31 



cause of the late frost injury, and it is desirable to get those which 

 will bloom later ind withstand lower temperatures. 



The varietal problem with pecans will be ever with us, as long as 

 \arieties are found in the wilds and as long as people continue to 

 |)lant seedlings in different localities. That is one of the subjects 

 that is being given considerable attention. 



In addition, the relative productivity of the plants to use as mother 

 plants is an important one. In the work of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture in connection with citrus fruits, it has been found that the 

 individual bud carries over into its jirogeny the ability to prodlice 

 fruit not only of a given type, but also the prodfuctivity of the parent 

 to the progeny. A long series of records of the behavior of individual 

 trees liave been secured; we are building up a mass of information on 

 which to base selections for better parent trees than any available at 

 the present time. If the pecan behaves like the citrus fruits of Cali- 

 fornia, we will be able in the futuri- to have strains and varieties 

 which will be very much less variable than those at the present time. 



The propagation, selection, disease and cultural work covers the 

 field that is handled by the Bureau of Plant Industry. We always 

 like to dream of the future, and we are pleased to ha\e the dreams 

 come true. \\ v nuist h.ave in miiul the possibility of better black 

 walnuts than we have at present; and .after th.e great inroad into the 

 industry mad'e at the time of the War, when the trees were used' for 

 timber pu))Oses, there should be a greater effort on the part of the 

 people in the northern districts to propagate black walnuts, not only 

 for nuts ]jut also for timber. The black walnut is a very great asset 

 not only for timber and for ammunition purposes, 'but for food as well. 



The hickory tree is in the same class as the black walnut^it is a 

 \aluable tinrber tree as well as init tree. No other timber is as val- 

 uable for the construction of wheels as hickory, and while the "disc 

 wheel" lias served a useful pur])ose in railroad car construction, it is 

 not likely tliit it will replace hickory altogether in the con.struction 

 of wheels of motor xehichs. We are veritably a nation on wheels 

 and we will always be looking for nuaterial with which to carry us 

 through the country. As I have said, we are a nation of people on 

 wheels, and if your propagvind'a did nothing more than to stimulate an 

 increased interest in the production of hickory for timber purposes, it 

 would be accomplishing a great result. But I believe that there are 

 varieties among the hickories which should be to the North what the 

 pecan is to the South. There are those which are very large and 



