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turn out to be Ben Davis or Smith's Cider. But you won't have any 

 such trouble with the nut tree nurseryman. They haven't enough trees 

 to get the varieties mixed. I don't know just how many grafted 

 hickories the nut nurserymen have but possibly you couldn't get 

 enough to set out many acres. After you had them set you would 

 probably have a time getting them established. And they would be 

 expensive. It takes time and labor to grow them in the nurseries. 

 These difficulties could be overdone if there were a larger demand for 

 the trees. But it is a vicious circle. Small demand, few and expensive 

 trees; few and expensive trees^ small demand. 



When I try to write about the hickories I sometimes take a pessi- 

 mistic vein, although at heart I am one of the greatest of the optimists. 

 But perhaps showing up the difficulties to a people of energy and de- 

 termination is just the way to get them to say, "By gum, we'll do it, 

 anyhow." 



I take it that you have many thriving native hickories of different 

 species. There is no doubt that these can be easily topworked to fine 

 varieties, that the grafts will flourish, and bear at an early age. In 

 the south, orchards of pecans are made by grafting native hickory 

 stocks. A similar thing can be done here with the other hickories by 

 those who have the native stocks. The shagbark appears to be the 

 best all around stock for all the hickories, except perhaps the pecan. 

 There can be little question about the suitability of the bitternut as a 

 stock for its hybrids. Most of the hickories grow well on the bitter- 

 nut and the pecan, although Dr. Miorris thinks that as stocks they may 

 push the tops so as to interfere with full bearing. The shellbark 

 should be good for the shellbark and its hybrids but we know little 

 about its value for other species and varieties. The mockernut, C. alba, 

 and the pignut, C. glabra, are doubtful stocks except for a very few 

 varieties, as so far tested. But all these doubts should soon be cleared 

 by comprehensive experiments that Mr. Bixby is making. 



Varieties 

 We know very little about the productiveness of the hickories that 

 we are cultivating. In Mr. Bixby's list of varieties the Weiker is the 

 only one whose productiveness is noticed. This is mentioned as twelve 

 bushels one year. Dr. Morris says that Vest and Taylor bear average 

 crops. 



