LUTHER BURBANK 



And certainly the hickory nut, walnut and butter- 

 nut constitute better native material than the wild 

 plums, for example, with the aid of which some 

 of the finest varieties of cultivated plums have 

 been developed within the most recent years. 



And, indeed, it must not be forgotten that the 

 work of developing our native nuts has already 

 passed the experimental stage with regard to at 

 least one species. This is the nearest relative of 

 the hickory, a member indeed of the same genus, 

 which is familiar as the pecan. 



This nut grows only in the southern parts of 

 the United States, being far less hardy than the 

 other hickories. But what it lacks in hardiness it 

 makes up in quality, and it is pretty generally 

 regarded as the best nut that is grown in temperate 

 climates, not even excepting the English walnut. 



The relationship between the northern hick- 

 ories and the pecan is attested by the fact that in 

 the regions where the two tribes intermingle, they 

 hybridize freely. 



I have received specimens of the nuts that were 

 undoubtedly hybrids between the shagbark hick- 

 ory and the pecan, and these included two or three 

 varieties that are among the finest nuts that I have 

 ever seen. 



The seedlings that grew from them included 

 two trees that gave great promise. Unfortunately 



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