on of
nut trees.

At this time he took me with him to locate the "Warrick" tree which
stands on Pigeon Creek in Warrick County, Indiana. The next day he, R.
L. McCoy and myself went to the Greenriver grove where the Major and
Greenriver trees were located. These are now being propagated and are
considered outstanding varieties. Also a trip was made to Posey County,
Indiana, where the Hoosier tree was located. This variety was soon
dropped.

From that time on R. L. McCoy and myself kept up a constant search until
he left Indiana in 1918. Since then I have done a lot of work along this
line myself.

This work is carried on by arranging with nut buyers and gatherers in
the nut growing localities to be on the watch for any unusually good nut
and to send in a sample, with the name of the owner of the tree, or the
party gathering the nuts, so the tree may be located later. Hundreds of
samples have been received, the most of which were eliminated on
examination of the nut itself. In the case of any that seem promising a
trip is made to the tree for further information. Each fall I receive
word of trees producing a superior quality nut and in most cases from
the description given, whether it be by letter or a personal talk with
the informer, one would believe that a really worthy tree had been
found. But generally on investigation it proves to be only just above a
good average tree.

A variety to be worthy of propagation must pass a rigid test. First, the
nut must be of desirable size, thin shell, plump kernel, good flavor and
good cracking quality, and last but not least the tree must be a good
and regular bearer.

Accurate records on the bearing of these trees are very hard to obtain
as they often grow in isolated places and their product is known to all
in that neighborhood, and at least a part of the crop is often taken by
some one who makes no report on the amount, so the best information to
be had on this is often incorrect. When a promising tree is located the
surest way is to visit it each fall for several years just before
gathering time and see the crop on the tree.

In almost every instance the size of a nut is exaggerated by the owner
or informer unintentionally. They are honest but their imagination gets
the better of their judgment. Then their knowledge is often limited to
their own trees and those of their neighbors, and the nut they prize may
be the best they know of, but when compared with nuts from a g