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] 
