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began to make a study of the possibilities of increasing our plantings. 



About 1 920 I made a survey of our own valley to see what varieties 

 could be located. The collection we have over in the corner is the 

 result of this survey, in which I located a good many trees growing 

 under various conditions and soils, all the way from stony places to 

 gravelly, heavy clay and some of them on almost boggy land. 



The nut I am particularly interested in is the Japanese heart nut 

 and I have endeavored to look at every heart nut tree I could get 

 track of within reasonable distance. Those I could not get to I have 

 endeavored to have samples of sent to me by mail. 



I have had some experience in root division of the heartnut which 

 may be of interest to you. Taking a tree of about one-half inch 

 thick, down near the base of the tree usually it will throw from two to 

 five sprouts from the root crown, if you cut it in spring about three 

 inches above the root spread. Supposing there were four buds 

 thrown from this crown, just as soon as they are showing I take a 

 fret saw and divide the root into four pieces, each having attached 

 one of the buds. Take each of these roots with buds attached, tie 

 securely to a small stake and plant stake and root in good potting soil 

 covering to a depth of one inch. 



Last year I had a Japanese walnut tree damaged and I cut it off 

 near the ground. It sprouted from the stump. This year I removed 

 all the surface soil covering a radius of four feet from the tree to a 

 depth of six inches. Then I laid the last year's sprouts down like 

 the spokes of a wheel from the centre and covered them over with good 

 soil to a depth of sixi inches, turning the ends up six inches above the 

 soil. When they started to grow they sent up, from four to five 

 shoots from each layer. The first two shoots had not made any root 

 growth when examined, but the third and fourth each showed root 

 growth on the various layers. 



There is an advantage in this method of propagation over an 

 ordinary grafted tree in that the resultant tree is on the original, or 

 parent, root system, or more correctly its own root system, in con- 

 trast to the adopted root system of a grafted tree. In event of ac- 

 cident or injury to the trunk of the tree, it will come true to type 

 from the crown, whereas the grafted tree would tlirow an unknown 

 seedling sprout. 



With the filberts we have had good success in layering, but no 



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