44 



the peach and in some cases even more. The reason why almond 

 crops are lost oftentimes when peach crops are not is due to their 

 earlier blossoming and consequent subjection to the more severe 

 weather of early spring which the peaches avoid. 



It is evident, therefore, that the principal problem in producing 

 almonds in regions of long winters, as compared with those locali- 

 ties where almonds can be produced, is to secure an almond which 

 naturally has a long resting period, resulting in late blossoming, and 

 yet one which will mature its fruit reasonably early. An almond 

 tree beginning to blossom about the first of February will usually 

 ripen its crop between the first and middle of August, though some- 

 times later. Those beginning to blossom about the first of March 

 or later ripen their crops during September usually and often extend 

 into October. 



The question of soils and stocks is too broad to discuss here, 

 except to dismiss it with the statement that the soils that will suc- 

 cessfully produce peaches should also prove reasonably satisfactory 

 for almonds through the use of peach rootstocks. These are com- 

 monly and successfully used in commercial almond orchards in the 

 West. 



Whether it will ever be possible to produce commercial almonds 

 will depend upon whether an almond can be bred which will fulfill 

 the requirements of late blossoming and early ripening and at the 

 same time answer the requirements of a commercial nut. We should 

 judge that it is possible, although we believe it is a big problem. 

 Our reason for thinking so is that the Ridenhauer almond under 

 eastern conditions will often produce nuts and it is recognized as 

 doing quite well. We have never had an opportunity of tasting this 

 nut but have seen photographs of the tree and have examined per- 

 sonally the nuts. Without any knowledge as to the actual ancestry 

 of this nut we are very much inclined to the belief that it is a peach- 

 almond. If this is so it opens up a line of breeding possibilities 

 which should not be overlooked. 



The procedure which should be followed will depend necessarily 

 upon the conditions under which breeding experiments may be car- 

 ried on. We believe that under eastern conditions the only oppor- 

 tunities for outdoor breeding work will lie along the line of inter- 

 breeding with peaches and almonds. The feasibility of indoor breed- 

 ing with almonds is questionable in view of the difficulty of properly 

 hardening for winter and yet affording protection during blossoming 

 and providing at the same time for conditions which will favor the 

 setting of the fruit. We do believe that there is abundant oppor- 

 tunity for experimentation, with the possibility that valuable results 

 may be secured by systematic breeding along the line just men- 

 tioned. 



Along with this cross breeding simple almond breeding experi- 

 ments should be carried on, but these must be done in a locality 

 where almonds can be brought to fruitage. Of course, the ideal 



