orth as Hudson
Bay and in many other parts the common hazel grows very abundantly and
bears heavily. In Norfolk County it is very common and in places almost
covers the roadside in the little traveled sections. Dr. N. E. Hansen of
Brookings, South Dakota, has made a few selections of the common
hazelnut found in Manitoba and is now propagating the best of these for
distribution.
A few filberts have been planted in Ontario but have not done very well.
The growth of wood has been good but little or no nuts have been
produced. In Guelph there is a filbert about fifteen feet tall growing
on the grounds of J. W. Bell, but like most other filberts in this
province it has not yielded nuts.
THE BEECH (_Fagus grandiflora_)
This tree grows in the hardwood region from Nova Scotia westward to the
western end of Lake Superior.
On suitable soils it attains a height of eighty or ninety feet and a
diameter of four feet. The nuts are much appreciated by old and young,
but on account of the slow rate of growth and the irregularity of
bearing very little has been done to plant this tree.
THE ALMOND (_Prunus amygdalus_).
Almonds have been tried to a limited extent in the warmer parts of
Canada but only with indifferent success except on Vancouver Island. It
is possible that a satisfactory strain will eventually be found that
will extend the range of this desirable nut-bearing tree.
_Introduction of New Species_
In addition to the efforts to gather data regarding nut trees I decided
to introduce some good exotic species for trial with the hope that some
of these might prove hardy enough for our climatic conditions. I thought
that northeastern Asia would be the most promising region from which to
obtain nuts for planting. Therefore, I wrote to the Mission Boards of
the Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican Churches and obtained the names
of their missionaries in those fields. I then wrote to several of these
missionaries and outlined my programme and asked them to send me samples
of the best nuts growing in their respective sections. Here again I
received great encouragement and assistance. Several packages of fine
chestnuts and walnuts were received from China and Japan. Some of these
nuts were planted at the College and the remainder were distributed
throughout the province to interested parties. Owing to the length of
the period between the gathering of the nuts and their arrival at Guelph
many had lost their germin
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