85 



Si^iuc coiiM lie used, of course, lor pulp wood; liui mdicc, among 

 llie old si limps, Lliei'e are a leu sproiiLs coiiiin;; up. 'I'licse are 

 sj>i-(uils of Llie iiati\(; (•hesLiiul, ami it was upon lliese sprouts 

 that Air. Sober eoneeived the idea (jf gralting-. iJi course, it had 

 been done elsewhere, but not upon his lour hundred acres. That 

 was the beginning of his Paragon chestnut. 



As Wit apitroacii the grove at the present time, you will see the 

 mountain side in Jrisli Valley from this view. This shows on 

 the hillside from a distance a portion of the four hundred acres, 

 ^\llich is now grafted, and from one end. of the picture to the 

 other represents a distance of oxci- a mile. 



Jn tli(3 next view, as we a[)[)roa(h the farm, coming uear to the 

 buildings, ^ou can see the nature of the surrounding country, 

 the hillside. IJack in the centre of the picture, at the top, is 

 ninety acres now grafted to the Paragon chestnut. 



In the next view we see the farm buildings and, starting from 

 the buildings, we will now visit the grove as it api^eared last 

 October. 



J>riving up the road you notice along the roadside everywhere 

 seedlings grafted to the Paragon, They have been transplanted, 

 and all along the road wherever you drive, you will see these 

 trees. 



As we ai>proach the grove, you can see its condition in this 

 view. This is a portion of the four hundred acres. There are 

 shown in (he view about three hundred acres. Above you sec the 

 the mountain side, as this grove would now have been had lie not 

 cleared it. 



A nearer approach to the grove shows the grafted trees, and 

 above them the native chestnut principally. This land was ori- 

 ginally covered with, I suppose, white pine. That was removed 

 and later hard woods came in its place, oak, chestnut, and other 

 hard woods. Now it meant considerable work removing and 

 clearing and grafting these trees, and I wish to show you the 

 various stages as we pass along. 



As we enter the grove, it is harvest time, as shown in (his view. 

 They are gathering the nuts, which have been jdaced in bags at 

 this particular portion, so fi.nf v>'o are just entering the grove. 



