Northern Nut Growers Association

“ Nut trees of most species commonly thrive at both latitudes and altitudes much greater than the limits of regular or even frequent crop production. This fact is seldom fully appreciated by prospective planters, particularly in the North, who, not unnaturally, assume that the presence of a group of vigorous appearing trees, or even of a single tree, particularly in a fruitful year, is sufficient evidence of local hardiness to justify commercial planting. However, practically all of our native species of nut-bearing trees are indigenous well beyond the range of regular crop production. ”

“ A way of overcoming the objection of slow growth of some of the nut species might be the alternate planting of quick-growing species which would furnish shade in a minimum length of time, and which could be cut for pulp or other purposes by the time the nut trees reach maturity.
A practical objection to highway planting of nut trees is that unless cared for, such trees are in danger of becoming breeding places for diseases and insect pests which would quickly spread to nearby orchards. However, such planting in numbers too small to be worth caring for is not to be considered. ”

“ It is very seldom that one hears a nut grower express the opinion that a certain tree is carrying too many nuts for the crop to attain proper size and fill well, yet this is very often the case. Furthermore, the production of a large crop of poorly filled nuts one year is almost certain to result in a light crop or none at all the following year. There is a very close inverse relation between the size of the crop produced and the degree to which the nuts are filled at harvest, namely, the larger the crop the less the nuts will be filled. ”

“ In the National Nut Growers' Association data are obtainable because they have been worked out by experiment stations and by individuals. But in this association where varieties are just being discovered and have not been disseminated and tried we have got to test them. We haven't got developed beyond the infant class in this Northern Nut Growers' Association. ”

“ When societies for a given group of plants exist in 2 or more countries, they will be expected to collaborate. Insofar as I know the Northern Nut Growers Association has not set up any mechanism for the registration of names given to cultivars, hybrids, and clones of nuts. ”

“ The rings of growth on a tree trunk push outward and continually expand and grow—so must our association. Sometimes we become so deeply engrossed in what we are doing or trying to do that it is advisable to back up and take a broadside view of our objectives and purpose. In other words, we sometimes cannot see the forest for the trees.
I should like at this time to review the real intent and purpose of the Northern Nutgrowers Association. The defined purpose of this association, as stated in the Constitution, is to promote: (1) Interest in nut bearing plants ”

“ Experiment station directors, if they are confronted with a shortage of funds, are likely to run the blue pencil through items which cannot be backed up with economic considerations. The approach of the Northern Nut Growers Association it seems to me should not be to seek support on an economic basis but rather on the basis of better living on the farm, improvement of gardens and farmsteads and the advantages of growing nut trees as compared with any other horticultural activity. ”

“ The yield's produced in the 1938 planting have been outstanding, as indicated by the data in Table I, The trees began bearing when younger and developed heavier production than those of the 1926 planting, whether judged by age of tree or years of bearing. Many of the trees have produced nuts of outstanding size, attractiveness, eating quality, and keeping quality. There has been the usual degree of variation common to any collection of seedlings, but the best trees in this planting have been superior to any previously seen. Nut size has varied from 23 to more than 100 to the pound ”

“ A large percentage of them showed evidence of interest such as: "the nuts are large and easy to crack," "where can I get more grafted trees?" Only 7 percent implied disinterest: "the trees are slow growing," "the nuts are faulty."
This test-planting project will be completed in 1948. The plantings have already yielded much valuable information on the Thomas variety; they will [Pg 64] yield much more as the trees become older. Further studies are planned on nut yield, nut quality, and tree growth in relation to the varying conditions existing in the Tennessee Valley. ”

“ The stocks of the root-grafted trees are seldom injured. They send up sprouts except in cases where the graft union is so far beneath the surface of the soil that after the grafted part is killed the stock is too deep to grow out.
Not a single tree out of a total of 40,000 seedlings in Virginia grown from northern nuts planted during a period of six years has ever been found affected by winter injury ”

“ Nut tree planting is not all waiting. It will give the busy man some surprises as I have reason to know from my own limited experience. Ten years ago when I planted my first experimental orchard I set about preparing several other lines of quick maturing experimental work, for I did not expect those trees would have any thing to report for a decade or so. You can imagine how surprised and delighted I was when on the third year there was a sprinkling of nuts, enough to be able to identify the most precocious varieties. ”

“ We must not accomplish everything in civilization this year. Be generous; leave something for others to accomplish later. Nut trees grown in forest form say to themselves: "Here are trees enough. We shall store up cellulose." Therefore the trees store up cellulose, make great trunks and timber, and little fruit. A nut tree on the other hand which is growing alone in a field says, "Here are not trees enough. I shall be fruitful," and therefore it bears much fruit. Consequently, nut trees to be grown as forest are out of the question as nut producers, but may be very valuable for timber. ”

“ In northern nut-growing, however, it may be questioned if we are yet arrived at the Patrick Barry stage. What we need is pioneer planters who have the courage to plant nut trees and take a chance against failure and not wait for others to blaze the trail. It needs men of vision and courage to plant the unknown and look with hope and optimism to the future. So many are deterred from planting by the fact that nut trees are tardy in coming into bearing and uncertain of results. In these stirring times we want men of nerve in the orchard as well as in the trenches. ”

“ People buy what they think will give them the most satisfaction.
We are living in a cold-blooded society and people are not going to choke with emotion when we mention the old hollow tree where the possums hatched, or the wide spreading chestnut. People may not even want to join our NNGA. This is a free country and people can just sit in the sun on the bare ground if they want to. They may not want trees and can eat grape nuts if they want. We know they need the hobby—the shade—the beauty—the protection or even nuts which nut trees will bring them. ”

“ THE SOUTHERN AREA. There are no nurserymen who report from the southern area. Practically all are interested in the production of nuts, but they are more alive than their northern neighbors to the value of timber, and more of them count upon it for a part of their profit from the planting of nut trees.
Interest is about equally divided between methods of propagation, grafting, budding, top-working, planting seed of better varieties, artificial cross-pollination, and searching their neighborhoods for wild trees that show promise of superiority. ”

“ It has borne nuts since it was six years of age and this year has a very heavy crop. Some of the first crop of nuts were planted and these in turn have developed into trees which have produced nuts. Nuts from the second generation have been planted and will likely make trees which will yield nuts in a few years. An interesting feature of the original planting is the great variation in the size, shape of nut, thickness of shell and yield. Some are large, some are small, some are round and others are pear-shaped. The majority of the trees yield well but a few, however, are light croppers. ”

“ Unfortunately, many of the nuts offered in the general trade for seed purposes at the present time are coming from orchards composed of a mixture of species or types comparable to the 1938 Philema planting before culling. This is very undesirable because of the great variability in the nuts produced by trees with such an origin. When grafted or budded trees of the newer and improved varieties are available to orchardists chestnut growing for nut production may be based on the same sound practices as the other fruit industries. ”

“ They recognize the value of these trees over ordinary fruit trees which require numerous sprayings a year and whose extremely perishable crop must be carefully picked from the trees. Everyone knows that a certain amount of effort is required to get good returns from farming, but comparatively speaking improved nut trees have a decided advantage in their facility of growth, which means that they can be planted by a much wider range of growers than almost any other kind of crop. ”

“ The length of the frost-free season has an important bearing upon the production of nuts after the trees are matured. This is true in the south as well as in the north. One of the most frequently reported causes of loss [Pg 26] of nut production in southern sections is an early spring, inducing growth of buds and blossoms, followed by a frost. No protection seems to have been found against this damage except by use of heavy smudges. Large orchardists protect themselves, but planters of small groves rarely do so. ”

“ The tonnage of nuts that can be produced on an acre of land is unbelievably high. I have measured individual plants and their production, and the area that they covered, and it is safe to say that we can expect to produce a ton of nuts in the shell per acre in favorable locations on good deep soil. Even at 10c per pound for the nuts this is a good return. New methods of gathering the nuts after they fall from the involucre or husk are being discovered and improved by the western growers from time to time, so that the old expensive method of hand-picking is being eliminated. ”

“ The seedling trees under observation have been fruiting for the past six to eight years, with some trees producing as much as five to six bushels of nuts per year.
The tree grows best in well drained, fertile soil and a bluegrass sod. Small amounts of nitrate fertilizer, about the same quantity used on fruit trees, have stimulated growth and no doubt have helped in the sizing up of the nuts. The tree does not do well under cultivation or mulching, as winter injury to the tree has been recorded when compared to bluegrass sod. ”

“ These are producing good nuts and the trees are quite healthy, regardless of conditions of planting except when they have been given no attention of any kind. In one planting the trees were planted about 10 feet apart on the square with the result that they are tall and spindly with nut production only in the tops and very light on a per tree basis, which indicates the need of adequate spacing if the trees are to be vigorous and productive. Incidentally, this close spacing has not resulted in a desirable timber type of growth. ”

“ Nut trees are not the easiest things in the world to grow. They require a long time to come into bearing, and it is almost out of the question for a person of middle age to undertake a breeding project with a crop like the black walnut or northern hickory and expect to get anywhere. ”

“ There are 19 trees in the grove and the largest and best fruited tree is about 45 feet tall and nearly one foot in diameter at the base. The nuts are of medium size, crack easily, and contain kernels of good quality. A good crop was borne last year and other satisfactory crops have been secured for several years. It is quite likely that this tree would not mature nuts in a short growing season or in a season of low heat units, but the fact that it has done so well in recent years in growth and nut production is very encouraging, indeed. ”

“ At the present time we are using our entire crop for seed purposes and this year we sowed 40 to 50 thousand nuts. We carefully grade the seed, not only discarding any infested nuts, but all moldy, split or undersized nuts, so that we get trees grown only from the choicest. By doing this we feel that although the trees are seedling raised, they come from parent trees that are bearing well, and from which all extraneous pollen is excluded so that the customer has a good chance of getting a tree that will bear well. ”

“ These grafted portions in the top of these trees under poor conditions—our soil is poor at Beltsville—set tremendously heavy crops, but the nuts are smaller in size than normal, and therefore the crop is not as desirable as it would be if it were grown under good conditions. The point is that those varieties bear even under poor conditions. Bearing is a variety characteristic, and wherever it grows it will bear though it may not produce a good-sized nut. ”

“ These varieties remained popular until experience in growing them showed that they were very often poorly filled at harvest. As a general rule, large nuts are more difficult to fill properly than small nuts. This is obvious, because much more food material must be made by the leaves and transported to fill the kernels of large nuts than is required to fill an equal number of nuts of smaller size. In seasons with conditions favorable for both tree growth and growth in size of the nuts, it is often the experience that the nuts are poorly filled at harvest. ”