﻿16 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  obstacles 
  to 
  propagation 
  of 
  hickories 
  has 
  depended 
  

   upon 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  nuts 
  did 
  not 
  come 
  true 
  to 
  parent 
  type 
  from 
  seed. 
  

   This 
  is 
  overcome 
  by 
  budding 
  or 
  grafting, 
  and 
  we 
  can 
  now 
  multiply 
  the 
  

   progeny 
  from 
  any 
  one 
  desirable 
  plant 
  indefinitely. 
  In 
  the 
  South 
  graft- 
  

   ing 
  is 
  nearly 
  as 
  successful 
  as 
  budding, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  North 
  budding 
  seems 
  to 
  

   be 
  the 
  better 
  method 
  for 
  propagation. 
  The 
  chief 
  difficulty 
  in 
  grafting 
  

   or 
  budding 
  the 
  hickories 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  slow 
  formation 
  of 
  callus 
  and 
  of 
  

   granulation 
  processes 
  which 
  carry 
  on 
  repair 
  of 
  wounds. 
  

  

  The 
  propagation 
  of 
  trees 
  from 
  a 
  dcvsirable 
  individual 
  plant 
  can 
  

   be 
  accomplished 
  also 
  by 
  transplanting 
  roots. 
  A 
  hickory 
  root 
  dug 
  from 
  

   the 
  ground, 
  divested 
  of 
  small 
  rootlets, 
  cut 
  into 
  segments 
  a 
  foot 
  or 
  more 
  

   in 
  length, 
  and 
  set 
  perpendicularly 
  in 
  sand 
  with 
  half 
  an 
  inch 
  protruding, 
  

   will 
  throw 
  out 
  shoots 
  from 
  adventitious 
  buds. 
  In 
  my 
  experimental 
  work 
  

   with 
  hickory 
  roots, 
  in 
  covered 
  jars, 
  surrounded 
  by 
  wet 
  moss, 
  but 
  with 
  

   the 
  entire 
  root 
  reached 
  by 
  light, 
  adventitious 
  buds 
  have 
  started 
  along 
  

   the 
  entire 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  root, 
  and 
  we 
  may 
  find 
  this 
  an 
  economical 
  way 
  

   for 
  root 
  propagation, 
  dividing 
  up 
  sprouting 
  roots 
  into 
  small 
  segments. 
  

   The 
  chief 
  objection 
  to 
  this 
  method 
  of 
  propagation 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  

   budding 
  is 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  required 
  for 
  seedling 
  trees 
  to 
  come 
  into 
  

   bearing, 
  propagation 
  from 
  roots 
  probably 
  requiring 
  the 
  same 
  length 
  of 
  

   time 
  as 
  propagation 
  from 
  seed, 
  whereas 
  by 
  budding 
  or 
  grafting 
  the 
  

   bearing 
  period 
  begins 
  very 
  much 
  earlier. 
  Forty-six 
  years 
  ago 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  W. 
  

   Kerr 
  of 
  Denton, 
  ]\Iaryland, 
  planted 
  three 
  pecks 
  of 
  large 
  shagbark 
  hick- 
  

   ory 
  nuts, 
  but 
  of 
  the 
  progeny 
  only 
  about 
  twenty 
  were 
  satisfactory, 
  most 
  

   of 
  the 
  trees 
  bearing 
  inferior 
  nuts. 
  These 
  trees 
  required 
  from 
  thirteen 
  

   to 
  eighteen 
  years 
  to 
  come 
  into 
  bearing, 
  and 
  young 
  trees 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Kerr 
  

   purchased 
  from 
  nurseries 
  and 
  planted 
  were 
  twenty-five 
  years 
  old 
  before 
  

   they 
  began 
  to 
  bear. 
  Others 
  who 
  have 
  planted 
  shagbark 
  hickories 
  and 
  

   pecans 
  state 
  that 
  nearly 
  twenty 
  years 
  are 
  required 
  for 
  the 
  trees 
  to 
  come 
  

   into 
  bearing 
  on 
  an 
  average. 
  When 
  budded 
  or 
  grafted 
  the 
  pecan 
  some- 
  

   times 
  comes 
  into 
  bearing 
  in 
  two 
  years, 
  and 
  frequently 
  in 
  four 
  years. 
  

   We 
  may 
  anticipate 
  that 
  other 
  hickories 
  will 
  act 
  analogously. 
  

  

  The 
  hickories 
  prefer 
  rich, 
  well 
  drained 
  soil 
  for 
  best 
  development 
  of 
  

   nuts, 
  and 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  moisture, 
  provided 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  well 
  drained. 
  

   Many 
  of 
  the 
  hickories, 
  however, 
  are 
  so 
  adaptable 
  to 
  various 
  soils 
  that 
  

   they 
  often 
  thrive 
  in 
  lands 
  that 
  are 
  sandy, 
  and 
  dry, 
  and 
  almost 
  barren. 
  

   In 
  the 
  latter 
  case, 
  they 
  have 
  to 
  maintain 
  an 
  enormous 
  root 
  system 
  for 
  

   feeding 
  purposes, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  detrimental 
  to 
  good 
  bearing 
  qualities. 
  The 
  

   mocker-nut, 
  pignut, 
  and 
  hairy 
  hickory, 
  perhaps 
  adapt 
  themselves 
  best 
  

   to 
  sandy 
  soils. 
  This 
  feature 
  may 
  make 
  them 
  valuable 
  species 
  for 
  plant- 
  

   ing 
  when 
  one 
  has 
  no 
  other 
  soil, 
  because 
  the 
  stocks 
  can 
  be 
  used 
  for 
  graft- 
  

   ing 
  better 
  kinds. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  hickories 
  prefer 
  neutral 
  or 
  alkaline 
  soil, 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  

  

  