ON THE HICKORY NUT 



pose. Yet the nut is a really valuable one, and 

 certainly it is one that would repay cultivation and 

 development. 



Attempts have been made to grow the Euro- 

 pean filbert in Sonoma County, California, both 

 from seed and from division, but in all cases these 

 attempts have failed. The purple-leaved hazelnut 

 grows and thrives here in California as it does 

 almost everywhere else in the United States. The 

 species known as Corylus rostrata grows wild 

 rather abundantly in certain sections, but so far 

 as I have observed, it is a shy bearer. 



There is no obvious reason why the European 

 filbert should not be cultivated in this country if a 

 study is made of its needs as to soil and climate. 

 Also, there is no seeming reason why it should not 

 be hybridized with the American hazelnut. The 

 result of such hybridizing, if we may draw infer- 

 ences from analogy, would be the production of a 

 race of hazel-filberts of greatly increased size, and 

 of improved quality. 



There is a so-called filbert, or Chilean hazelnut, 

 that grows in South America. This plant bears a 

 nut similar to the filbert, but much larger in size 

 and of far better quality. It is difficult, however, 

 to get a start in the cultivation of this plant, as its 

 seeds when brought to this country ordinarily do 

 not germinate. I have at last succeeded, however, 



[149] 



