MR. LITTLEPAGE: I think we are very fortunate to have with us Mr. Bechtel and Mr. Perry from down South who are really in the nut business. The problem before us is varieties. If you want to plant black walnuts what walnut do you want to plant? Just because I happen to say that Stabler is a first-class walnut does not make it so. If you want to plant English walnuts what variety? I said to Dr. Van Dazce a few years ago, "I wish I knew more about that variety." He said: "Don't bother about that. You will be top working them all in a few years." (Applause.) I have found a bigger pecan down in Indiana than the Major. It is a big type and I wish we knew more about it. I wish the Department of Agriculture would make an investigation and find out. What nuts to plant and what soil to plant them on and what varieties to plant it seems to me ought to be the trend of our talk here at these meetings, and I am glad that Mr. Bechtel has taken up that question.
MR. OLCOTT: I think the members of the association would be interested in hearing a brief account from Mr. Bixby of the only commercial nut planting proposition in the North at present,--a very successful one. He has visited it within a week and I think he could tell us what varieties they have planted.
THE SECRETARY: About a week ago I was at Alton, Illinois, at the place of Mr. E. A. Riehl. He has been a pioneer in many things, in fruit culture and what interests us more today in nut culture. He is outside the native chestnut belt and many years ago he planted some native American chestnuts. When the Rochester chestnut came out he planted it and he obtained from the late J. R. Parry of Parry, N. J., his best Japan chestnuts including the Reliance. He also obtained Boone trees from the originator the late Geo. W. Endicott, Villa Ridge, Ill. He has raised many seedling trees from the above varieties and planted a small hillside to them. Out of those he has selected the best and is propagating from them. He has chestnuts there that I wish I might show here, some that are fifty per cent larger than Paragon and with a better flavor. Furthermore they will drop out of the husks so that it is not necessary to pick up an unopened burr and heat it or pound it to get the nuts out. He has now between one and two thousand chestnut trees. Most of his chestnut trees however are seedling trees which do not bear nearly as well as his best trees. The greater part of his trees are in land that has never been cultivated. Many of his trees are not yet in bearing. Some of his trees however are now 25 to 28 feet spread and bearing heavily. He is certain that the yield of his orchard could be greatly increased by top working the poor bearers and that he is doing. Still he told me be obtained not less than 35¢ per pound for any of the crop and for some as high as 40¢ and 50¢ wholesale. In 1920 he produced over 4000 pounds.