75 



many miles one need not go more tl);ni 100 feet to reacli a Persian 

 walnut tree. They seemed to be scattered about in every way except 

 in rows. Similarly I found in the Balkans another valley where they 

 were in sight for miles, and then I dropped down into a plain of one 

 of the larger branches of the Danube and they were scarce. 



I have never seen outside of the Grenoble district walnut 

 trees so common as they are in the territory near Geneva. • The 

 gentleman who says you cannot grow walnuts along the rpad- 

 side should see this section. He ought to go to Switzerland. In this 

 territory there were hundreds and thousands of trees, but never an 

 orchard. They were along roads, between fields and around houses. 

 In fact most of the European Persian walnuts, so far as I can gather 

 the facts, are grown not in set orchards but in scattered trees. I have 

 been in both of the chief districts of France and only in the Grenoble 

 district were there any orchards. ]Most of the trees are {ilanted along 

 roads or out in the fields, often 100 feet ajDart. 



Persian walnuts seem to have a great love for ruins and thrive 

 among them. I suspect it is the lime in the soil. The famous ruined 

 city of Baalbek in SyriT, undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces 

 of masonry in the world, is bowered in Persian walnuts. Of course 

 that jilace has lime and mortar for many feet under the trees. Pal- 

 estine is full of them. They cluster around the old walls of Constan- 

 tinople. 



The idea I wish especially to leave with you is the great importance 

 of importing better stock from foreign countries, better varieties than 

 we yet have, for themselves and for breeding still better trees. The 

 time for importing seedlings is past. Scions are hard to import. But 

 living trees, propagated in foreign nurseries, are not hard to get or 

 import. The Ori(;nt will furnish the fungus proof trees. Perhaps 

 the American consul at Grenoble, Prance could help us get some late 

 blooming strains. 



The Presiuext: Baalbek and Palestine are full of w ilnut trees, 

 and so is Lancaster. The paper is oj^cn for discussion. 



Mr. Tittlepage: If Dr. Smith will go down to see my walnut 

 trees he will find that I have torn my fence down, plowed up the 

 ground, planted sov beans along lieside them, and the trees have made 



