3«4 
Cl 11XQU API N-A SI AT I (’ CHESTNUT HYBRID. 
t rations accompanying this article. Hybrid chin¬ 
quapin having varieties of Castanea creuata (Asia¬ 
tic) for pollen parent form vigorous, small, much 
branched trees, rarely shrubs, and come into bearing 
at three to five years from the seed. The burs are 
borne like chinquapins in clusters of three to five, 
rarely solitary, and contain from one to three chest¬ 
nut-like nuts four to six times larger than chinqua¬ 
pins. The nuts begin to ripen late in August, the 
crop being wholly mature by October, thus preced¬ 
ing all other chestnuts of marketable size. 
TREES ARE \ A 1,1 ABLE.—The trees are vigor¬ 
ous growers, decorative from their compact form at 
all times, but especially when in fruit and flower. 
They should prove highly desirable for lawn plant- 
Monstrosities of whatever kind are 
always objects of more or less interest 
to most people, especially if the object 
is a product of nature. This is par¬ 
ticularly noticeable at the agricultural 
fairs or other shows where the pro¬ 
ducts of the soil are on exhibition. It 
is there where the very largest and 
perfect specimens are expected to be 
seen. It matters not how fine the rest 
of the exhibit may be, the monstrous 
or phenomenally large things are, as 
a rule, the objects of greatest interest. 
The largest pumpkin, melons, eggplant, 
apples, potatoes, cabbage, ears of corn, 
plants and flowers, are the centers of 
attraction, and invariably take the at¬ 
tention away from the more common 
things that really make the big things, 
monstrous by reason of the contrast. 
That it requires knowledge and skill 
to grow these big things, goes without saying. 
Nothing is left to chance, but from the beginning 
and up until the end. the thoughtful, painstaking 
and intelligent care of the producer has been given 
them. Cut opposite shows a tomato plant that has 
attained to monstrous size. This plant was grown 
under glass and received intelligent care in the way 
of feeding, training, etc., from infancy to old age. 
The plant is evidently nearing the end of its useful¬ 
ness, as apparently but a few fruits remain to be 
gathered. Many of The R. N.-Y. readers will no 
doubt be interested in how some of these big things 
are grown and while we do not know the life history 
of this particular plant, which has been grown in 
a box about 1(5 inches square by 12 inches deep. 
BREEDING IMMUNE CHESTNUTS. 
For centuries the native chestnut has flourished 
in many parts of the North American continent, and 
as far as known suffered no attack of serious disease 
until the closing of the last century, when the 
terribly destructive bark disease (Endothis para- 
THE R CJ R A. L. NEW-YORKER 
up to 1907. All the species of the germs available, 
including the Virginia chinquapin, were used in the 
work. The latter year the disease appeared and 
summarily terminated the experiments with Casta¬ 
nea Americana and its derivations, but selective work 
has since been continued with self and chance-polli¬ 
nated individuals of chinquapin and Asiatic types. 
HYBRIDS PRECOCIOUS.—From the controlled 
pollinations over 200 seedlings were grown. Practi¬ 
cally all showed unmistakable evidence of liy- 
bridity; nearly all have fruited. The combinations 
of Asiatic and European chestnuts with our native 
species rarely set burs until five to 12 years of age, 
while the chiiiquapin-Asiatic crosses frequently 
bloom and occasionally ripen nuts the second year 
March 7, 
ing as well as for nut growing. The size they will 
attain is problematical. Their precocity and pro¬ 
fusion in fruiting would indicate that they are not. 
likely to attain large dimensions, and that it would 
be safe to plant them for orchard purposes 12 to 15 
NUTS OF VIRGINIA CHINQUAPIN. 
sitica ) made its appearance on Long Island, N. Y. 
The seriousness of the disease was first recognized 
by Merkel in 1904; since then it has spread over 
many hundred square miles of territory, destroying 
practically every native and European chestnut tree 
with the infected areas. The financial loss can¬ 
not be accurately estimated but is very extensive. 
Much labor and large sums of money 
have been expended in an effort to 
bring the disease under control, but 
thus far without success, and on ac¬ 
count of the virulent nature of the 
disease and its tenacity of life, being 
able not only to live, but to thrive and 
multiply its aseospores for a long time 
after its victim succumbs, and the 
various and comparatively easy means 
by which the aseospores may be trans¬ 
ported into adjoining new territory, 
makes it extremely doubtful if this 
valuable native tree can be saved from 
complete destruction. The outlook at 
the present time is not at all encourag¬ 
ing. 
Nearly everyone who has an inti¬ 
mate knowledge of the disease, believes 
that if the chestnut is saved to the 
nation at all, it must be done through 
the procuring of species or varieties 
immune from the disease. With this 
in view, the Division of Forestry, U. 
S. Department of Agriculture, has in 
the last few years done considerable 
experimental and research work along that line, 
with very encouraging results. The Dr. Van Fleet 
hybrids, a number of which have been on trial for 
the last four years at the Government Farm. Arling¬ 
ton. \ a., are very promising and give much en¬ 
couragement of being highly successful. In an 
article entitled “Chestnut Breeding Experience" by 
Dr. Van Fleet, published in the Journal of Heredity 
for January, the history and progress of his chest¬ 
nut breeding work and the attendant results are 
interestingly told, and from which we take (by per¬ 
mission) the following extracts: 
The breeding work was commenced in 1S94. 10 
years before the discovery of the destructive bark 
disease, and continued through the succeeding years 
HYBRID CHINQUAPIN. 
MONSTROSITIES IN PLANT LIFE. 
after germination ,and in some instances produced 
several pounds of nuts the third year after planting 
the seeds. The bark disease has been allowed to 
work its will among the hybrids, with the results 
that trees having C. Americana, also the European 
in any combination, have all succumbed to the 
ravages of the disease. The crosses of Asiatic and 
native showed greater resistance, but all have been 
seriously affected. The chinquapin-European hy¬ 
brids are readily affected, but have greater recupera¬ 
tive powers. The Asiatic chestnuts and the cliinqua- 
pin-Asiatie hybrids are plainly highly resistant. 
Few have shown any appearance of the infection 
and when noticeable the injury is quite local in 
character. Second generation seedlings of chinqua¬ 
pin-Asia tic crosses show no disease at all. though al¬ 
ways exposed to infection. 
QUALITIES OF HYBRIDS.—The material re¬ 
sults of this breeding work, other than the disease 
resisting features, are shown in the various illus- 
BUNCI I OF ELBERTA PEACHES. 
feet apart. In conclusion Dr. Van Fleet writes: 
"Chestnut breeding, though greatly hamperel by the 
advent of the new disease, thus makes its appeal as 
a highly promising occupation. It appears probable 
that the chestnut in its most desirable form can be 
saved to horticulture as a nut producer, if not to 
forestry as a profitable timber tree, and there is 
even a chance that the latter highly 
important feature may in the end be 
spared.” K . 
