it were grown under good
conditions. The point is that those varieties bear even under poor
conditions. Bearing is a variety characteristic, and wherever it grows
it will bear though it may not produce a good-sized nut.

MR. PEASE: I believe what's coming out in this discussion on bearing is
also true in hardiness, growth, and any characteristic we want. We may
select seeds from trees at an elevation of 6,000 feet, and still have
some which will be not hardy.

DR. CRANE: That's right.

MR. SILVIS: I'd like to make a point. If in your observation you find a
tree seedling in your locality that is producing good crops plant that.
Don't get one from Georgia. We can take a little bit of advice from the
fruit grower, and not plant too much from the south, even though it came
from China.

DR. GRAVATT: I'd like to Comment about conditions in Europe with
reference to seedlings and varieties. The general practice there is for
each little farmer to graft from the best variety in his section,
especially in Italy where you find hundreds of varieties.

In Portugal we were all very much impressed with one area where the
government has had an active program in persuading the chestnut owners
to topwork all their trees to three varieties. These varieties are very
good ones, and they are getting a very greatly increased price on
account of the high quality and uniformity of the nuts they export.

It seems to me that in the discussion on the Chinese chestnut in this
country we have done a little bit of injustice to the seedlings, so far
as the discussion has gone. I am in perfect agreement with what's been
said about the low production the first few years, but over on the
Eastern Shore Mr. Hemming's trees are producing just about as much in
the way of a crop as the tree can bear, and the grafted varieties there
don't produce any more than his 17 or 18 seedlings.

DR. MACDANIEL: I believe Hemming has some exceptional seedlings in that
lot.

DR. GRAVATT: Yes, they are very valuable, don't misunderstand me. After
the first ten years you may find a seedling orchard is going to produce
a very good crop, tree by tree. We have had a lot of experience, similar
to that reported in New York, with grafted trees dying. We get seedling
trees dying, too, but I agree that there is more damage from fall
freezes, spring freezes and perhaps from straight low temperature winter
injury with the grafted trees than with the seedling trees. Furthermore,