72 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



i( 2. Filberts: Husk longer than nut. Varieties: Frizzled, Lambert's, Purple, 

 Red, Wliite." 



For descriptions of these varieties see pages 73, 74. 



PROPAGATION. 



I 



Propagation is effected by seed, by layers, by suckers, by cuttings, and by graft- 

 ing or budding. Grown from suckers, trees come earliest into bearing, and by some 

 are claimed to make the strongest trees; but the major portion of hazel trees pro- 

 duced in nurseries are from cuttings, made 8 or 10 inches in length, from last year's 

 wood. They root as readily as gooseberries. A moist, not wet, sand supplies the 

 best ground in which to root cuttings; a deeper setting is necessary in the drier 

 climate of the United States than in England. In a year the cuttings become well 

 rooted, and are then transplanted, after pruning, from the propagating bed to the 

 nursery row. The nursery culture consists of thorough and frequent stirring of the 

 surface soil, and the training of each plant to tree form. The sprouts and branches 

 are kept removed from about the base to a height of 12 inches (the Germans claim 

 that a height of from 3 to 4 feet for the trunk is better) ; within the next 6 or 8 inches 

 the head is formed of not less than six branches. In the midst of these branches a 

 barrel hoop is often placed, to which the limbs are tied for forming a shapely and open 

 crown. The aim of the two or three years of nursery work is to grow the trees to 

 6 or 8 feet in height and in form like a goblet, after which they are ready for planting. 



IN THE ORCHARD. 



The hazel will not thrive in stiff clay, while in dry, sandy soil it becomes stunted 

 and produces fruit of small size. Otherwise, the bush is not particular as regards soil 

 and locality ; it is always more vigorous on rich land than on poor land. A light loam 

 with dry subsoil will give the least wood and most nuts. A strong soil produces an 

 excessive growth of wood at the expense of the crops. Wet soils produce too much 

 wood and too little fruit.. In Kent, England, the hazel thrives best in limestone land, 

 and reaches a height of 12 feet, and occasionally of 30 feet. The trees are set in well- 

 drained ground, about 10 feet apart each way, though sometimes they are set in hedges, 

 when a less distance in the row is adopted. Boot pruning is frequently practiced to 

 check the too-rapid growth of wood. The disposition of the hazel to make thrifty 

 inside cane growth is kept constantly in check by summer pruning, and the outer 

 limbs, together with the general growth of the tree, are checked by pruning back in- 

 the latter part of the winter. The thin, unfruitful twigs are removed and the fruitful 

 limbs are shortened back nearly to the female buds. Care is taken to leave sufficient 

 male catkins for an ample supply of pollen. The fruit spurs are near the extremities 

 of the last year's growth, and nuts are more abundant where air and light have ready 

 access. In the fifth or sixth year after planting, trees should bear considerable fruit. 

 Trees of this age in England are reported to produce from 3 to 4 pounds of nuts each. 

 It is a very important orchard tree, with many cultivators in Europe, and has been 

 greatly improved by years of careful cultivation and selection. A very fruitful hazel 

 orchard is reported in Wernfeld, Germany, occupying about 2 acres of laud and 

 having a northwesterly slope. In that latitude the trees are said to thrive with any 

 exposure except directly southern. They are recommended by Goeschke for clothing 

 the steep sides of hills and mountains; also for railroad banks. He states that in 

 Germany they are advantageously used in those portions of fruit orchards where other 

 trees fail. 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING. 



It is a popular method in England to harvest and market finer nuts in their husks. 

 In all cases the fruit is left on the bush or tree until fully ripe, the proper condition 

 being readily determined by the brown color of the nut, the tint of the husk, and the 



