of the husk is a minor consideration,
provided that the nut itself has the desired characteristics. By that I
mean, does it have a good, large kernel which is well filled and bright
in color, or good flavor free from any objectionable characters? How
about its shell, percentage of shell in relation to kernel? Those are
some of the things that we have first got to consider.

That's what we can do in holding our contests to find good varieties.
Those are the ones submitted by growers and others. They are in
competition with nuts from other sources, and then the committee, or
someone, goes over and rates them, and places them, just as has been
done by Mr. Chase and others in their Carpathian walnut contest for
members of the Northern Nut Growers' Association.

Now, at the present time we have no standard method for evaluating the
nut. It's the opinion of the judges that do the scoring or rating which
determines the placing that the nuts get. Well, now, that's one of the
things that we members of the Northern Nut Growers' Association have
been working on for a long while, but we still haven't arrived at any
definite place.

Well, then, what's the next step that we take up? The next thing we do,
some growers find out that a Persian walnut from Mr. Shessler, for
example, placed second in the contest this year. They will get some
scions from Mr. Shessler, or somebody else, and they will make a few
grafts and grow some trees, and then they will make a study of these
nuts and find out how well they do and what they are like under their
conditions, and that's about as far as it goes.

Well, now, we cannot continue to do that kind of a job, as I see it. If
we go back over the reports of the Northern Nut Growers' Association we
will find that this matter of varieties is discussed in a very large
majority of the papers that have been presented. But those that have
taken part in investigations and in advising the public, like those in
the Extension Services of the colleges, those teaching in the
universities, those doing research, like myself, anybody who has to
answer correspondence from would-be nut growers, almost always get the
question, "What variety should I plant?" Then they put it up to me or
Dr. McKay, or Dr. Colby, and think that you could just name right and
left, and they ask, "What varieties shall we plant?" They put you right
down on the spot. Here you are, you are supposed to be a real expert,
know all things, and