around the trees as additional mulch. Small quantities of a good
commercial fertilizer such as 4-8-10 have been applied occasionally and
some nitrogen also has been used.

Pruning has been reduced to a minimum, a light thinning out of branches
being given as required. Very little attempt has been made to keep
filberts to a single stem, but the walnuts have been kept to a single
low-headed trunk.

There has been a marked increase in interest in the planting of nut
trees in Ontario since the first plantings were made at the Station.
These Station plantings serve to demonstrate in a small way that nut
trees can be grown in the Niagara fruit belt of Ontario. The
feasibilty, however, of growing nut crops in a commercial way, even in
this district, is still open to question, although it is felt that
farmers and others should be encouraged to plant a few nut trees on
their property both for the sake of the nuts and because of the
ornamental nature of the trees.

Soil Management for Nut Plantations in Ontario

J. R. van HAARLEM, Horticultural Experiment Station, Vineland Station,
Ontario

Fruitgrowers with high priced land, such as we have in the Niagara
Peninsula, are not much interested in using such land for a crop not yet
proven commercially sound. Plantings, whether large or small, are likely
to be made on low-priced marginal land needing good care. It is doubtful
if these locations are best suited to proper nut culture since most nut
trees are deep rooted with extensive root systems requiring the best
soils.

At the Vineland Station we have three plantations made up of 110
walnuts, 240 filberts, 14 chestnuts and 6 pecans. These comprise named
varieties and seedlings of black, Carpathian, and other Persian walnuts,
filberts, chestnuts and pecans.

During the first years of the life of these plantations we maintained a
clean cultivation program during the spring and early summer followed by
the planting of a green-manure crop about July 1st each year. Such crops
as buckwheat, millet, rye, and weeds, have been used on occasion. We
soon found that the treatment was not good enough for the trees and we
then changed to a grass sod with mulch around each tree within the
spread of the branches. Since this sod-mulch treatment was applied the
trees have done very much better, making fine growth and maintaining a
large leaf area of good color. This treatment is fairly representative
of the many trees planted in door