RESIDENT REED: Prof. Chittenden, of Michigan Agricultural
College will address you on "Native Nut Tree Plantations for Michigan."

NATIVE NUT TREE PLANTATIONS IN MICHIGAN

PROFESSOR A. K. CHITTENDEN, MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE EAST
LANSING, MICHIGAN

I am very glad of this opportunity to tell you what the Michigan
Agricultural College is doing, and what it thinks, about nut tree
plantations in this State. I want to say first, that there is a very
general interest in nut trees among the farmers and land owners of the
State. A considerable number of the letters that the Forestry Department
of the College receives from farmers are about nut culture. They seem to
be particularly interested in pecans, English walnuts, and chestnuts. A
few years ago the State was flooded with literature urging people to
plant these trees and we are still feeling the aftermath of this
campaign. Much of this state is too far north for the successful growth
of these particular trees and we therefore have advised waiting before
investing heavily in young trees, until experiments have shown where
they would succeed and what kinds it would be safe to plant. At the same
time, we suggested the planting of one or two trees of certain varieties
as an experiment. We have for the most part recommended only our native
nut trees for planting on a large scale.

We have tried many varieties of nut trees, grafted on hardy stock, at
the College, and only a few of them are alive today. All of the pecan
trees have been lost and nearly all of the English walnuts. About two
years ago, we got some of Burbank's Royal walnuts from California. All
of these trees except one, were killed back of the graft the first
winter. One of them, however, is doing well although growing very
slowly. It will doubtless succeed now, as it has pulled through two
winters, one an exceptionally cold one.

About three years ago, we bought some Sober Paragon chestnuts from an
eastern nursery which had been advertising them widely in this State.
They were all infected with the Chestnut Blight disease. Now this
disease has at the present time not appeared in Michigan, except on
imported nursery stock. We have a considerable number of chestnut
plantations in the State, and if the disease can be kept out, there is
no reason why chestnuts cannot be raised more profitably. But our
experience has shown that the trees must be raised in this State and not
brought in from outside. We