od deal of importance historically on the work of Mr. Jones. I
wish you could have that. Probably you will have to read that, too.

J. F. Jones, Introducer of Many Nut Varieties

CLARENCE A. REED, Collaborator[22]

The name of J. F. Jones was once one of the best known and most highly
respected in eastern nut culture. It was from Mountain Grove, Wright
County, Mo., that he was first heard from in 1900, when he discovered
and introduced the Rockville hican, which he named after the nearest
town. It never proved of value, but that fact did not detract from the
importance of being first, a habit which remained with him till his
death. In 1902 he moved to Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida; five
years later he moved to Jeanerette, Iberia Parish, Louisiana; and in
1912, he moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he died in January,
1928.

[Illustration]

In 1903, while at Monticello, he successfully graft-propagated the Rush
Persian (English) walnut and the Weiker hickory, an intermediate form
between shagbark and shellbark. Both were from Lancaster County, and he
used scions sent him by J. G. Rush, of West Willow, south of Lancaster.
Mr. Rush is credited with introducing the walnut bearing his name, while
credit went to Mr. Jones for the Weiker hickory. Some years later, on
two occasions, Mr. Jones took a visitor to the Weiker parent tree when
the branches were laden with nuts so that they hung down in a manner
suggestive of plums. For some reason, never explained, no other tree of
the variety, so far as is known, ever bore as much as a quart of nuts,
although the trees frequently flowered profusely. The variety was,
however, markedly dichogamous. The parent tree, which stood in the yard
of Mr. Christ LeFever of Lampeter, about two miles east of the Jones
home, was blown over in a heavy gale many years ago.

Mr. Jones graft-propagated a considerable number of Hales shagbark while
at Monticello, with scions that came from the original tree near
Ridgewood, New Jersey. However, this variety was first propagated by
Henry Hales of Ridgewood, in 1879. He also had Kirtland from Yalesville,
Connecticut, but like many others since that time, both it and Hales
proved to be light bearers. Other hickories may have been propagated by
Mr. Jones while at Monticello but these are the only ones of which there
is record. The Kirtland was first propagated in 1897.

[Footnote 22: U.S.D.A. Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and A