Published by 
The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Rural New Yorker 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
Postpaid 
Single Copies, hive Cents 
Vol. LXXIV 
NEW YORK, MARCH 6, 1915 
No. -42% 
PROGRESS OF NUT CULTURE IN THE EAST. 
Possibilities of a Coming Industry. 
N eglecting fine varieties.— if the man 
who came across the first Baldwin or Green¬ 
ing apple tree had simply used it for himself 
and not recognized its value to mankind, he would 
have done exactly what men are doing now with 
Lancaster English Walnut. 
priceless nut trees. By and by the trees die and 
the nuts are lost forever. This neglect is often be¬ 
cause men think nut trees cannot be grafted. If 
they do try to perpetuate a nut tree it is by planting 
(he nuts, from which seldom, if ever, is a tree of 
equal value produced, any more than the 
equal of the Baldwin apple from Baldwin 
seeds. The two problems, the discovery 
of our choice nut trees, and their perpetu¬ 
ation by grafting, have been worked on by 
a small group of men for some years, with 
results that are here summarized. Con¬ 
ditions in the South and in the Pacific 
States are not here considered. 
THE PECAN.—More progress has been 
made with this nut than with any other. 
From the native pecans of Indiana, Illi¬ 
nois and Kentucky several varieties have 
been approved and commercially propa¬ 
gated and can he recommended for plant¬ 
ing wherever conditions are suitable. 
Limits have not been exactly determined, 
hut wherever pecans of the Indiana type 
are native, and probably for many miles 
about, this pecan may be grown success¬ 
fully. Some of these pecans are the Bus- 
seron and tlie Indiana, large nuts of good 
quality and thin shell; the Butterick, a 
wonderful bearer; the Posey, a fine crack¬ 
er; the Green river, smaller but of the 
highest quality; and the Major, best for 
confectioners’ use. 
THE PERSIAN WALNUT.'—Varieties 
of the Persian (English) walnut have 
not been determined so definitely. It dif¬ 
fers from the pecan in being not a native 
hut an introduced nut. Hundreds of bear¬ 
ing trees, more or less hardy and varying 
greatly in productiveness and character 
of nut, are scattered singly and in groups 
from Ohio eastward and from Ontario 
southward. The fruit belts seem to he 
most favorable for this nut and. in a gen¬ 
eral way, it may he said that it will grow 
wherever the peach will. Of these 
scattered trees many are being pro¬ 
pagated experimentally and a few commercially. 
Among the latter are the Rush, Nebo, Pomeroy, 
Holden and Hall. No final decision lias been reach¬ 
ed as to the varieties best adapted to different pur¬ 
poses and conditions. Some of them, however, are 
very good and may he planted for home use, or in 
pecially consider this nut. Nuts of all kinds and 
descriptions of trees are desired. Exhibitors may 
win prizes, and prize winners may earn money from 
the sale of scions. This is a chance for boys and 
girls. 
THE SIIAGBARK HICKORY—This nut, being 
native and widely distributed, offers opportunities 
that the introduced Persian walnut, and the pecan 
with its limited native distribution, do not present. 
For the sliagbark there is no question of adapta¬ 
bility over a large part of the United States. What 
we want is a nut of high quality, a first class crack¬ 
er, from an annually productive tree. Many nuts 
have one or more of these qualities. The problem 
is to get them combined. The prize competition now 
being conducted by the Northern Nut Growers’ As¬ 
sociation is calling out some remarkable nuts, hut 
as they have not yet been judged no final result 
can he announced. Some of the more promising 
shagbarks are here illustrated. 
OTHER NUTS.—This competition is also bring¬ 
ing in some promising Black walnuts, a nut which 
has possibilities, especially the extracted meats for 
bakers and confectioners. The hazel is a laggard. 
With the most valuable possibilities no native hazel 
value. The Mott is a fine specimen of the western 
shell hark, quite thick of shell but very sweet. The 
Rice appears to be a peean-shagbark hybrid or hi- 
can. The Winfree may he a pecan-pignut hybrid, 
and the Fairbanks is a bitternut-shagbark hybrid 
Scion for Bark 
Grafting. 
Tark Grafting. 
Modified Cleft 
Graft. 
Wrapped with Par¬ 
affined Paper. 
Budding Tool. 
NUT-GRAFING AND BUDDING MCDELS. 
Good bud stick, one Bud in place, wrap- 
bud removed. ped and waxed. 
decidedly worth propagating has been brought to 
notice. Of the chestnut we have excellent varieties, 
such as the Rochester, Boone and Paragon, but all 
development in the culture of this nut is being held 
up by the blight. Everybody is awaiting the results 
of the Government work in breeding immune hy- 
Ilutcliinson English Walnut. 
and probably a nut of commercial value. These arc 
all hybrids of nature and intimate what man may 
do with his intentional hybrids. 
PROPAGATION.—Our greatest advance lias been 
in methods of propagation. It is not many year\ 
since it was generally believed that nut 
trees could not he grafted; then that it 
could he done in the South Imt not in the 
North. But the patient work of a few 
men has shown that nut trees can he 
grafted in the North about as easily as 
anywhere. 
BARK GRAFTING.—Saw off the trunk 
or limb where you want to graft it. Cut 
scion with a long -sloping cut on one side 
only. Insert t' »«nt of the scion he 
tween the bar' aid wood of the stub and 
push it down the length of the cut sur 
face. Wax all exposed cut surfaces. 
Cover the whole operation with a paper 
bag tied around the stub. 
MODIFIED CLEFT GRAFTING. 
Place the stub near the edge of the cut 
off end of the stock and cut down 
ward and slightly inward toward the 
center of the stock so as to cut the fibres 
instead of splitting them. This gives a 
better fit and there is no splitting of tin* 
stock at all, as can bo seen in the Illustra¬ 
tion. The scion is cut as in ordinary cleft 
grafting and the subsequent steps are the 
same as in bark grafting. Speed, to avoid 
unnecessary exposure of the cut surface- 
to the air, and accuracy, to insure a per 
feet fit, are essentials of all methods 
After 10 days a small hole may he made 
in the bag and the progress of the graft 
watched. As it grows the hag may la* 
torn open and the new shoot tied to some 
support to prevent accidental breaking 
The best time for grafting is when the 
leaves on the stocks are half or two third- 
grown. 
PATCH BUDDING.—The handiest tool 
is the budder illustrated. With it a patch 
of hark is removed from the stock, a sim¬ 
ilar patch containing the bud from the 
bud stick, and this patch is applied to the stock 
ind firmly hold in place by winding with a 
trip of waxed muslin. With a small brush apply 
little melted grafting wax at the top of the wind¬ 
ing. and over any openings that may be left, to keep 
out water. The waxed Grin may he left in pla<e 
Showing waxing and 
paper for drainage. 
Franquette English Walnut. 
Holden English Walnut. 
Ontario English Walnut. 
any limited way, bearing in mind that new and 
better varieties may soon be introduced. The an¬ 
nual meeting, next Fall, of the Northern Nut Grow¬ 
ers’ Association at Rochester, N. Y.. a center of one 
of the greatest walnut growing districts, will es- 
hrids. There may he great opportunities, neverthe¬ 
less, in chestnut growing outside its native area, 
where the blight can he controlled. 
UNUSUAL NUTS.—Very large Persian walnuts 
of the Bijou type usually have little commercial 
until the hud starts into growth the following sea¬ 
son. unless it appears to he cutting in. Budding is 
usually done in August, imt it is essential that, at 
whatever time it is done, the stocks be in active 
growth, as shown by a glistening and pulpy cam- 
