THE MONTHLY BULLETIN 



CALlfORNU STATE COMMISSION OF UORTICULTORE 



Vol. III. December, 1914. No. 1: 



THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES 



OF WALNUTS. 



By W. W. Fitzgerald,* Stockton. California. 



This subject is about as difficult as the present status of the different 

 makes of automobiles. Whatever make of machine a man drives, he is 

 apt to think that is the best : so with the man who arrows a particular 

 variety of walnut, he is apt to think that variety is the best. 



In speaking of the present status of the different varieties of walnuts 

 we have to consider several thingrs, as soil, climate and moisture condi- 

 tions. It is true that we can regulate moisture conditions, but soil and 

 climate we can not I'liange; so in considering the dift'erent varieties we 

 must keep in mind where they are to be grown and the character of the 

 soil on which they are to be grown, as some of our best varieties that 

 do well on heavy soil and plenty of moisture will not prove as good 

 varieties on ligliter soil and poor moisture conditions. Likewise, some 

 varieties that produce good wliite meated nuts in a cooler climate will 

 produce inferior nuts in a very hot climate. 



The first thing to be considered in judging the different varieties of 

 walnuts is their producing qualities. I do not mean by this a large 

 l>roducer of an inferior nut, but a heavy bearer of a good quality nut. 

 A tree that produces only a few very fancy nuts is not to be considered 

 commercially. A fancy variety may bring a few cents per pound more, 

 and may make up what" it would lack in the number of pounds it would 

 produce providing it was not too shy a bearer. A fancy variety pro- 

 ducing only from 50 to 100 pounds on full bearing trees at 25 cents 

 per pound wouhl not compare favorably with a variety which produces 

 200 to oOO pounds at 12 to 15 cents per pound. The relation between 

 the quality of nuts and the quantity of nuts produced should be care- 

 fully considered in choosing a variety for planting. 



One should not judge a variety by the fine appearance of a picked 

 sample of nuts without considering the quantity in which they are pro- 

 duced. The best variety is one that will produce annually a large crop 

 of the nKist desirable type of nuts. Unfortunately we do not have all 

 the good qualities in any one variety or we would not be discussing this 

 s\ibject today. We have to choose a heavy producer with a good quality 

 of nut. One important point is that young trees often produce larger 

 nuts than they do after the tree becomes older, so one should judge nuts 

 from a tree that has been bearing for a few years. 



We should also consider the age in which the tree comes into bearing, 

 as great differences exist in dift'erent varieties as to what age they begin 



♦Address before the State Finiit Ciiowers' Convention, Davis, California. June I 



to C, 1!>14. 



