101 



THE PROPAGATION OF NUT TREES 



SEEDS, SCIONS, TREES 



By J . F. Jones, Lancaster, Pa. 



The Selection of Seed Nuts to Grow Stock 

 Tl'.e j)riiu'i})le thing we li.ue in view in growing under stocks for 

 budding or grafting is to grow vigorous seedlings that will handle well 

 in the nursery and that will furnish the root system for hardy, long- 

 lived and vigorous trees in the orchard. There is, therefore, no ad- 

 vantage in using seed nuts of grafted varieties to grow stocks, since 

 the stocks are to be budded or grafted. Also, since the nut trees used 

 for under stocks, or most of them, grow naturally in a wild state, there 

 is much less variation in individual seedlings of the various species of 

 nuts, except as they apply to conditions under which the trees are grow- 

 ing, than is the case with most other trees cultivated for their fruit. 

 The selection of seed to grow stocks on which to bud or graft the finer 

 varieties is, therefore, perhaps of less importance. I believe, however, 

 that it will pay to select seed nuts from the largest and most vigorous 

 trees. The quality of the nuts, as judged for eating, however, need not 

 be taken into consideration, since the seedlings are to be grafted. 



Stocks for Varieties of The Various Species 

 The black walnut, Juglans nigra, makes a good stock on which to 

 bud or graft varieties of the P^nglish or Persian walnut, as well as the 

 improved varieties of its own species. So far as we have tried them, all 

 the other species of the walnut (juglans) do well on this stock also. 

 The butternut, when grafted or budded on the black walnut or Japan 

 walnut stocks, will no doubt be free from the root disease which some- 

 times shortens the life of this tree, and varieties of butternut should 

 therefore be worked on either the black or Japan walnut stocks. We 

 have used both very satisfactorily. The Japanese walnuts, which in- 

 cludes the heart nut, grow faster, at least the first two or three years, 

 on stocks of their own species and these are probably to be preferred, 

 but after the trees grafted or budded on black walnut stocks get well 

 established they grow rapidly and, since the black walnut makes a 

 deeper root system, heart nut trees grafted on this stock might be bet- 

 ter, for some locations at least. 



