96 



ferent species and varieties and marking them for future use. We have 

 our state fair at Springfield next week and as I speak to the boys and 

 girls attending the state fair school I hope to interest them to tell me of 

 any trees in their neighborhoods of particular value. 



Some of the agricultural leaders in the various counties, that is the 

 farm advisers, are awake to the value of the nut industry and we have 

 a number of these men co-operating with us. From Gallatin County, 

 in the Wabash and Ohio river bottoms, around $100,000 worth of 

 native pecans are sold in some seasons. In the southern counties and 

 over north of St. T.ouis in the western part of Illinois there are also 

 native pecan groves which are quite profitable. We hope to find valu- 

 able northern pecans, adaptable to our conditions. We. of course, 

 know that the English walnut is very difficult to grow in Illinois and 

 we are not recommending it as a commercial proposition. We believe 

 that the black walnut, all things considered, has the most jDromise and 

 we hope to have something worth while in a (ew years as propagating 

 miaterial. The Thomas, Stabler, and Miller are especially to be recom- 

 mended for Illinois at this time. 



We hope soon to have a complete collection of hardy nut trees on 

 our experimental trial grounds. Here we shall study not only the 

 varietal characteristics but try out new methods of propagating, prun- 

 ing, fertilizing, etc. There is very likely some connection between 

 winter injury and hardening up of the wood in autumn and we hope to 

 le.irn something about that problem through the use of various cover 

 crops, for example. We have at the station a complete experimental 

 cold storage plant in ojjeration where we may be able to learn more 

 about the effects of extremes of temperature on the roots and trunks of 

 certain species. ' 



In such new Init inijiortant work wt> must make haste slowly. We 

 have some things to unlearn and many things to learn. We hope to be 

 able in a few years to make a worthwhile contribution to such an inter- 

 esting and important subject as nut growing in the middle west. 



I shall be glad to have you ask me any questions which occur to you. 



The President: Do you happen to know Mr. Spencer.^ 



Prof. Colby: No, I wrote Mr. Spencer but I did not get any 

 reply from him. I hope to visit him this fall. 



Mr. Reed: Uo you know anything about the top-working of black- 

 walnuts front Missouri at the university.'' 



Phok. Colby: No. I do not know about them. 



