﻿31 
  

  

  the 
  country 
  that 
  have 
  come 
  under 
  my 
  observation, 
  is 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  

   been 
  grafted 
  on 
  stock 
  which 
  is 
  very 
  susceptible 
  to 
  the 
  disease, 
  and 
  

   I 
  think 
  it 
  is 
  safe 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  80 
  per 
  cent 
  at 
  least, 
  possibly 
  90 
  per 
  

   cent, 
  of 
  the 
  trees 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  killed 
  under 
  these 
  conditions 
  have 
  

   l)een 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  disease 
  girdling 
  below 
  the 
  graft 
  on 
  the 
  susceptible 
  

   American 
  stock. 
  If 
  we 
  can 
  grow 
  Japanese 
  seedlings 
  under 
  the 
  same 
  

   conditions, 
  perhaps, 
  that 
  Colonel 
  Sober 
  is 
  raising 
  his 
  Paragons 
  — 
  

   two 
  years 
  from 
  the 
  seed 
  and 
  then 
  grafting 
  — 
  I 
  don't 
  see 
  why 
  we 
  

   can't 
  have 
  a 
  tree 
  that 
  is 
  going 
  to 
  be 
  reasonably 
  resistant 
  to 
  the 
  

   disease 
  ; 
  now 
  if 
  we 
  can 
  find 
  some 
  Japanese 
  nuts 
  which 
  are 
  really 
  

   palatable, 
  really 
  good 
  and 
  sweet, 
  as 
  these 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  that 
  I 
  have 
  

   mentioned 
  appear 
  to 
  be, 
  I 
  don't 
  see 
  why 
  we 
  cannot 
  have 
  a 
  tree 
  

   which 
  will 
  be 
  reasonably 
  immune 
  to 
  the 
  disease 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   producing 
  an 
  edible 
  nut. 
  The 
  Japanese 
  stock 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  

   fight 
  off 
  the 
  disease 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent 
  in 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  that 
  

   the 
  apple 
  tree 
  can 
  fight 
  off 
  the 
  apple 
  canker, 
  each 
  year 
  the 
  lesion 
  

   increases 
  a 
  little 
  but 
  each 
  year 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  tree 
  overcomes 
  it 
  

   to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  fight 
  between 
  the 
  disease 
  and 
  the 
  

   tree 
  all 
  the 
  time. 
  Very 
  likely 
  the 
  disease 
  once 
  on 
  the 
  tree 
  will 
  re- 
  

   main 
  on 
  the 
  tree, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  can 
  tell 
  at 
  present, 
  for 
  quite 
  a 
  time, 
  

   but 
  perhaps 
  not 
  kill 
  the 
  tree 
  outright. 
  

  

  Professor 
  Van 
  Deman: 
  Dr. 
  Van 
  Fleet 
  of 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  

   Agriculture 
  is 
  working 
  on 
  what 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  fine 
  prospect 
  for 
  

   raising 
  chestnuts 
  that 
  will 
  be 
  immune 
  and 
  that 
  will 
  have 
  good 
  qual- 
  

   ity. 
  Japanese 
  chestnuts 
  are 
  the 
  poorest 
  of 
  all 
  in 
  quality 
  but 
  he 
  has 
  

   taken 
  the 
  chinquapin, 
  which 
  is 
  of 
  high 
  quality 
  but 
  the 
  very 
  smallest 
  

   of 
  the 
  w^hole 
  chestnut 
  family, 
  quite 
  common 
  in 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  central 
  

   and 
  southern 
  states 
  and 
  as 
  far 
  west 
  as 
  Arkansas, 
  has 
  crossed 
  the 
  

   Japanese 
  chestnut 
  and 
  the 
  chinquapin, 
  and 
  has 
  obtained 
  seedlings 
  

   that 
  bear 
  very 
  young 
  — 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  

   feet 
  high 
  sometimes. 
  They 
  are 
  loaded 
  with 
  nuts, 
  and 
  nuts 
  of 
  large 
  

   size, 
  larger 
  than 
  our 
  o-rdinary 
  wild 
  chestnut, 
  usually 
  one 
  in 
  a 
  bur 
  

   just 
  as 
  the 
  chinquapin 
  is 
  and 
  having 
  the 
  high 
  quality 
  of 
  the 
  chin- 
  

   quapin, 
  and 
  he 
  has 
  grown 
  many 
  of 
  those 
  in 
  New 
  Jersey 
  right 
  in 
  the 
  

   very 
  worst 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  area 
  and 
  has 
  found 
  some 
  that 
  are 
  exempt. 
  

   Perhaps 
  some 
  of 
  you 
  have 
  noticed 
  what 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  

   this 
  in 
  the 
  Rural 
  Neiv-Yorker 
  sometime 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  few 
  months. 
  I 
  

   have 
  seen 
  the 
  nuts 
  from 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  trees, 
  and 
  while 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  

   eaten 
  any, 
  I 
  have 
  Dr. 
  Van 
  Fleet's 
  word 
  for 
  it 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  of 
  

   excellent 
  quality. 
  Now 
  that 
  is 
  something 
  that 
  we 
  might 
  feel 
  quite 
  

   hopeful 
  about. 
  

  

  