luable to the woodmen who probably would be
the only ones who would see them and then the leaves would not have been
visible in the winter when trees are most frequently cut. That the
Deming purple black walnut is in existence is due solely to the
observation and action of Dr. Deming who gathered scions and got them
growing before the original tree had been cut for the purpose of getting
space for improving a road. That this tree could be seen from the road
was how it came to the attention of Dr. Deming. Had it been in the midst
of a large forest it might have been cut in winter for timber without
the cutter knowing it was unusual.

That we have such a wealth of varieties of the beech valuable as
ornamental trees and none valuable for the large nuts they bear,
certainly suggests that the tree varies in every way except in the size
of the nuts it bears, but this is not believed to be so. The growing of
ornamental trees is an old industry. There are hundreds of nurserymen
today growing ornamentals and only few in comparison growing nut trees.
It is not so many years ago that there were none growing nut trees. A
beech with purple leaves appeared valuable 100 years ago and was
disseminated by nurserymen while one with nuts 10 times normal size
would probably not have been propagated for there would not have been
sale for it. It would have only been known locally as unusual and
probably the tree would have been cut for timber when it reached the
proper size.

The search for a large fruited beech is not going to be easy but it is
believed that persistent work will eventually triumph, much as the 1929
contest brought more shellbark hickories of value to the attention of
the association than all previous contests put together. The shellbark
is a tree the best varieties of which it is difficult to learn about.
Unlike the shagbark hickory it is not generally found growing near
buildings or in fields or pastures. Its natural habitat is the bottom
lands of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, lands that are
overflowed part of the year. There will have to be a campaign, perhaps
for several years, till people begin to look for large fruited beeches;
then will come a harvest of them.

The relatively few beeches that have come in to the contests suggests
that methods used heretofore should be somewhat modified in beechnut
search. Probably a campaign of education among foresters might be more
productive of results than among fa