HAZELNUT OR FILBERT 
Filberts in the Northwest 
The filbert, or hazel, as it is often 
called, is best suited of all nut-bearing 
trees to garden culture. They are gen- 
erally described as shrubs or low trees 
In “Nut Culture in the United States,” 
published by the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, it is stated: 
“All are unisexual, having staminate 
blossoms in catkins, developed in the 
axils of the leaves, on the wood growth 
of the previous year. The catkins are 
visible as early as August of the previous 
season, and in March and April scatter 
the pollen freely. The pistilate blossoms 
compose a star-like tuft of crimson stig- 
mas projecting beyond the short, scaly 
bud, the inner scales of which keep pace 
with the growth of the enlarging pistils 
so as to nearly or wholly enclose it at 
maturity. The pistillate blossoms some- 
times bloom later in the spring than the 
staminate ones on the same bush, and in 
such cases it is necessary to supply pollen 
from other sources, at the proper time, 
to secure crops of nuts.” 
In Oregon and Southwestern Washing- 
ton the Barcelona blossom in January 
and DuChilly in February 
A. A. Quarnberg, the nut expert of 
Clarke county, Washington, says: 
“The filbert is a commercial nut of 
much promise in the Northwest, which 
by climatic conditions is especially 
adapted to its culture The filberts con- 
sumed in the United States must either 
be produced in the Northwest or continue 
to be imported from foreign countries, as 
repeated efforts to raise them in Hastern 
and Southern states have been so dis- 
couraging that the business has now 
practically been abandoned. There is, 
therefore, a ready market for almost any 
amount of filberts that may be grown in 
this part of the country, and favorable 
conditions for their culture is a valuable 
asset and a resource worth developing. 
“The industry is yet in its infancy, but 
is expected to advance more rapidly now 
that it is known that it can be made a 
Success. The filbert is not generally 
1145 
known and appreciated as it deserves to 
be; a good filbert 1s mild and has a fine 
flavor. 
“As far as known the first experimental 
filbert trees of European varieties were 
planted in Clarke county in the spring 
of 1894 by Nat. M. Norelius, Henry J. 
Biddle and the writer. In the following 
years others planted in small quantities, 
but it remained for John E. Norelius in 
1900 to set out enough trees, 300 in num- 
ber, to be called an orchard, and which 
at that time was the largest filbert or- 
chard in the Northwest. Each year has 
Since added to the number of planted 
trees so the time is not far distant when 
filbert culture will be numbered among 
the important industries of the country.” 
The soil and climate of Southwestern 
Washington and the Willamette valley 
have been demonstrated to be well 
adapted to filbert raising, by growing the 
largest and finest of European varieties 
for a number of years. 
Filberts as Fillers 
The filbert is well adapted to be used 
as a filler for walnut orchards, as it will 
come into bearing early and will never 
reach a height to interfere with the wal- 
nut trees and may be easily removed 
when the walnuts need all the space. 
They are usually grown in tree form and 
not as bushes when planted in commer- 
cial orchards, and are usually planted 
about 10 feet each way. 
The thin, unfruitful twigs are removed 
and the fruitful limbs shortened back 
nearly to the female buds. Care should 
be 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 abund- 
ant where light and air have ready ac- 
cess. In the fifth or sixth year trees 
should bear considerable fruit Trees of 
this age in Hngland are reported to pro- 
duce three to four pounds of nuts each. 
Successful filbert orchards are grown 
at Monmouth, Springfield, Eugene, Shaw, 
Corvallis and other points in the Will- 
amette valley. 
