at a conservative estimate $25 per tree,
representing a sum sufficient to carry one-third of the State's entire
cost of government.

The war just won for the cause of World Democracy has opened the eyes of
the American people to many things they had not before apprehended or
realized. One is the value of productive land space. Another is the
importance of our forests, and especially the value of the native
nut-bearing trees. It was discovered, when Uncle Sam scurried around to
procure a supply of black walnut for gun stocks, that the German agents
had been ahead of him. Although thickly settled, Germany finds it
profitable to employ one-fourth of its entire area in growing forest
trees. Yet it seems the Kaiser's forests were short on this valuable
timber, so they picked up all the procurable black walnut in the United
States.

This set the New York State Conservation Commissioner thinking and last
year he advised farmers to propagate and cultivate the black walnut--a
little late for the emergency; but better late than never, especially in
this case.

On my little farm near Lockport, N. Y., there is a large black walnut
tree, perhaps 90 to 100 years old. It bears a nut of unusual size, of
excellent taste and good keeping qualities. This tree has produced as
high as ten bushels of shucked nuts in a season. Twenty-two years ago,
when the importance of growing native nut trees had impressed but few
people, I did have the good sense to plant several dozen nuts from the
"Niagara King Walnut." I must confess I gave the trees little attention,
and a farm hand zealously cut down all but one of the black walnuts,
mistaking them for sumac. The survivor last year bore about three
bushels of nuts. Most interesting of all is the result of observations
as to the product, and its bearing on the question of whether or not nut
trees will reproduce "true to variety." The walnuts from the young tree
differ in shape, being almost round, while the fruit of the parent tree
is almost chestnut in form. But the flavor, thickness of shell and the
keeping qualities seem identical.

Six years ago I started a small black walnut and butternut tree nursery
for home use and from it have set out about four hundred trees along the
ditches and fences on the farm. The early plantings have attained a
height of from 12 to 15 feet. If every farmer would do likewise, he
would make a considerable addition to the country's food supply, to say
nothing of th