ere was
a solemn nut-cracking ceremony, and all present tasted the meat and
pronounced it good. We hope that that tree and many others will thrive
for years to come to add to the bonds of friendship with these neighbors
we have known.

Lately I have arranged my work so that we may once again live in Ohio
not too far from my boyhood home. Last year I tried once again to graft
along the hillside scions from that prized hickory, and this time six
out of seven grafts have grown.

My field of work has been that of a chemist, engaged in industrial
problems related to animal and plant products. Hence, my hobby and my
day's work are productive of mutually helpful ideas. The literature
which I review frequently contains suggestions applicable to the various
phases of tree propagation. Though a few references are quoted in the
bibliography at the end of this paper, these are for illustration only
and comprise a very small number of those which have appeared.

My experiments in nut tree propagation have been reported from time to
time in the yearbooks of the N.N.G.A. and I intend in the remainder of
this paper only to outline problems under a number of general headings
in which I am particularly interested, and give some indication of
procedures which seem worth while investigating.

An important phase of nut growing to which I have given little attention
is the search for new varieties. I find my interest in this aspect
growing as I associate with the group of nut growers in Ohio, who
through prize contests and active personal work are trying to discover
superior nut trees in nature, yet I do not find in this the opportunity
I seek for experimentation unless it may be in the matter of
hybridization.

Rootstock Propagation

Rootstocks for walnuts and hickories are very easily grown from seed.
Chestnuts are grown with variable success, and it would seem that
particular care in drainage of the seed bed, and possibly the use of one
of the seed fungicides, should improve chestnut germination.

The present trend in the propagation of fruit trees is toward selection
of particularly suitable rootstocks. Do some nut tree seedlings accept
grafts more readily than others? We do not know. Numerous writers have
discussed the idea of varying degrees of compatibility of rootstocks
with scions and Jones[1] has brought together considerable evidence to
relate incompatibility among plants with something parallel to allergy
in animals. I