NORTHERN
NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION
INCORPORATED
Affiliated with
THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
REPORT
OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE
Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting
DOWNINGTOWN, PA.
SEPTEMBER 11 and 12,
1933
INDEX
OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
DIRECTORS
Frank H. Frey, Dr. G. A. Zimmerman, Geo. L. Slate, Newton H. Russell,
Carl F. Walker, Prof. J. A. Neilson.
EDITOR OF PUBLICATIONS
Dr. W. C. Deming.
COMMITTEES
DEAN OF THE ASSOCIATION
Dr. Robert T. Morris, of New York and Connecticut.
FIELD SECRETARY
Zenas H. Ellis, Fair Haven, Vermont.
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
National Nut News, 2810 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois.
STATE VICE-PRESIDENTS
NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION
List of Members as of January 1, 1934
* Life Member.
CONSTITUTION
Article I
Name. This Society shall be known as the Northern Nut Growers Association, Incorporated.
Article II
Object. Its object shall be the promotion of interest in nut-bearing plants, their products and their culture.
Article III
Membership. Membership in this society shall be open to all persons who desire to further nut culture, without reference to place of residence or nationality, subject to the rules and regulations of the committee on membership.
Article IV
Officers. There shall be a president, a vice-president, a secretary and a treasurer, who shall be elected by ballot at the annual meeting; and an executive committee of six persons, of which the president, the two last retiring presidents, the vice-president, the secretary and the treasurer shall be members. There shall be a state vice-president from each state, dependency, or country represented in the membership of the association, who shall be appointed by the president.
Article V
Election of Officers. A committee of five members shall be elected at the annual meeting for the purpose of nominating officers for the following year.
Article VI
Meetings. The place and time of the annual meeting shall be selected by the membership in session or, in the event of no selection being made at this time, the executive committee shall choose the place and time for the holding of the annual convention. Such other meetings as may seem desirable may be called by the president and executive committee.
Article VII
Quorum. Ten members of the association shall constitute a quorum, but must include two of the four elected officers.
Amendments. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any annual meeting, notice of such amendment having been read at the previous annual meeting, or a copy of the proposed amendment having been mailed by any member to each member thirty days before the date of the annual meeting.
BY-LAWS
Article I
Committees. The Association shall appoint standing committees as follows: On membership, on finance, on programme, on press and publication, on exhibits, on hybrids, on survey, and an auditing committee. The committee on membership may make recommendations to the Association as to the discipline or expulsion of any member.
Article II
Fees. Annual members shall pay two dollars annually. Contributing members shall pay ten dollars annually. Life members shall make one payment of fifty dollars, and shall be exempt from further dues and will be entitled to same benefits as annual members. Honorary members shall be exempt from dues. "Perpetual" membership is eligible to any one who leaves at least five hundred dollars to the Association and such membership on payment of said sum to the Association will entitle the name of the deceased to be forever enrolled in the list of members as "Perpetual" with the words "In Memoriam" added thereto. Funds received therefor shall be invested by the Treasurer in interest bearing securities legal for trust funds in the District of Columbia. Only the interest shall be expended by the Association. When such funds are in the treasury the Treasurer shall be bonded. Provided; that in the event the Association becomes defunct or dissolves then, in that event, the Treasurer shall turn over any funds held in his hands for this purpose for such uses, individuals or companies that the donor may designate at the time he makes the bequest or the donation.
Article III
Membership. All annual memberships shall begin either with the first day of the calendar quarter following the date of joining the Association, or with the first day of the calendar quarter preceding that date as may be arranged between the new member and the Treasurer.
Article IV
Amendments. By-laws may be amended by a two-third vote of members present at any annual meeting.
Article V
Members shall be sent a notification of annual dues at the time they are due, and if not paid within two months, they shall be sent a second notice, telling them that they are not in good standing on account of non-payment of dues, and are not entitled to receive the annual report.
At the end of thirty days from the sending of the second notice, a third notice shall be sent notifying such members that unless dues are paid within ten days from the receipt of this notice, their names will be dropped from the rolls for non-payment of dues.
MY BUTTERNUT
The butternut crop is always sure
And raised at easy cost,
There is nothing it will not endure,
It is never harmed by frost.
The hopper and the cabbage worm
Care not to chew its leaves,
Comes weather hot or wet or cold,
This sturdy tree ne'er grieves.
It has no fear of 'tater bugs,
Or cultivation's errors,
The measly scale from San Jose,
And Green bug bring no terrors.
No squash bug races o'er its frame,
Nor caterpillar weaving,
It is never doped with Paris Green,
Yet never found a grieving.
It has no use for bumblebees,
No nodules on its feet,
But when the frost is on the pumpkin
Oft has the hay crop beat.
If you wish a crop that always comes
Without an "if" or "but,"
The surest thing in all the list,
Just plant a butternut.
JAMES H. HELMICK
Columbus Junction, Iowa
Grand-pa come out to the butter nut tree,
And crack some nuts for Nicodemus and me.
Report of the Proceedings
at the
Twenty-fourth Annual Convention
of the
Northern Nut Growers Association
Incorporated
SEPTEMBER 11, 12, 1933
DOWNINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
The first session convened at 9:00 A. M., September 11th at Minquas Fire Hall, with President Walker in the chair.
The President: "This is the opening of the 24th annual convention and I will introduce at once for his address of welcome, Rev. G. Paul Musselman."
Rev. G. Paul Musselman: "Thank you, Mr. Walker. It is my most pleasant duty to welcome you to Downingtown. Downingtown is quite an appropriate place for a convention because it is a place where we try to prepare beforehand for things we believe are going to happen, and try to get ready to prevent other things from happening."
Less than a mile from here to the north are stretches through the woods of infantry breastworks. Occupying that woods and those breastworks was the regiment under the command of Col. Stewart. The British were down by the Brandywine to the south, and it was supposed the British would do the logical thing, which they never do, and come up to take Downingtown, which was at that time the most important industrial area in the United States. It was the arsenal of the Revolutionary War. It has continued to grow in its industrial manufacturing until it is now important in paper manufacturing.
That we are still trying to prevent nasty things from happening is strikingly evident in the fact that we have not had to call for help to take care of the people suffering from the depression. The Community Chest had, in the beginning, adopted a policy of preparing for an emergency by creating a fund for this purpose and has been able to do its work without any other than the usual annual drive for funds.
The first paper mill in America was established by Mr. Rittenhouse and after that paper mills began to be built in this valley. We have gone through a great cycle. The farms in this community used to be farmed for money, later interest was shown in the mills and the farmer farmed without money. Again they are being farmed with money by the industrialists and bankers and city men who are coming out and buying up these old farms for country places. I am happy to state that the farms are coming into their own
It is Downingtown's faculty of being prepared for what is to come that makes it a particularly appropriate place for your convention. It is always a little ahead of the parade. We are proud of our local nut nursery which, in line with the spirit of the town, is just a little ahead of the parade. You too are a little ahead of the parade, so in that spirit I welcome you.
The Burgess has directed me to welcome you to Downingtown. I trust your stay will be interesting and helpful and we shall count it a privilege for you to call upon us for any further services you may require. I hope I shall be able to go on the bus trip with you but I am very busy and cannot make any promises for the moment. So, welcome!
Dr. Zimmerman: Fellow members of the convention! I am sure that it has been a pleasure to receive the fine welcome that Rev. Musselman has given us and I wish to assure him that it is a pleasure to be here. We are particularly glad to be in this district which is a land of plenty compared with other parts of the country which have suffered greatly from the depression. I am sorry that I do not live here.
We nut growers have been in the habit of thinking of growing nut trees on land which is good for nothing else, so that it is interesting to find nurseries using this good land and making a success of nut tree growing. In fact nut culture had its beginning in this district through Mr. Rush, and Mr. Jones and then Mr. Hershey.
I do not wish to take any more of your time as we have a heavy program and a lot of good speakers, and if they can add anything to nut culture, I shall be happy indeed.
Dr. Zimmerman: We welcome members of the Penna. Nut Growers Association. It is their field day tomorrow in connection with ours and we welcome them to this convention.
The President appointed the resolutions and the nominating committees.
TREASURER'S REPORT
J. F. Jones' Experimental Work in Hybridizing Filberts and Hazels
By Mildred Jones
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The first crosses of the hybrid filberts were made in the year 1919. The small plants when taken from the nursery row were set 5 x 8 feet with the thought in mind of taking out every other bush in the rows when they began to crowd, and in case they were of value they could be transplanted to a permanent place. It was not thought that many of the plants would bear superior nuts promising enough to keep longer than to observe the type of nuts the bushes bore. The first lot of plants, which were mostly of the Barcelona cross, bore in the fall of 1924.
The object in view mainly was to produce, if possible, a variety or varieties that could be made a commercial proposition here or elsewhere in the eastern U. S. Not very much was thought at the time about the flavor or the quality of the kernel. The main thought was to get away from the corky substance adhering to the kernel of the most of the filberts. Barcelona, the main commercial nut in the West, has a lot of this, which makes the kernel unattractive and is probably more or less injurious to the digestive system because of the tannin content. After this fault was eliminated it was going to be necessary to work for size and quality of the nut.
The
The method used in crossing these hybrids was to remove the catkins on the pistillate plant at any time before they developed and scattered their pollen. The wood containing the catkins to be used for pollinating was observed closely in order to bring it in at the same time with the Rush pistillates by cutting and holding back in a cold cellar after the catkins were swelling well. This was the Barcelona which blooms very early.
The Italian Red, Cosford and Giant De Halles bloom later than the Rush so this was another problem. These were forced by cutting and putting in a sunny window. In cutting wood for pollinating, the cuttings should be large. The stored up starch in the wood then gives the catkins more to draw on. Apparently the filbert catkins and pistillates develop entirely from the stored up starch in the wood and do not draw on the roots at all. This being so it was figured they would develop just as well off the bush.
The last pollinating on the Rush was done in the spring of 1921. The catkins appeared to be all right and the limbs were cut and stored in the cellar. These were taken from the DuChilly. Finding they did not respond promptly to warmth it was seen that the catkins were drying up and getting stiff. As Father was very anxious to use this variety he tried soaking the limbs in water and then exposed them to the sun. Some of the catkins only swelled and then appeared to stop. The soaking was then repeated making it several hours and again they were exposed to the sun and warmth. Most of them developed nicely after this treatment. As those on the bush dried up and turned black it was thought probably the pollen used after treated as just mentioned was not good, but the pistillates developed promptly after being pollinated and the bush produced a large crop of nuts. I suppose these had been injured in the winter, but it would seem surprising that they could be made to develop artificially and the pollen be good.
It was found that Rush crossed Cosford made the largest nuts but the kernels of these nuts were not of the best quality.
On our eastern market I think it will be found that the longer type nuts will bring the premium in price. I find in selling the nuts that people mostly desire the longer nuts, but will take the other nuts if they cannot get the longer ones.
This past spring we tried to graft several of the most promising hybrids in the older block of trees. We used the modified cleft graft method and we set the grafts on layered plants of the Barcelona filbert which were lined out in April. We grafted them in May after the layers had started to grow. Out of 200 plants grafted we have growing 16 nice plants from 18 to 24 inches tall, an 8% stand. The roots of the Barcelona layers died also on the grafts that failed to live. I believe the main trouble in this experiment was that there was not enough root system to carry the graft rather than the fault of the grafting, as most of the grafts started to grow. We should have tried grafting on layers established one year and we will try this next spring.
We have several very promising filberts in the older block of bearing plants. The Buchanan, No. 92, was named for President Buchanan, the only President of the U. S. from Pennsylvania, whose home is in Lancaster. No. 200 is also an excellent plant and was classed by my Father as one of the best in the collection. This plant has not been given a name as yet. I would like to have a name suggested that would be suitable. These two plants just mentioned bear nuts very much the shape of Italian Red. The kernels come out with little or no corky substance on the kernel. The flavor is very good and the plants have borne very well. We have a plant called "B." Letters were given to the plants where mice got in the seed beds and mixed the nuts. The nut of this plant is more the shape of Barcelona and is very good. It also bears well.
In the younger block of plants we have quite a few promising plants but these must be tested further before we can say anything definite for or against them.
I notice considerable leaf burn in the block of hybrids since the severe storm we had two weeks ago. Quite a few of the nuts were knocked off too but there is still a good crop which you will see tomorrow.
Since my Father died we have not done any hybridizing. We hope to do so in the future as the work is very interesting.
Mr. Stoke: Year before last I bought 2 lbs. of supposedly stratified nuts. I planted them but only one or two came up. This year they have made a pretty fair start so I know it takes two years to germinate. It seems as though it sometimes takes three years because these were stratified for a year and it took them two years to come up after I had them planted. I think you could probably get some stratified nuts from Carlton Nursery Co., Carlton, Oregon. I sent to Carlton for mine but they were shipped by someone else. It is my belief that the Carlton Nursery Co. controls the supply, so you will have to write to them for them.
I have three or four dozen trees out of the first planting. They were planted in a very crowded position among walnut trees but are doing surprisingly well. The trees are now three years old and are shoulder high.
Prof. Slate: I planted some Turkish hazel nuts. They have been planted two years and have not yet come up, but I believe they will next year, as they take two years to germinate.
The following is a list of houses where seed of different species can be obtained. Submitted by the courtesy of Miss Jones:
Sources of CORYLUS
CHINENSIS
Hillier Bros., Winchester, England.
Vilmorin & Co., Paris, France.
CORYLUS COLURNA
Carlton Nursery Co., Carlton, Ore.
C. TIBITICA
Forest Experiment Station, Dehra Dun, British India.
Notes on the Commercial Cracking of Black Walnuts
By H. F. Stoke, Roanoke, Virginia
A year ago I reported to this body an experiment in the commercial production of black walnut kernels by factory methods, including the use of a power-driven cracking device. During the past year the experiment was continued, with the variation that the shelling was done as a home industry rather than as a factory operation. Ten families were furnished with hand-power cracking devices and the whole nuts were delivered to their homes. The workers received 10c per pound for cracking and picking out the kernels and in addition retained the shells for fuel. Forty-five thousand pounds of nuts were used in the experiment for which a uniform price of $1 per hundred weight was paid.
The more efficient and conscientious workers produced as high as 15% of kernels per unit of whole nuts, which was slightly better than the production by factory methods. The general average, however, was around 12½%, or about the same for both methods. As to quality of product there was no appreciable difference. It is necessary to exercise greater care in the selection of workers where the work is done in homes without supervision than in the factory. By actual experience it was found that some workers would produce less than half the percentage made by the more efficient workers. Such workers were dropped.
Where relatively small quantities of nuts are to be shelled there is little to be chosen between the home-industry
The most notable advance that has come to my attention during the past year in the way of commercial production of black walnut kernels is that contributed by Mr. C. E. Werner, President of the Forest Park Nut Company, of Ottawa, Kansas. Mr. Werner, who is 84 years of age and a veteran inventor with several notable inventions to his credit, has designed and built a machine that seems to mark a new era in black walnut kernel production. This machine, which is mounted on a truck, is not only used for the local operations of the company, but is moved from place to place in the performance of custom work, after the manner of a grain threshing outfit. Mention is made in company correspondence of cracking twenty thousand bushels of nuts for one customer in southwest Missouri. The following details were supplied by the manager of the company.
The machine has a capacity of from 75 to 100 pounds of kernels per hour. As they come from the machine they carry not more than 10% shells, and run from 28 to 30% full quarters. After being hand cleaned the net recovery of kernels represents from 10 to 11½% of the weight of the whole nuts. Custom work is charged for at the rate of from 3 to 5c per pound for the kernels produced. The cost of the final hand cleaning and packaging is given as 2c per pound, which makes a total production cost of from 5 to 7c per pound.
The operation of the machine may be briefly described as follows: The nuts are run through a revolving screen which separates and cleans them from all adhering husk and grades them into three sizes. They then pass through the cracker and thence, by conveyor belt, to the picker. This ingenious device holds the broken nuts with soft rubber rolls while a set of fingers literally pick the kernels from the shells. Careful sifting is the last step as the kernels leave the machine, after which they are hand-picked to remove any remaining pieces of shell. The owners advise that the machine has been built primarily for their own use, and has not yet been offered for sale. They would, however, consider building the machines for sale.
While the subject assigned me did not include the marketing of kernels, I cannot refrain from stating that no commodity is in greater need of orderly, organized marketing. In the meantime I would urge the small producer to cultivate his own local market as far as possible and refuse to produce at unprofitable prices.
Cracked black walnuts make an excellent supplementary feed for growing chicks and laying hens.
I advertised in the Rural New Yorker, The American Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens. Mr. Hershey advised me I would go broke advertising but I wanted to see what would happen. The Rural New Yorker gave the best results. I got $1.25 for a 2-lb. package. The kernels were in clean, first-class condition. I noticed some were advertised as low as 95c for two pounds. Some people in answering my advertisement said they had bought others that were not in first-class condition. I had no complaints about mine. In Better Homes and Gardens I did not get enough orders to pay for my advertising. I would not advise anyone to advertise there or in the American Magazine, as I got very poor results. I even got a bad check. The Rural New Yorker was very satisfactory.
The prices I paid locally were from .05 to .08 and sometimes .10 to .15 to old customers. Twelve and a half cents was the average price. I think maybe I should have advertised in a confectioners' journal in order to reach a large consumer source, but I felt at the time that I was using the only way I had of reaching a market.
This carton (showing a mailing container) is a 2-pound carton which I used in shipping in response to mail orders. It makes a very nice package that is received in good condition. I might add that the contents are 50 cubic inches.
Question: Do you use a paper bag inside?
Mr. Stoke: I line it with wax paper. I made a form and fold the wax paper around it to get the size. This makes a neat lining and then I just pour in the nuts and fold the top down.
Mr. Graham: Do you notice much difference in the kernels?
Mr. Stoke: Not in black walnuts. I found a few nuts which I could not use. The best nuts I found this year were in and about our locality.
Mr. Smith: Did you try offering prizes? Mr. Hershey and I once got almost tipsy testing a lot of walnuts in a prize contest.
Mr. Stoke: No. The best nuts I got would score not higher than the Thomas. They were brought in by different people and mixed together so that I was unable to tell their source.
The President: Do you do your separating of kernel and shell by hand?
Mr. Stoke: Yes. I use sieves, too. I use first a ¾ x ¾ inch mesh. It will take out most of the shell. Then for a minimum size, the best is 8 mesh to an inch, as used by the Forest Park Nut Co., Ottawa, Kans. This is smaller mesh and eliminates the smaller bits of shell.
Mr. Hershey: Did you have any correspondence with those people?
Mr. Stoke: I was interested in their machine for cracking nuts and I wrote the company a letter. Two or three months later I received a letter from Mr. Werner, a son of Mr. C. E. Werner, and who signed himself as Len Werner of the Werner Steel Products Co., and I received details and facts about the machine. He asked me if I would be interested in buying a machine or renting on a basis of kernel production. The younger Mr. Werner said they built the machine for themselves but could supply orders if they came in.
Miss Sawyer: Did you get any information on the price?
Mr. Stoke: No, none whatever. It seems to be taken from place to place mounted on a truck and cracks the nuts right on the job.
Mr. Reed: Do you have any difficulty in cracking nuts when they are dry?
Mr. Stoke: The nut cracks best when not too wet or too dry but just right. If too dry, they are too brittle and you break up the kernels too much, also get too many spalls of shells. If wet you have other troubles. In the South and Southwest the summers get hot and so some nuts get rancid. The sweet type that have less oil seem to stand up better.
Question: Do you ever steam nuts before cracking?
Mr. Stoke: No, I haven't. To keep them in a damp atmosphere is also not good. Nuts should be kept dry while in storage. Kernels should also be kept in a dry place. I put them in trays of wire mesh and if the nuts are too green or I am in a hurry for them, I turn on the electric fan.
Last Fall I put some in cold storage in December. I also put some in cold storage in May and I found that I would not have needed to put any in cold storage until May as they have kept just as nicely as those stored earlier. But I find it is essential to have the kernels thoroughly dried before they are put away. If thoroughly dried they will not mold, but if kept in too warm a place they will turn rancid. To keep them in a damp atmosphere is also not good. If they are treated right they will keep indefinitely.
Dr. Zimmerman: Mr. Stoke, how many nuts did you crack?
Mr. Stoke: About 40,000 or 50,000 lbs.
Mr. Reed: What did you do with screenings?
Mr. Stoke: I fed them to the chickens. Some said that they would keep the chickens from laying but I found that by mixing about 25% with ordinary mash it worked fine.
Mr. Hershey: Did you find that it made the egg shells hard?
Mr. Stoke: No, the chickens had too much sense.
Question: What percent do you lose in sieving?
Mr. Stoke: When I did my fine sieving, I used a 4-inch screen. The shells were taken out entirely. I lost, maybe, 4%.
Prof. Reed: Do you people in Virginia have local names for different types of walnuts? What is the swamp black walnut?
Mr. Stoke: My own opinion is that there is only one black walnut in the East. We have a butternut that some people call the English walnut and some the white walnut. The Japanese walnut is sometimes called an English walnut. We also have the English or Persian walnut.
Prof. Reed: I believe the botanists recognize only the one black walnut.
Prof. Slate: I do not think there is more than one kind.
Mr. Stoke: It is interesting to know that while the black walnut has been higher in price than the English walnut, so that manufacturers have been substituting the English walnut for the black walnut, this year the black walnut has dropped as much as 10c per pound under the English and is now about 5c, I believe. Consequently the black walnut has come into its own and is now being substituted for the English walnut.
Mr. Frey: I would like to mention alternate years in bearing. If apple trees can be made to give a fair crop each year by good care, feeding and spraying, it is my thought that walnut trees will do the same thing under the same conditions. But we must remember that forming the hard shell is a most difficult thing for a tree to do.
Prof. Neilson: I should like to draw your attention to a drawing sent me by J. U. Gellatly. (The paper was held up for all to see.) Just look at the size of the leaves. That is a tracing of the leaf of a hybrid English walnut and heartnut. He sent it along as evidence of its vigor of growth. This large compound hybrid leaf measured 27 inches from tip of the leaf to the bottom of the last leaflet, exclusive of the stem which was 5 inches long. Many of the larger leaflets measured 5 × 9 inches, shape, oblong ovate, edges of leaf, serrate, total width of compound leaf, 17 inches.
Dr. Smith: I should like to suggest to Mr. Frey that the theory he suggested might be supported if the tree were placed in a particularly favorable location.
Mr. Hershey: I should like to remind the audience of Judge Potter who told me some years ago that on his farm in Southern Illinois he got three doubles of his meadow grove of about 50 hickory trees, by using plenty of good horse manure, phosphoric acid, and potash. The increases were that he doubled the amount of growth and the size of the nut and changed the trees from alternate bearing to yearly bearing.