I don't believe the change of name would result
in any great immediate increase in membership in the Southeast.

PRESIDENT BEST: Now, are you ready for the question?

(The question was called for, and carried unanimously.)

Development of the Nut Industry in the Midwest

J. F. WILKINSON, _Rockport, Ind._

The development of the northern nut tree industry in the midwest really
began about 1910. Prior to that time W. C. Reed and son of Vincennes,
Indiana had done some experimental work with the Indiana and Busseron
varieties of pecan, as they had located these two parent trees. E. A.
Riehl of Godfrey, Illinois had been experimenting with the walnut and
chestnut, and it was at this time that T. P. Littlepage, R. L. McCoy and
established our nurseries here in southern Indiana.

We then began the search for the best parent trees for propagation in
the midwest.

We located Warrick, Hoosier, Major, Greenriver, Posey, Kentucky,
Butterick and several other varieties most of which have since been
discarded.

A number of varieties have since been introduced, by Messrs. Gerardi,
Whitford, Snyder, Burkhart, Bolten, and others who are either nurserymen
or propagators, of pecan, walnut, hickory and chestnut.

The Littlepage and McCoy nurseries were discontinued about thirty years
ago though I have continued the search for new and better varieties, and
several years ago located, named, and introduced the Giles pecan, in
southeast Kansas which is proving very satisfactory. I have recently
located, named, and am now introducing a new variety, CHIEF, from
Illinois. This is the largest northern pecan that I have ever seen and
it promises to be an outstanding variety.

In the territory from southern Indiana to eastern Kansas are countless
thousands of native pecan trees in the valleys of the Ohio, Mississippi
and Missouri rivers and their tributaries.

On the uplands in this same territory, the black walnut is found almost
everywhere. Thousands of pecan and walnut are of suitable size for
top-working and could be made valuable by being grafted over to these
fine varieties. These may be found in any quantity from a single tree to
a native grove (especially pecan) of thousands of trees.

One of the largest pecan groves is in Gallatin county, Illinois along
the Wabash river where it has been estimated there are as many as twenty
thousand pecan trees of bearing size in one locality.

Other sections where large native grov