ter disposes of the whole subject in this
manner:

"The cutting of the tap root in planting seedlings has been a question
for much discussion, many growers formerly holding that to cut it meant
to kill the tree. This has proved a mistake. It has been practically
demonstrated that the tree thrives better with the tap root cut if
properly done with a sharp instrument, making a clean cut. New growth is
thereby induced, the abundance of lateral roots feed the tree more
satisfactorily and the trees come into bearing from two to three years
earlier than would otherwise be the case."

[Illustration: A Well Planted Tree]

Before accepting this as final it would be well to make further inquiry.
The summers of western Oregon are practically rainless and when the
kernel in the formed shell is maturing unless there is irrigation a
distress call is sent down to the roots for moisture, if the weather is
very dry. The lateral roots cannot supply this dire need and if the main
pump is not working away down deep in the moist earth the kernel will
not fill well and may perish entirely. For this reason no fibre of the
tap root should be disturbed, but rather encouraged by a well auger
hole, bored before the tree is planted, down to the reservoir of
moisture that will not fail in the dryest season.

The moisture in a dry season as a rule is nearer the surface in the
valley than in the hills and gives a better filled nut. In a wet season,
when the ground everywhere is full of moisture, the hills may produce a
more abundant crop than the valley, but in the run of years it will
require more time to prove which is most valuable for walnut culture.
Trees grow in either place, but he who cuts the tap root in any soil
does so at the peril of his crop in dry seasons.

Of the taproot, Wm. M. Reece, of the firm of Epps, Reece & Tillmont,
Eugene, Oregon, writes:

"The peculiar climatic conditions of the Willamette Valley, which
at a certain season of the year becomes semi-arid, fully justifies
the statement that trees not having a tap root are annually checked
in their growth when irrigation is not used; while those that do
have a tap root, as do walnuts, continue to grow and thrive even in
the driest weather. The walnut should be planted, however, in soil
having a subsoil free from any hard substance that will permit the
tap root to grow downward into the strata of perpetual moisture.

"This has b