﻿We 
  had 
  a 
  splendid 
  stand 
  of 
  grafts 
  of 
  the 
  Major 
  pecan 
  the 
  past 
  spring 
  and 
  

   some 
  of 
  these 
  made 
  4 
  feet 
  of 
  growth 
  and 
  calipered 
  %-inch, 
  for 
  grafts 
  set 
  

   May 
  1st. 
  

  

  THE 
  LATE 
  HENRY 
  HALES 
  AS 
  A 
  NUT 
  CULTURIST 
  

   H. 
  W. 
  Hales, 
  New 
  Jersey 
  

  

  About 
  1876 
  he 
  and 
  the 
  celebrated 
  writer 
  and 
  agriculturist, 
  An- 
  

   drew 
  S. 
  Fuller, 
  made 
  extensive 
  experiments 
  with 
  the 
  large 
  English 
  

   lilbert, 
  — 
  mostly 
  of 
  the 
  Kentish 
  cob 
  varieties. 
  These 
  proved 
  un- 
  

   adapted 
  to 
  the 
  climate 
  as 
  the 
  trees 
  seemed 
  to 
  run 
  all 
  to 
  growth 
  and 
  

   bore 
  very 
  few 
  nuts. 
  About 
  this 
  time, 
  also, 
  very 
  extensive 
  plans 
  

   were 
  laid 
  to 
  propagate 
  by 
  grafting 
  the 
  Hales 
  Paper 
  Shell 
  Hickory. 
  

   There 
  is 
  probably 
  no 
  more 
  difficult 
  tree 
  in 
  existence 
  to 
  graft 
  than 
  

   the 
  hickory 
  as, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  extreme 
  hardness 
  and 
  close 
  grain 
  of 
  the 
  

   wood 
  there 
  is 
  always 
  an 
  uncertainty 
  about 
  their 
  uniting 
  perma- 
  

   nently, 
  consequently 
  the 
  percentage 
  of 
  perfect 
  trees 
  was 
  always 
  

   small. 
  Mr. 
  Hales 
  tried 
  all 
  kinds 
  and 
  methods 
  of 
  grafting, 
  some 
  

   were 
  done 
  on 
  stocks 
  that 
  stood 
  naturally 
  in 
  the 
  fields, 
  others 
  were 
  

   grafted 
  in 
  greenhouses, 
  then 
  again, 
  others 
  were 
  tried 
  in 
  frames 
  or 
  

   sashes, 
  and 
  large 
  numbers 
  were 
  grown 
  in 
  pots, 
  and 
  success 
  was 
  only 
  

   attained 
  after 
  years 
  of 
  time 
  and 
  thousands 
  of 
  dollars 
  were 
  spent. 
  

   Mr. 
  Hales 
  was 
  also 
  an 
  enthusiastic 
  grower 
  of 
  the 
  English 
  or 
  Euro- 
  

   pean 
  walnut 
  and 
  one 
  tree 
  which 
  grew 
  on 
  his 
  farm 
  at 
  Ridgewood 
  was 
  

   grown 
  from 
  seed 
  given 
  him 
  by 
  ex-Mayor 
  Daniel 
  F. 
  Tieman 
  rtf 
  New 
  

   York 
  City 
  many 
  years 
  ago. 
  

  

  Japanese 
  walnuts 
  were 
  also 
  grown 
  on 
  the 
  farm 
  at 
  Ridgewood 
  and 
  

   some 
  of 
  these 
  are 
  now 
  bearing. 
  A 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  Japanese 
  chest- 
  

   nuts 
  were 
  planted 
  some 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  while 
  these 
  bore 
  heavily 
  for 
  

   a 
  short 
  time 
  they 
  nearly 
  all 
  succumbed 
  to 
  the 
  chestnut 
  blight. 
  There 
  

   is 
  some 
  difference 
  of 
  opinion 
  among 
  nut 
  growers 
  on 
  the 
  subject, 
  but 
  

   Mr. 
  Hales 
  was 
  always 
  of 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  the 
  chestnut 
  blight 
  was 
  

   introduced 
  into 
  this 
  country 
  with 
  the 
  Japanese 
  trees, 
  and 
  that 
  when 
  

   the 
  Japanese 
  trees 
  were 
  gone 
  the 
  disease 
  then 
  spread 
  to 
  the 
  native 
  

   trees. 
  The 
  Hales 
  Paper 
  Shell 
  Hickory, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  remarked, 
  still 
  

   holds 
  the 
  palm 
  as 
  being 
  the 
  largest 
  and 
  thinnest 
  shell 
  nut, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  

   only 
  by 
  the 
  most 
  persistent 
  and 
  painstaking 
  efforts 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Hales 
  

   succeeded 
  in 
  propagating 
  them 
  at 
  all. 
  A 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  chestnuts 
  

   were 
  grown 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Hales, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  Numbo 
  and 
  other 
  varieties. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  these 
  were 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  purely 
  American 
  varieties 
  and 
  others 
  

   hybrids, 
  or 
  crosses. 
  All 
  of 
  the 
  hybrid 
  varieties 
  seemed 
  to 
  lack 
  the 
  

   hardy 
  constitution 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  and 
  although 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  nuts 
  

   were 
  very 
  large 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  succeed 
  with 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  long 
  run 
  as 
  well 
  

  

  