THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



NUT GROWING FOR PROFIT. 



HT a recent meeting of the Mas- 

 sachusett's Horticultural So- 

 ciety, a paper was read by F. 

 M. Bartram, on this subject. 

 We give an extract, treating of the chest- 

 nut : — " P>om a commercial standpoint 

 the chestnut, for this vicinity, seems to 

 me by far the most promising of nuts. 

 We know the tree thrives and bears here, 

 which are important factors already 

 established. The market takes all the 

 American chestnuts, and many thousand 

 pounds besides which are imported from 

 Italy and France. They are mostly 

 sold along the streets, much as peanuts 

 are. Consider the vast increase possible 

 in this line, and the far greater demand 

 when they become as frequently used 

 for desserts and relishes as their merits 

 deserve. Mark the frequency with 

 which the chestnut appears in newer 

 cookbooks for stufifings, dressings, etc., 

 and remember that chestnuts are even 

 now found with vegetables upon that 

 class of American tables that soon have 

 innumerable imitators ; and prepare for 

 this demand, which is small, indeed, 

 compared with the possible and prob- 

 able consumption when chestnuts are 

 dried, ground into flour, and become 

 the staple article of diet that they have 

 so long been in southern Europe. Not 

 only chemistry, but the experience of 

 generations, has demonstrated the fitness 

 of chestnut meal for human food. 



Chestnut trees do best on high, well- 

 drained land with open sub-soil ; such 

 hillsides as abound in New England. 

 Stoney land is no objection ; chestnuts 

 do not bruise in falling as plums would. 

 Once established, a chestnut orchard 

 continues in profit for decades or even 

 centuries. No protection and very little 

 pruning are required. No large fertilizer 



bills encroach upon profits ; their roots 

 go deep into the ground and get fertility 

 far below the reach of annual crops. 

 An established chestnut orchard will 

 yield as many bushels per acre as corn, 

 and with little more than the expense of 

 gathering. Chestnuts brought $14 per 

 bushel at the first of last season for the 

 best sorts. These fell as the season 

 advanced to $12 and $10, and to $7 and 

 $8 for poorer sorts. If farmers should 

 get such prices for corn they would raise 

 nothing else, one would think. 



Chestnuts do not require constant 

 attention and the gathering can be done 

 by cheap labor. They are not perish- 

 able and can be stored or sent great 

 distances to get a good market price. 

 Chestnuts do not need expensive pack- 

 ing boxes for shipping. 



There are three distinct strains of 

 chestnuts, the American, European and 

 Japan. The American nuts are small, 

 usually fuzzy, and of the best quality. 

 The European trees have given us a 

 strain of very popular chestnuts, includ- 

 ing Paragon, Ridgely, Scott and a host 

 of other good kinds. In Japan there 

 are three kinds ; the largest and best is 

 being planted here ; the choicest seed- 

 lings are named and are propagated by 

 grafting. The trees bear when very 

 young and are good croppers of nuts of 

 the largest size, although not unusually 

 of the finest flavor. 



Many are deterred from embarking in 

 nut culture because they think they have 

 to wait long for returns, but the fact is 

 you do not have long to wait. 



In conclusion, let me call attention 

 again to the timber value of nut-bearing 

 trees. I am still more anxious that their 

 ornamental properties be remembered, 

 and especially by the owner of a home 



