 132 trees are located in 42 counties and afford a good representation of age, size, and growth quality of open-grown black walnut. Each sample tree has been visited annually. Entire crops were collected, carefully weighed and sampled: tree diameters and other measurements were taken for the tree growth phase of the study. When convenient, nuts were hulled in the field with a corn sheller, but more often they were brought to Norris and run through a hulling machine. After hulling, the nuts were dried until cured, then a sample for each tree was tested for percentage of filled nuts, nut weight, and cracking quality.

Yield

Results on nut yield and nut quality for the 132 sample trees have been condensed to the presentation in Table 1. For the six-year period the average tree in this study had a diameter of 13.3 inches and yielded 33 pounds of hulled, dry nuts a year. The yield of common black walnut trees in the Tennessee Valley is characterized by extreme variation. Tree size, of course, influences nut yield. One-half of the yields from a 6-inch diameter tree ranged from no crop to 4 pounds of hulled, dry nuts; whereas half the yields from a 22-inch tree ranged from 40 to 100 pounds. A yield of less than one-half pound of hulled, dry walnuts was considered "no crop". Some individual trees had unusually high or low yields. The outstanding bearer was tree 117. It had the highest average yield for the six-year period, and the heaviest crop of hulled, dry nuts for any single year. During the six years this tree yielded 953 pounds of dry, hulled nuts and 194 pounds of kernels--truly outstanding production for a common black walnut tree. Another notable bearer, tree 100, yielded 916 pounds of nuts and 189 pounds of kernels. However, this tree was almost 11 inches larger in diameter than tree 117. The exceptional bearers in each diameter class also had the highest single nut crops. The other extreme is characterized by low yields. Crops were lacking or insignificant for trees 60, 63, 211, and 221. Tree 37, with a 19.7-inch diameter, bore only one crop of 31 pounds during the entire six-year period. This tree has no value for nut production but would yield a good sawlog.

Variation of yield by seasons and locality was examined by grouping the 132 sample trees into six localities of 22 trees each. Greater variation in averages by crop years existed than averages by tree location groups. However, some variation was found between the eastern and western portions of the Tennessee Valley.

Indications on bearing habits were obtained for a six-year period on 96 trees, Nos. 1 through 140 (Table 1). Crop records for each of these trees were examined for relatively high and low yield by seasons. Convincing evidence on the alternation of bearing has accumulated during this six-year period with 46 percent of the trees having lighter crops every other year. Of these, 28 trees bore lighter crops in the odd years and 16 trees bore lighter crops in the even years. Tree 117, previously mentioned as outstanding in regard to yield, produced lighter crops in 1940, 1942, and 1944. This tree is located in west Tennessee.

Walnut trees bearing lighter crops in 1941, 1943, and 1945 are more abundant in the eastern than in the western portion of the Tennessee Valley. This occurrence undoubtedly accounts for much of the variation found between the eastern and western portions.

Four other yield patterns were recognized in 30 per cent of the trees. These indicate the existence of uniform annual crops and three-year cyclic bearing of black walnut. The bearing habits of the remaining 24 per cent of the trees is considered merely irregular, since definite patterns cannot be recognized until bearing records cover a longer period of years.

Nut Quality

The cracking quality of the nuts from the trees in this study was tested on a random sample of nuts from each crop that was collected and brought back to Norris. The nuts of each sample were weighed and the average nut weight computed. The nuts were then cracked in a hand-cracking machine, and kernels that could be extracted with the fingers were removed and weighed.[13] From this weight was computed the first-crack marketable kernel percentage. The nuts that still contained kernels were recracked and the remaining kernel removed. All kernels, including crumbs, were then weighed in order to compute the total kernel weight and kernel percentage. Finally, all of the quarters extracted were counted, and the average number of quarters was computed. Kernels recovered at first crack and the average number of quarters extracted indicate the relative ease of extraction of kernels.

Cracking quality of walnuts for individual sample trees averaged by crop years are presented in Table 1. Nuts of all crops collected from four trees, 57, 58, 60, and 139, were shriveled or abnormal, and afforded no test of nut quality during the six-year period. Thus, nut quality data, based on 440 nut crop samples, are complete for 128 of the 132 sample trees. From this study, the average common black walnut in the Tennessee Valley has a nut weight of 17 grams, a kernel weight of 3.3 grams, a total kernel content of 20 per cent, a marketable kernel recovery at first crack of 17 per cent, and a quarter recovery of unbroken quarters averaging 1.8.

[Footnote 13: The kernels were extracted over a 6-mesh wire screen. In commercial cracking, kernel pieces passing through this type of screen are not marketable as kernels.]

Table I--Yield of Nuts and Kernels, and Cracking Quality of Nuts from 132 Sample Trees of Common Black Walnut in the Tennessee Valley

_________________________________________________________________________

Tree
_____________________

Diameter
at 4-1/2 ______________________________________________________
Sample ft.
number av. yr. 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Av. yr.
_________________________________________________________________________

inches pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds
1 20.4 27 16 2 95 5 3 25
2 14.9 43 43 26 45 42 23 38
3 9.3 22 12 8 22 6 29 17
5 11.2 54 0 61 0 33 7 26
6 13.6 28 1 72 0 16 1 20
8 13.2 50 28 23 41 76 45 44

9 13.2 36 50 40 28 33 7 32
10 22.9 29 25 0 0 6 15 12
11 6.1 2 4 12 2 4 1 4
12 17.4 110 18 128 40 100 49 74
13 14.5 98 5 83 50 46 128 68
14 12.2 1 0 12 3 2 98 19

15 11.6 38 46 44 106 0 63 50
16 15.7 130 0 106 25 135 33 72
17 12.0 1 66 4 100 2 61 39
18 7.8 20 0 40 21 33 4 20
25 8.6 13 0 82 0 0 0 16
26 20.7 0 36 46 90 0 67 46

27 8.4 0 1 26 2 0 22 8
28 8.0 0 11 1 19 0 12 7
29 9.2 0 17 22 21 2 19 14
30 15.2 150 25 200 0 102 15 82
31 18.0 33 194 14 259 0 135 106
34 16.4 0 108 0 25 0 129 44

37 19.7 0 0 31 0 0 0 5
38 9.1 2 0 14 0 47 0 10
39 17.7 151 0 80 0 56 0 48
40 16.5 88 0 50 5 37 6 31
41 9.5 60 0 74 0 67 0 34
42 14.5 123 0 170 0 119 0 69

______________________________________________________________________________

Av. Filled nuts Complete crack
Kernel _________________ ________________________
yield First-
bearing In terms crack Crops
yrs. of total Average marketable Kernel tested
number only weight weight kernel weight Kernel Quarters basis
______________________________________________________________________________

pounds percent grams percent grams percent number number
1 2.2 6 17 21 3.7 22 2.9 2
2 4.9 50 14 17 2.6 19 1.3 5
3 2.2 63 16 18 3.3 21 2.0 7
5 7.9 67 16 23 4.5 27 1.1 3
6 4.9 92 14 22 3.2 23 2.8 4
8 5.6 59 24 17 5.0 21 3.0 7

9 6.1 56 16 20 3.6 23 1.3 5
10 1.6 36 13 15 2.6 19 0.6 2
11 0.8 99 14 16 2.7 19 1.4 7
12 16.3 95 18 17 4.2 23 1.5 7
13 17.9 92 19 25 5.2 28 2.9 7
14 4.9 91 19 18 4.3 22 2.4 3

15 11.8 96 17 19 3.4 20 2.1 6
16 20.0 94 24 19 6.0 25 2.3 6
17 8.4 97 13 17 2.7 20 2.5 7
18 5.3 85 15 24 4.0 26 2.5 4
25 9.6 93 18 16 3.8 21 2.5 4
26 5.5 42 16 14 3.1 18 0.6 4

27 2.7 95 17 19 3.7 21 1.2 3
28 1.7 99 9 14 1.6 18 1.6 4
29 3.4 100 11 15 2.2 21 1.2 4
30 19.9 77 19 17 4.3 23 2.3 3
31 25.1 90 20 15 4.5 23 1.3 4
34 16.8 73 20 17 4.0 20 2.5 2

37 6.2 100 16 16 2.8 18 3.4 2
38 4.5 63 18 14 2.8 15 2.3 2
39 15.0 87 19 14 3.5 18 2.2 3
40 4.9 82 20 13 3.1 15 2.3 3
41 9.1 73 16 17 3.0 19 2.5 3
42 28.4 86 19 21 4.5 24 3.3 3
46 13.8 14 18 15 36 12 12 18
47 9.8 15 0 39 0 20 2 13
48 13.6 25 34 50 52 17 96 46
49 6.6 14 9 16 4 19 0 10
50 9.5 29 0 13 25 0 57 20
51 11.2 11 13 11 0 24 0 10

52 13.3 25 8 0 84 0 14 22
56 13.4 15 8 0 12 4 6 8
57 16.7 162 5 103 17 74 4 59
58 12.0 42 2 30 6 20 2 17
59 9.4 2 8 4 8 2 8 5
60 9.6 1 1 3 0 2 0 1

61 10.6 2 2 20 1 10 0 6
62 12.4 27 6 23 7 13 0 13
63 12.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
64 11.8 18 2 37 0 21 0 13
65 17.8 130 53 101 9 107 0 67
66 9.6 31 0 25 1 13 5 12
67 9.4 89 0 7 7 10 11 21
69 13.7 70 2 104 4 30 2 35
70 16.1 72 2 11 95 0 68 41
71 15.2 7 1 43 1 0 1 9
76 8.1 7 0 6 0 9 0 4
77 11.2 40 0 21 6 4 23 16

78 11.4 34 0 40 0 31 2 18
79 16.4 28 0 24 0 11 22 14
80 11.4 132 44 110 8 189 42 88
86 24.9 191 0 282 0 64 110 108
87 14.0 45 0 107 0 31 9 32
89 8.4 1 8 2 39 0 44 16

90 13.2 11 6 72 8 13 7 20
91 12.4 68 5 200 3 54 22 59
92 17.6 18 74 138 76 2 126 72
93 10.9 30 0 48 3 26 0 18
94 7.2 0 36 0 21 0 53 18

46 1.7 51 17 16 2.8 17 2.8 4
47 3.8 97 11 17 2.2 20 1.0 3
48 8.2 83 13 16 2.6 20 1.3 4
49 2.0 80 18 16 3.7 20 2.0 3
50 3.7 72 17 19 3.6 21 3.4 3
51 1.9 49 18 19 4.2 23 1.6 3
52 6.0 80 18 16 3.2 18 1.3 2
56 0.6 13 22 20 4.8 22 3.0 1
57 4 0
58 9 0
59 0.4 20 27 19 5.6 21 3.0 2
60 0.0 0 22 15 3.4 15 3.9 1

61 0.2 48 14 9 2.0 14 1.5 2
62 0.4 15 25 19 4.6 19 3.8 2
63 0.5 94 13 21 3.2 24 3.1 2
64 3.1 70 21 20 5.1 24 3.2 3
65 7.9 58 23 15 3.7 16 3.4 3
66 1.6 34 24 18 4.6 19 3.7 3

67 2.2 31 20 18 3.7 18 3.6 3
69 8.6 92 21 21 5.4 25 1.9 3
70 9.2 87 18 16 3.4 20 1.5 3
71 2.0 88 14 16 2.6 19 1.9 3
76 1.4 94 13 16 2.6 20 2.2 4
77 2.6 89 21 16 3.5 17 3.6 3

78 4.2 80 20 14 3.6 18 3.0 3
79 5.0 97 21 20 5.0 24 2.8 3
80 19.3 94 18 22 4.3 23 3.2 3
86 32.0 96 13 19 2.8 20 1.8 4
87 11.3 100 11 19 2.7 22 0.5 3
89 3.2 91 13 18 2.6 21 1.1 6

90 3.4 87 18 19 3.5 20 2.6 3
91 13.4 96 16 22 3.8 23 2.4 7
92 15.5 93 16 20 3.4 21 2.2 7
93 5.1 97 12 14 2.4 18 1.7 3
94 3.6 52 19 24 4.7 24 2.1 3

Table I----Yield of Nuts and Kernels, and Cracking Quality of Nuts from 132 Sample Trees of Common Black Walnut in the Tennessee Valley (continued)

_________________________________________________________________________

Tree
_____________________

Diameter at 4-1/2 ______________________________________________________ Sample ft. number av. yr. 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Av. yr. _________________________________________________________________________

inches pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds
96 16.5 23 31 93 51 29 103 55
97 9.8 2 8 9 7 4 6 6
98 21.3 44 20 66 35 26 4 32
100 27.8 159 272 65 334 6 80 153
101 21.2 0 294 120 206 30 239 148
102 13.1 38 2 44 4 12 3 17

103 7.5 20 15 25 30 9 119 36 104 12.3 40 17 52 17 16 0 24 106 11.4 50 16 66 29 46 66 46 107 13.2 29 0 5 8 0 1 7 108 9.0 34 11 12 25 12 7 17 109 12.6 11 12 30 69 0 14 23

110 14.9 65 104 29 61 54 32 58 111 11.3 8 55 5 65 0 54 31 116 11.8 0 16 6 7 4 9 7 117 17.0 10 285 13 142 116 387 159 118 13.3 3 78 6 170 4 263 87 119 14.6 0 34 148 0 40 145 61

121 17.6 67 9 41 15 0 64 33 129 13.3 13 70 8 157 0 149 66 130 15.3 47 1 50 10 0 24 22 131 16.2 78 1 33 89 0 69 45 132 14.2 6 8 22 10 0 17 10 134 13.3 9 20 11 17 24 3 14

135 14.1 12 55 0 15 0 94 29 136 15.1 7 1 18 14 0 2 7 137 9.4 27 0 38 13 5 28 18 138 14.5 36 18 28 35 69 8 32 139 10.2 14 9 19 64 51 0 26 140 11.1 0 18 62 53 28 34 32

______________________________________________________________________________

Av. Filled nuts Complete crack
Kernel _________________ ________________________
yield First-
bearing In terms crack Crops
yrs. of total Average marketable Kernel tested
number only weight weight kernel weight Kernel Quarters basis
______________________________________________________________________________

pounds percent grams percent grams percent number number

96 9.6 100 12 15 2.1 17 0.7 3
97 0.6 51 11 13 1.7 15 2.0 3
98 2.7 44 18 10 2.4 13 0.4 7
100 31.4 97 22 17 4.6 21 2.8 7
101 31.7 94 25 15 4.8 19 1.5 3
102 3.4 49 18 19 3.6 20 2.5 3

103 5.9 94 19 16 3.7 20 0.9 3 104 4.4 84 15 15 2.5 17 0.8 3 106 6.2 81 18 15 3.1 17 1.4 3 107 2.1 78 13 14 2.1 16 0.7 4 108 3.4 99 16 17 3.4 15 0.9 3 109 5.0 98 14 14 2.6 18 0.6 3

110 9.1 77 23 14 4.8 20 1.1 3 111 7.7 100 15 17 3.0 21 0.6 3 116 1.4 100 15 16 2.7 18 0.7 3 117 32.2 86 29 15 5.7 20 1.5 7 118 15.2 96 19 12 3.3 18 0.2 3 119 12.2 72 20 18 4.0 20 1.6 3

121 7.1 92 16 17 3.0 19 0.7 3 129 14.2 98 16 15 3.0 18 0.8 3 130 4.4 97 13 14 2.2 16 1.3 4 131 10.2 95 19 17 3.8 20 1.7 3 132 2.7 98 17 16 3.5 21 1.0 3 134 1.7 75 16 14 2.6 16 0.7 3

135 3.4 58 20 15 3.3 16 1.5 3 136 1.8 41 10 13 1.7 17 0.1 3 137 2.7 66 15 17 3.0 20 0.7 3 138 2.7 49 16 15 2.6 19 0.6 4 139 8 140 7.6 92 13 19 2.9 22 0.8 3 199 13.3 15 4 2 2 6 200 10.4 18 17 1 1 9 201 13.1 30 28 23 117 50 202 15.1 2 4 14 0 5 203 13.7 13 30 8 21 18 205 22.6 56 34 33 77 50

206 9.3 46 26 39 4 29 207 5.8 1 0 9 1 3 208 10.4 2 8 4 19 8 210 6.6 35 0 15 0 12 211 12.6 2 4 3 1 2 214 13.1 32 11 19 24 22

215 6.9 3 5 6 0 4 216 10.8 0 6 2 5 3 217 19.1 111 12 62 25 48 218 7.1 18 0 1 0 5 219 12.0 5 13 26 14 14 220 10.7 13 0 8 6 7

221 6.4 0 0 0 3 1 222 15.3 29 6 6 7 12 223 19.2 22 3 6 0 8 224 13.9 53 11 16 29 27 225 16.8 16 57 27 48 37 226 15.6 119 26 101 13 65

227 6.6 9 12 0 33 14 228 7.3 4 9 0 2 4 231 18.4 74 41 0 184 75 232 21.1 47 0 0 180 57 236 22.3 8 204 0 120 83 237 20.3 121 29 86 95 83

240 6.6 5 7 3 13 7 241 13.0 50 24 44 2 30 242 6.4 11 8 10 1 8 243 22.0 82 0 13 11 26 246 21.1 93 220 52 216 145 247 19.1 2 57 17 1 21

199 1.8 49 19 22 4.8 25 3.0 4 200 1.7 24 17 16 3.3 19 2.0 3 201 10.9 100 17 19 3.8 22 2.2 3 202 0.4 46 21 14 4.1 20 1.0 3 203 4.3 97 18 23 4.4 25 3.1 3 205 6.4 19 11 22 2.6 23 4.0 1

206 4.2 98 19 12 2.7 15 2.2 3 207 0.7 21 17 15 2.8 16 2.0 2 208 1.1 66 16 22 3.8 24 2.4 3 210 4.8 98 17 14 3.2 19 0.7 3 211 0.3 83 11 11 1.6 15 0.2 3 214 3.0 87 18 16 3.1 17 2.7 3

215 0.9 100 13 18 2.7 20 0.7 3 216 0.7 97 11 13 1.7 16 0.6 4 217 12.1 93 18 21 4.4 25 0.8 3 218 1.7 100 18 17 3.0 17 2.6 2 219 2.5 94 11 17 2.0 18 0.8 3 220 0.8 61 20 13 3.2 16 1.9 3

221 0.4 53 16 20 3.4 21 3.2 2 222 1.3 72 16 16 3.0 18 1.9 3 223 0.8 55 12 19 2.6 20 0.5 3 224 4.9 93 17 16 3.5 20 1.1 3 225 7.8 94 15 18 3.4 22 1.0 3 226 9.8 96 12 12 1.9 16 0.2 3

227 4.2 99 16 19 3.6 23 0.7 3 228 1.1 99 15 21 3.3 22 2.3 3 231 7.3 52 10 17 2.3 19 1.1 3 232 26.6 98 19 17 4.5 24 2.0 3 236 10.5 26 15 17 3.0 19 0.5 2 237 16.1 100 18 14 3.5 19 1.5 3

240 1.2 100 14 15 2.5 17 0.9 3 241 4.6 96 14 15 2.3 16 1.2 3 242 1.4 98 13 17 2.5 20 0.7 3 243 4.9 98 14 12 2.0 14 1.3 3 246 29.6 98 14 16 2.9 21 0.7 3 247 1.2 23 15 12 1.7 15 0.2 3

Results of cracking tests show that, in general, cracking quality of nut samples from the trees in this study is poor. When cracked, the kernels crumble badly, making extraction difficult and quarter recovery low. Variation in cracking quality can be seen by studying the values in Table 1. Nuts from trees 28 and 136 were extremely small, averaging 9 and 10 grams, respectively. Nuts from trees 61 and 98 had generally poor characteristics. Trees bearing walnuts of better-than-average quality are trees 5 and 18 with high total kernel per cent, and trees 8, 16, and 59 with high nut weight and an unusually high kernel weight. Other trees, of interest as exceptional bearers, include tree 101 with large nut weight, and tree 117 with both exceptional nut and kernel weight. The outstanding tree in the study from the standpoint of cracking quality of the nuts is tree 13, which has exhibited those characteristics of thinness of shell and high kernel content sought for in improved varieties. This black walnut selection is being propagated at the Norris Nursery under the appropriate name of Norris.[14]

[Footnote 14: Kline, L. V. A method of evaluating the nuts of black walnut varieties. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 41:136-144. 1942.]

Results from this study on the common black walnut have application in the evaluation of the relative yield and nut quality of improved selections suitable for use in the Tennessee Valley. This summary should also prove of value to other workers dealing with black walnut in other regions. It provides a basis for comparison, brings out the possibilities for making selections, and emphasizes the importance of nut production from improved varieties.

The 1946 Field Tour

By C. A. Reed

Attending the indoor sessions of the meeting for two days in Wooster, visiting the Station orchards and plantings near town and contacting personally some of the big men of the Staff together with the wives of some, called for intensive attention on the part of everybody. It was time exceedingly well spent and created a feeling in everybody that they would like soon to return for another convention of the same kind. But the good things that had been planned were not over when the delegates left on the morning of the third day in the general direction of their homes. No matter in what direction they went, hardly a route could be found which did not lead near or through the home town of some nut man.

A few took opportunity to visit the planting near Wooster of the late W. R. Fickes. A letter is before my eyes as these lines are being written which was directed to Dr. W. C. Deming by Mr. Fickes on January 9, 1924, in which he asked for information regarding certain kinds of nut trees which he did not have. He mentioned having Beaver, Fairbanks, and Siers hickory hybrids and asked about Weiker. He wanted to know about Barcelona and White Aveline filberts. He said he had procured seven varieties of filbert of European origin which were then being featured by Conrad Vollertsen of Rochester, N. Y. He was concerned over the chestnut weevil as he had about 125 trees of the Reihl varieties from Illinois and already weevils were troublesome.

Those who had the privilege of keeping in touch with Mr. Fickes during his later years know that he assembled together a good many varieties of other kinds of nuts. His was an excellent collection of black walnut varieties. Persons who knew him well still mourn his passing. He was the type of man who made others feel better to be in his presence.

It was 24 years ago last February that the American Nut Journal, then edited and published by R. T. Olcott of Rochester, N. Y., told of "x x the 57-acre farm of O. F. Witte near Amherst (in northern Ohio), on which Mr. Witte, who was then 72 years old, had been growing nuts for 52 years." The dispatch went on to say that the "x x farm was devoted exclusively" to nut trees. What a pity such men can't live on indefinitely! However, the spirits of Fickes and Witte live on. No one need go far in Ohio to see the evidence.

Going east from Wooster on the morning of the third day, a group of 50 or more persons stopped first at Kidron where they were shown the nut plantings of Mr. E. P. Gerber and his family of that small hamlet. A half mile north of town, Mr. Gerber led the party through his largest planting of nut trees mostly of bearing age. Of black walnuts he showed such varieties as Deming (purple foliage, especially in early spring), Lamb (the original tree had a figured grain), Ohio, Stabler, Ten Eyck, and Thomas. Of pecan, there were five varieties, Busseron, Butterick, Greenriver, Indiana and Posey. In the group of heartnuts, there were two named varieties, Bates and Faust, and one of which Mr. Gerber appeared not to have the name. He simply called it a "sport." There were filberts of various kinds, Barcelona, DuChilly and Jones Hybrids, being the ones bearing variety designations. Also there were Persian (English) walnut trees, principally Broadview and Crath. Mr. Gerber had more Chinese chestnut seedlings than trees of any other one kind. There was but one butternut and that appeared to have been unnamed. Altogether 40 black walnut trees, 20 pecan, 30 filbert, 20 Persian walnut, one butternut, and 140 Chinese chestnut trees were seen.

Upon finishing with the first block of trees, the party was taken into town where a large business house of Gerber and Sons was passed and a short visit paid to a second planting in the rear of various Gerber buildings, including the residence of Mr. Gerber. Here were some two or three dozen fine appearing trees of various species and hybrid forms.

Lastly at Kidron, the party, was piloted a half mile west to a small park which Mr. Gerber had developed as a public picnic ground and a source of water for the village. It was well planted with nut trees and it was here that the Gerber family had provided tables and various food delicacies, including fresh milk, peaches and ice cream for everybody. A great part of the work of preparation had been taken care of by Mrs. Gerber and her two youngest children.

The next stop on the tour was at the Mahoning County Experiment Farm, a half-mile south of Canfield, some 70 odd miles east and north of Wooster. Here transportation was provided and the entire group was taken in charge by L. Walter Sherman, Superintendent. The first impression one gained here was that of good buildings, excellent land, able management, and a lot of things under way. All is comparatively new. From a mimeographed list of species, varieties, hybrids, and strains which was prepared in June for another occasion, one gathered that there were perhaps more seedling nut trees here than grafted kinds. Mr. Sherman has reported fully elsewhere in these Proceedings regarding the nut work that is under way at this Station.

Report of the Resolutions Committee

The Northern Nut Growers Association in its annual meeting assembled at Wooster, Ohio, September 3rd to 5th, 1946, adopted the following resolutions:

That our sincere thanks be extended to Dr. Edmund Secrest, Director
of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station and other members of
his staff for the courtesies extended, and for the facilities
provided in the use of the auditorium and exhibit room of the
Station.

That we extend thanks to the speakers who unitedly made a
successful meeting.

That we appreciate the fine work of our Secretary, Miss Mildred M.
Jones, in formulating the program and that we are mindful of the
valuable assistance rendered by Dr. Oliver Diller, Mr. Clarence A.
Reed, and Mr. A. A. Bungart.

That we acknowledge appreciation to the estate of the late Zenas H.
Ellis for providing in his will a gift of one thousand dollars to a
special fund of the Association and that we thank Mr. Sargent H.
Wellman for his legal efforts therewith.

That the members of the Northern Nut Growers Association fully
appreciate and extend sincere thanks to our officers for their hard
work and enthusiastic efforts in maintaining the Association during
the past five years when war conditions precluded annual meetings.

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE
C. F. Walker, Chairman
J. L. Smith
Albert B. Ferguson

Obituaries

DR. J. H. GOURLEY

Members of this Association who attended the Wooster meeting in 1946 will not soon forget the cheery, witty and resourceful toastmaster who presided at their annual banquet, Dr. Joseph Gourley. Soon after this meeting, on October 19th, to be exact, Dr. Gourley was stricken with coronary thrombosis, and the field of horticulture lost a nationally known leader.

Dr. Gourley's passing came at a time of high tide in his work. "Less than an hour before he was stricken," said an associate, "he was engaged in planning a project that he knew would continue long after his active career must end. This is the spirit of the true research man."

He was a graduate of Ohio State University, had served as head of the Department of Horticulture in the University of New Hampshire and later in a like position with the University of West Virginia. In 1921, he was appointed chief of the Department of Horticulture at the Ohio Experiment Station and, from 1929, he concurrently held the position of Chairman of the Department of Horticulture at Ohio State University. He served both of these offices until the day of his death. He was the author of many bulletins and technical articles as well as of some better known text books which have had wide use in American Universities. He had acted as president of The American Society for Horticultural Science, President of The American Promological Society, and as president and member of numerous similar organizations to which he gave continued and enthusiastic service.

It is as a good teacher, companion and warm friend, however, that Dr. Gourley will best be remembered by those who knew him well. His life and fire have sparked many another teacher, research worker and common man to greater effort and better achievement. A close associate closed a press notice of Dr. Gourley's passing with these words:

"His consideration for his associates, both those equal and below in rank, marked his every contact through his long years of service. He was indeed, a truly great Chief.

His family and close associates in the two departments he headed for so many years will miss him most of all, but life for them and for countless others who called him friend has been made richer, fuller and deeper because he passed this way.

Teacher, scientist, Christian gentleman, friend and chief, we salute you."

* * * * *

MRS. I. E. BIXBY

Mrs. Ida Elise Bixby, wife of the late Willard G. Bixby, died at her home at Baldwin, New York, April 29, 1945.

Mrs. Bixby was a life member of the Northern Nut Growers Association, of which her late husband was a past president. Following Mr. Bixby's death in August, 1933, Mrs. Bixby interested the United States Department of Agriculture in taking over much of their large experimental planting of nut trees. Many specimens were moved to experiment stations under Government control, while other institutions as well as individuals benefitted by their collection.

Mrs. Bixby is survived by three children: Willard F., of Cleveland, Ohio; and Katherine Elise and Ida Tielke, of Baldwin.

Letters to the Secretary; Notes; Extracts

EXCERPT FROM LETTER TO SECRETARY FROM G. S. JONES

July 4, 1946. From G. S. Jones, R 1, Box 140, Phenix City, Lee County, Alabama.

My trees (Chinese chestnuts) appear to be healthy and grow vigorously. (They were given me by the Bureau of Plant Industry in 1934.) They began bearing in 5 or 6 years and have now been bearing quite large crops for 3 or 4 years. There are 22 trees in the orchard, and the approximate yields have been: 1943--550 pounds; 1944--450 pounds, and 1945--950 pounds. The enormous increase in 1945 was due partly, I am quite sure, to mineralized fertilizer (Es Min. El.) which I began using in 1944.

As my trees are seedlings they vary considerably in productivity and in size of nuts. Most of the nuts are of good size and quality when first gathered. This is where the trouble begins. The keeping quality is very poor, sometimes half of them spoil during the first month after being harvested. Since this is the case, you can see that germination may be very poor, unless they are handled in a special way. Refrigeration helps for a short while only. During the last two years, I have had good results in germination by stratifying the nuts under the trees, just as soon as they fall. In this way, the nuts are not allowed to become too dry as they are not exposed to the hot sun but are kept in the shade. Our falls are usually dry and our soil is sandy so there is little danger of the nuts becoming too wet during the winter. The danger of spoilage does not seem to be so great by the time winter rains set in. By this plan, I have had from 60 to 90 per cent germination during the last two years. I dig the nuts just as soon as they begin to sprout in late winter and line them out in nursery rows where they are to grow during the first year. Sometimes the sprouts become from 4 to 6 inches in length before I get to do the moving, but they transplant easily. I believe the micorrhiza from the soil of the old trees helps the young ones to grow better.

December 11, 1946--My chestnut trees this fall produced slightly over 1,722 pounds. The nuts seemed to keep better than usual which I attribute to the cool rainy weather which we had during the ripening period. Hot, dry weather causes the nuts to begin spoiling quickly. My records show August 7th as the beginning of the ripening period and October 3rd as the ending. So one can see that this is often a hot and dry period in our section.

* * * * *

EXCERPT FROM LETTER TO SECRETARY FROM MRS. W. D. POUNDEN

Dairy Department--Ohio Agric. Expt. Sta. Wooster, Ohio
October 14, 1946

I am glad to give you the method I used in canning pecan kernels.

Spread the shelled pecans in a shallow pan and place in a warm oven just long enough to heat the kernels through. Have clean jars--preferably pints so that the heat will penetrate more easily in processing--which have been warmed in the oven to be sure they are thoroughly dry inside before adding the pecans. Fill the jars with the pecans (do not add any liquid), place the lid on the jar (I prefer the Kerr self-sealing type), and process the nut-filled jars in a 250 deg. oven for 30 minutes.

I have kept pecan meats for over a year using this method and they are as crisp and good as when they came out of the shell.

HYBRIDS

At an informal meeting at Dr. Diller's cabin the evening before the Convention, Mr. Slate was asked to say something about hybrids.