86 



The Secretary: ^fr. Kelsey told me that the best way he had 

 found to keep nuts was to bury them in a deep hole, perhaps two feet 

 deep. Have you had experience with that way? 



AIr. Jones: The way I described is the usual way to keep seed 

 and we get very fine results. We do that in order to keep the seed 

 cool and so that they will not dry out. But we always have to watch 

 out for mice. It might be a good idea, in stratifying chestnuts in the 

 box with wire mesh on the bottom, to place the box at an angle that 

 would drain off at least part of the water. 



The Secretary: Dr. Zimmerman, have you anything to say? 



Dr. Zimmerman: I discovered by accident that black walnuts and 

 hickories could be kept very nicely in the dry state until spring; then 

 put water on tlieni and they will sprout very nicely. But my chestnuts 

 set moldy that waj'. 



Mr. Bixby: We cover the nuts with at least a sprinkle of earth, 

 may be four or five inches. 



The Secretary: Mr. Jones would keep them with practically no 

 dirt but with sand and leaves. 



Mr. Jones: I would use a little sand over them, two parts of sand 

 to one part of nuts. W^e put in six inches of nuts and alternating 

 layers of sand. 



Dr. Brooks: I know of a man who puts a layer of chestnuts and 

 one of moss and says that in the spring- the nuts are in splendid con- 

 dition. 



Mr. Bixby: I have had the nuts sprout very much better when 

 they were stratified as soon as gathered. 



Mr. O'Connor: I bought about 5 bushels of black walnuts, pay- 

 ing 75 cents a bushel for them. I simph* dumped them out on the 

 ground, not bothering about the shucks at all, and covered them 

 over with dirt. I paid no more attention to them until spring. Then 

 I put the nuts in trenches with dirt about 5 inches over the top. The 

 mice did not bother them, and I think they did well that wa}'. 



The President: Did the frost affect them? 



Mr. O'Connor: No, not at all. 



The President: I have a black walnut tree at home that started 

 to grow in a neighbor's cellar. It had grown a foot and a half and 

 was rather white in color. I cut off the top and planted it out in the 

 open. Today the tree is still growing and is all right. 



We will now have an address by Prof. Neilson, of Canada. 



