61 



stock for the hairy chestnut they are growing. This forces early pro- 

 duction and enables the trees to be kept well in orchard form. We are 

 endeavoring to secure nuts of this species. We believe it to be the 

 so-called Chinese dwarf chinquapin, Castanea seguinii, which we have 

 endeavored several times to introduce, but have not been successful. 



We cannot close this brief report without referring to the remark- 

 able work in the breeding of chestnuts conducted b}' the late Dr. Walter 

 Van Fleet. Dr. Van Fleet began his breeding investigations long 

 before blight was known. He produced many hybrids. All of the 

 liybrids in which our nitive chestnut and the Spanish or European 

 species were used succumbed to blight. Numbers of his hybrids are 

 still growing in the orchard planted by him at Bell, Maryland, in 1911 

 and 1912. There is one outstanding form now growing at Bell which 

 should be mentioned. It is a cross made by Dr. Van Fleet between 

 Castanea molUssima, the Chinese hairy chestnut and our native chin- 

 quapin, Castanea pumila. This fine hybrid has borne heavily each year 

 for the last five or six years. The nuts are about double the size of 

 our native chestnuts and are sweet and palatable. The tree has shown 

 no signs of blight. We are endeavoring to get up a stock of this hy- 

 brid by grafting on mollissima roots. Three or four hundred grafts 

 were made last year and more will be made this season. This hybrid 

 appears to be about the best thing in sight for orchard culture in the 

 blight affected regions of the east. 



The primary objects of all this work may be briefly set forth 

 as follows : 



1. To explore foreign countries for new and promising chest- 

 nuts and related tree crops and to introduce, grow and test such 

 crops in the United States. 



2. To place the new crops in the hands of orchardists, plant 

 breeders and others with a view to aiding in the rehabilitation of 

 our chestnut orchards and possibly our destroyed forest areas. The 

 production of nuts as a food crop and trees for timber, lumber and 

 tanning are all involved. The utilization work is in the hands of 

 other branches of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 



The President: I will ask Dr. Smith to open the discussion on 

 chestnuts, basing it on his experience in Japan recently. 



