conditions, is known to develop into straight,
single-stemmed trees.
PRESIDENT BEST: I think that Dr. Crane has his panel ready.
DR. CRANE: Mr. President, before I start, I have a few slides here to
illustrate a couple of points before we call the panel to the rostrum.
(Several slides were shown illustrating sunscald injury to the Southwest
side of high headed Chinese chestnut tree trunks.)
DR. CRANE: On this panel, I want to get representatives from the various
states. Mr. Wilson, from Georgia. Mr. Stoke from Virginia. Mr. Silvis
from Ohio. Mr. Allaman from Pennsylvania. There is another good man down
there who grows a lot of chestnuts, by the name of Gibbs.
Now, there seems to be a lot of disagreement in regard to the Chinese
chestnut in two or three respects. One is the problem of named varieties
versus seedlings. Another big problem is hardiness, how hardy they are,
these Chinese chestnuts. Where can we grow them and where are they going
to fail? A third question is the ability of the Chinese chestnut to
compete with other vegetation as Dr. Diller has discussed. I think we
ought to settle some of these questions for once and maybe for all, or
at least for this meeting, through a discussion. Nurserymen and others
have emphasized that chestnuts, to be successful in the United States
and hardy, should come from North China, at the Great Wall or beyond.
Others don't agree, claiming that chestnuts in China are grown from the
extreme south to the extreme north and that we ought to do the same in
this country also.
MR. STOKE: I haven't enough knowledge on it to express an opinion. I
planted a good many seeds I got from the Yokahama Nursery Company, and
the nuts were rather inferior as to size. They were healthy and hardy,
but I don't know where they came from. I presume they came from Korea,
but I am not sure. The size and productivity wasn't too high of that
seedling stock I secured there.
DR. CRANE: What do you folks think? Anyone in the audience that has an
idea?
MR. PATAKY: At our fall meeting in the Ohio group we had two bushels of
chestnuts from Sterling Smith. As far as I know the seed is Korean
chestnut, which is obviously a Chinese variety. He had three bushels
last fall and they looked identically like the American chestnut. Mr.
Stoke said the quality wasn't so good in what he had. That might be
true, but I tested a lot of these chestnuts from Sterling Smith, and
compared them with American chestn
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