acclimated to an
extent that their cycle of dormancy will reduce itself, bringing their
period of flowering early enough in the spring to allow sufficient time
and heat units for maturing the nuts.

Early in my experimental work, I tested chestnuts and chinkapins but met
with poor results. Only in the last few years have experiments with them
been successful enough to warrant their being mentioned as commercial
possibilities in the north. At present, I have several Chinese and two
American varieties, as well as one chinkapin, which have proved hardy
and fruitful. Further testing is necessary before I can report anything
definite about them.

I have grafted on native plum stock most of the almonds which have been
considered hardy, including the hard-shelled varieties from Michigan and
the Northland from the Pacific Coast. Some have flowered but none have
set nuts. All proved too tender for our climate. I feel more hopeful for
success with some of the many seedling hybrid plums I am growing. A
number of these have edible kernels and the trees could be considered
for their fruit as well as for the kernels of their seeds.

Among other species of walnut I have tested is the heartnut, which is a
sport of the Japanese walnut. This is a worthy nut and has done well
when grafted on black walnut stock. Only two varieties have proved hardy
and only one of these, Gellatly, has produced good crops for a long
time. Were it not for the insect pests which attack it and, worse still,
the sapsucker, this tree might be considered for semi-commercial use in
the north. The sapsucker is a woodpecker. It chips out bark right down
to the wood, girdling large limbs and killing whole sections of a tree.
This results in an excessive amount of succulent, tender growth which is
subsequently winter-killed. Insects attack the new shoots, laying their
eggs in the bud and stem portions, causing immature growth which stunts
the tree and prevents its bearing. I have also found the heartnut
difficult to graft, even on black walnut, which is a favorable
combination.

I began testing Persian walnuts 30 years ago by grafting them on wild
butternut stock. Although many grafts were successful, not one even
lived through a winter. It was not until 1937, when I grafted hundreds
of trees with thousands of grafts of the many varieties of Crath
importations from the Carpathian Mountains, that I succeeded in getting
any to survive our winters. A few eventually b