58 A TREATISE ON NUT CULTURE. 



' ' To secure large prices the nuts must be early ; to secure large returns the 

 trees must be productive. No matter if a nut is large and early both, if it does 

 not load the wagons it will not yield large returns. Quality is of little account. 

 I never saw a Chestnut buyer taste a nut ; appearance is of more account. A 

 light colored, bright nut, free from fuz, of medium size, four or five inches in 

 circumference, sells best in the Philadelphia market. In planting an orchard a 

 succession of varieties is desirable, so as not to have the whole crop on hand at 

 once. The following will make a good succession of profitable varieties, ripen- 

 ing in the order named : 



" First. Alpha, the earliest Chestnut, a good grower and bearer; nuts about 

 four inches around; brought this Fall 40 cents per quart or over $12 per bushel. 



" Second. Advance, ripening about five days later; a good grower and 

 bearer, large in size; brought this Fall 30 cents per quart, or over $9 per bushel. 



" Third. Reliance, ripening four or five days later; not so fast a grower as 

 the preceding, owing to its enormous loads of nuts, which are large, smooth 

 and handsome; brought this Fall 25 cents per quart, or about $8 per bushel. 



" Fourth. Giant, ripening four or five days later; good grower and nuts very 

 large, six inches around; not so productive as the preceding. 



" Fifth. Paragon, ripens later and is of better quality than any of the pre- 

 ceding. It is large and- productive, and brought this year 20 cents per quart, 

 or over $6 per bushel. 



" The above varieties are enough for any commercial orchard, but there 

 are several others of merit that can be included where a larger list is desired, 

 viz. : Success, Numbo, Ridgely, Scott, Hannum, Miller and others. Any of 

 the above varieties will commence to bear in two years from planting and 

 increase yearly in their yield. 



" Some of these varieties are much more liable than others to be infested 

 by worms. Scott is remarkably free from these pests. Others, especially the 

 early varieties, are very liable to attack. 



"There seems to be but one way to combat this enemy, and this is to 

 gather daily all fallen Chestnuts, destroy the wormy ones and treat the rest 

 with bi-sulphide of carbon. By this means the number of beetles will be 

 greatly diminished. Where there are large groves of wild Chestnuts near-by 

 that are not attended to, even this plan will be only partially successful. 



"There are two ways of obtaining a Chestnut grove namely, by grafting 

 a natural grove or by planting arable land. In grafting, the best time to com- 

 mence is after the timber has been cut two years. The sprouts have then 

 grown to a proper size and the best results will be attained at this age." 



