212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The Pine Nuts. — In many parts of the world the edible 

 seeds of various sjDecies of pine are more or less used for 

 food. They sometimes come on the market as Pinolas or 

 Pinon nuts. In the Andes mountains is a pine that bears 

 very large nuts or seeds. Many of the edible seeded pines 

 are hardy and offer a good field for experiment. 



Tlie Beech. — Experts believe that this splendid tree is 

 worthy of trial and experiment as a nut-producing tree. The 

 nut is familiar to us all. If one could be found that was 

 of some size it would be of value. In many localities the 

 nuts do not fill. It should be grown on rocky hillsides and 

 other places unfit for cultivation, to furnish mast for the fat- 

 tening of hogs. 



The Oak. — As a mast producer the oak probably ranks 

 before the beech. There are varieties bearing nuts sweet 

 enough to be edible by man. It seems as if a way should 

 be found of utilizing, in this country as in foreign coun- 

 tries, the very abundant fruit of this great, hardy and long- 

 lived tree. It is very suitable for reforesting rocky slopes 

 to furnish mast for swine, and for its timber. ]\Iore atten- 

 tion should be given to growing the beech, oak and chestnut 

 as forage producers for feeding animals. J. Russell Smith 

 says, " Approximately nine-tenths of the proceeds of Amer- 

 ican agriculture go to nourish the quadruped, and man eats 

 the remaining one-tenth." 



The Chestnut. — This is the great tragedy of nut grow- 

 ing. The chestnut is culturally the highest developed of our 

 native nuts. A number of men have crossed our native 

 chestnuts and various foreign ones and produced varieties 

 of ample size and excellent quality, bearing young and 

 abundantly. Commercial orchards have been established in 

 a number of places, and many smaller ones for home use, 

 and many of these were bearing profitably. The chestnut 

 industry appeared to be on an established basis, but a few 

 years ago the chestnut blight appeared and has upset the 

 equilibrium of the situation. The disease is now found 

 from Maine to the Carolinas, and even on the Pacific coast. 

 Where it first began it has killed every tree. It seems to be 

 gradually doing the same wherever it is present. It is true 



