A fruiting blueberry cross protected from 

 birds. 



become an easily-propagated culti- 

 vated variety more satisfactory to 

 New Hampshire growing conditions, 



where a snow cover would prevent 

 the plants from being winter injured. 

 The native high-bush blueberry 

 reaches its northern limit in New 

 Hampshire. Therefore, it is prob- 

 able that selections made here would 

 have greater winter hardiness than 

 those made farther south. E. M. 

 Meader has discovered two unusual- 

 ly good wild, high-bush blueberry 

 plants; one at Loudon, N. H., desig- 

 nated Sebatis, and another called 

 Clarendon No. 1 (P.I. 185436) at 

 East Clarendon, Vt. These two plants 

 have been crossed with several su- 

 perior, unnamed cultivated blue- 

 berries developed by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture 

 at Weymouth, N. J. More than 

 2000 such hybrid plants have been 

 grown. Jn this way we hope to pro- 

 duce hardier varieties which have 

 file desirable fruit characteristics of 

 the best cultivated sorts. 



NUTS 



BUTTERNUTS 



In an effort made to locate the best 

 butternut trees in the area, a prize 

 was offered in 1940 for the finest 

 sample of nuts sent to the New 

 Hampshire Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. Approximately 150 sam- 

 ples were received. Cracking tests 

 were made on the samples, and from 

 the lot, ten were chosen. The un- 

 cracked nuts from the samples were 

 planted on the Station grounds. To 

 date, none have fruited, although 

 many have produced male catkins. 

 Great variability has been noted be- 

 tween the different plots, particular- 

 ly in regard to stature, vigor, and 

 foliage characteristics. The leaves 

 of one have not been affected by 

 leaf disease which frequently defoli- 

 ates ordinary butternuts. Upon 

 checking with Harry Townsend of 

 Lebanon, N. H., who provided these 

 nuts, it was learned that the tree 



fiom which these nuts were taken 

 was locally reputed to be a cross 

 between Butternut and Japanese Wal- 

 nut. This may be true, as these 

 species are of the same genus and 

 resemble each other in many super- 

 ficial characteristics. 



One of the most important results 

 from such a breeding project comes 

 from the fact that visitors who note 

 what we are attempting to do send 

 in specimens and information which 

 they think may be valuable. This has 

 been the case with butternuts. As a 

 result of such a visit, a report has 

 come from Frederickson. New 

 Brunswick, of a local butternut tree 

 which is more than 15 feet in cir- 

 cumference, breast high, and which 

 produced nearly 20 bushels of nuts 

 ir. 1948. Cracking tests made on a 

 sample indicate that the nuts are of 

 good cracking quality. This is by 

 far the largest tree of this species 



12 



