ve been the most serious pests.

(4) Seedlings serve a useful purpose in developing new varieties; but
greater progress should be expected from growing superior named
varieties.

(5) Additional study is needed to determine the profit prospects, to
evaluate varieties, and to work out details of cultural practices,
harvesting, and storage of nuts on a variety basis.

Although the chestnut blight has destroyed the native _Castanea dentata_
trees, it is hoped that breeding programs may produce a blight
resistant, hardy tree, of a size that will lend itself to orchard
planting and cultural practices, and which will be regularly productive
of high quality nuts.

* * * * *

President Davidson: Thank you, Mr. Moore.

The next thing on the program is the talk by Mr. G. S. Jones of Phenix
City, Alabama, on Growing Chestnuts in Lee County, Alabama.

Growing Chinese Chestnuts in Lee County, Alabama

G. S. JONES, R.F.D. 1, Phenix City, Alabama

Ever since childhood, chestnuts have held a fascination for me. How well
I remember the delightful Sunday afternoon trips we used to make in the
fall up on Earkett's Hill to gather a few small nuts from some native
trees which often had been burned by woods fires. I occasionally revisit
this area to see these trees, which are in better condition now than
then. Native chestnuts were never, to my knowledge, very abundant in our
area and are now indeed scarce, but I still hear of a few living trees,
some of which grow as far south as North Florida.

I first became interested in Chinese chestnuts from an article I read in
the early '30's in a Department of Agriculture yearbook which I think
had been written by Mr. Gravatt. This article told about these trees
being introduced into this country because of their high resistance to
blight. Until this time I had heard little about chestnut blight. In
order to find out more about these trees I wrote Mr. Gravatt, who in
reply said seedling trees were available for distribution on an
experimental basis. I applied for some of these, more, I must admit, to
get them to grow on our place just to have some chestnuts than with any
thought of disease resistance. When these trees came in the spring of
1934 I even had some trouble in getting permission to set them in an
open field near the house, for chestnuts were considered as a tree of
minor importance, to be grown in some out of the way place.

These trees w