ELEMENTARY FORESTRY 377 



A generous portion of the propagation bed may be 

 devoted to nut raising, and the seedlings may be used 

 in lessons on grafting with the best varieties and, later, 

 be transplanted into favorable locations. We must, then, 

 study what the best varieties are. Nut culture is a sub- 

 ject that has been neglected in this country, and, as a 

 consequence, we annually import about ^4,000,000 worth 

 of nuts and then do not have enough to go around. 

 Little is known as to best varieties of any kind of native 

 nut. No two trees of any given kind produce nuts 

 exactly alike, in size, shape, flavor, and other qualities. 

 Which is the best chestnut, hickory nut, black walnut, 

 butternut tree in the neighborhood ? A nut show in the 

 school, similar to the fruit and flower exhibitions spoken 

 of in previous chapters, will prove an instructive bit of 

 nature study and may serve to awaken interest in the 

 possibilities of their rational culture. ^ 



1 //la Culture in the United States, Department of Agriculture, Wash- 

 ington, 1896, should be referred to in this connection. See also "The 

 Forest Nursery : Collection of Tree Seeds and Propagation of Seedlings," 

 by George B. Sudworth, Bulletin N'o. 2g, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, 1900. 



