41 



Littlepagc'.s trees. Tliere is going to be. in future yer-irs at Mr. Little- 

 )).-ige's p],';ee, an ojiportunity to study this peculiar behavior of the 

 Stabler black walnut, that coiiki be carried on at the parent tree only 

 with great difficulty, because of the inaccessibility of the tree, in the 

 first place, and the inaccessibility of the flowers, owing to their great 

 height above the ground, in the second. 



At Bell Station was seen Dr. \'an Fleet's work on chestnuts. 

 Some ten years ago Dr. Ynn Fleet began this work for the purpose of 

 getting something that should be blight proof, or at least strongly 

 blight resisting and that would furnish the nuts which the chestnut 

 blight is rapidly making impossible of production. \^'ith this end in 

 view, some ten years ago Dr. Van Fleet planted nuts of the Chinese 

 chestnut, Castanea mollissima, ;;nd planted out the seedlings. He also 

 procured from the place of ,1. W. Killen, at I'Vnton, Md., nuts of 

 Japan chestnuts that liad withstood the blight u]) to the time the nuts 

 were planted. The first thing to be found out was how well these 

 would resist the blight. None were found to l)e immune, although the 

 trees are still alive after ten years exposure. Dr. Van Fleet's am- 

 bition was to get a blight-resistant chestnut the size of the Japan 

 chestnut with the delicious flavor of the chinkipin. This, as yet, has 

 not been accomplished, although some very good nuts much larger 

 than chinkapins were seen. One interesting fact noted as to resistance 

 was that the Japan chestnut, which is not generally supposed to be as 

 resistant as the Chinese chestnut, was at Bell Station apparently stand- 

 ing up just as well. 



At the evening session, Thursday, Sept. 27. a rising vote of thanks 

 was given to Mr. and Mrs. Littlepage for their hospitality of the 

 afternoon. The president then introd'uced Mrs. ^V. X. Hutt, editor of 

 the Progressive Farm Woman, of North Carolina. 



Mrs. Hutt quoted H. G. Wells as saying, "The primeval savage 

 was both herbivorous and carnivorous. He had for food hazel nuts, 

 beech nuts, sweet chestnuts, earth nuts and acorns." She went on to 

 say: 



In Spain and Southern France, the chestnut is now used much 

 more than in the past. You should' know in what appetizing forms 

 they are cooked. It is a question how you should cook the chestnut if 

 you do not want to spoil its flavor. Should you steam it. boil it, or 

 what? When you want it in bread, or when you use the tasteless 

 forms, it is first steamed or boiled, and later is mashed up and made 



