No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 473 



MR. ROBERTS: Possibly. I was talking to my Italian foreman 

 the other day. There seems to be no reason why we shouldn't 

 raise just as good nuts as they do because we can easily graft their 

 kinds. 



MR. GOLD MILLER: Are the bitter kinds good to eat when 

 grown in Japan? 



MR. ROBERTS: I don't know. The Japanese chestnuts are 

 good when boiled, but I have one kind so bitter that the hogs pass 

 them by. It has hurt the business very much that that kind of nuts 

 should be raised. We are not pushing them, for anyone who bites 

 into a chestnut of that kind will be satisfied if he doesn't eat another 

 one for a year. We prefer the peach baskets to get them to market. 



MR. ELDON: Do you mean the half-bushel round baskets? 



MR. ROBERTS: Yes, a tight one will hold them all right and 

 the buyers seem to prefer them that way. I am glad you are in- 

 terested in the chestnut business. Anybody who takes that up has 

 an interesting time. 



Member: What do you do for the red spider? 



Mr. ROBERTS: This is another trouble we have not yet 

 mastered, and some years it is serious enough to curtail our crop 

 more than half. 



Member: In planting roadsides, do you transplant seedlings from 

 the nail kegs where they are to remain permanently and allow them 

 to become well established before grafting? 



MR. ROBERTS: By transplanting several times you could get 

 a larger tree to live by the roadside. It is difficult to protect a little 

 tree in certain exposed places. It does not matter when they are 

 grafted. 



Member: Are seeds placed in pots in fall or spring, and if the 

 latter how are they kept over winter in moist condition so as to 

 grow? 



MR. ROBERTS: Nature's way is to plant in the fall and she 

 seems to know her business. 



Member: Where do you procure the English walnuts suitable 

 for seed and how are they treated ? 



MR. ROBERTS: The only one that ever gave me much satis- 

 faction we planted in the fall in nail kegs. There are many pro 

 ductive trees in our town that would furnish suitable seed for plant- 

 ing. 



UTILIZATION OF CULL APPLES. 



Mr. E. W. CATCHPOLE, North Rose, N. Y. 



I am very glad to be with you. I see lots of trees here, a great 

 many more in fact than I had any idea of finding. You evidently 

 have faith in your business for you are planting land which is much 

 more valuable for grain and stock raising than ours in Western 

 New York. You have the courage to plant orchards on this high 

 priced land simply because there is a great future for them here, and 

 I am very glad that such is the case. I hope that before leaving, 1 

 may be able to help you a little and give you some idea as to how to 

 handle the crop to best advantage. 



In considering the waste products of our orchards and the best 

 way to transform them into a bank asset, our view point should 



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