Chapter 2

A magnificent row of nine American black walnuts, 35 or 40 years old. The tree in the foreground is 20 inches in diameter of trunk. The tallest of the trees is nearly 60 feet and they have a spread of more than 70 feet. They are at the residence of Dave Johnson on the Portland road about 8 miles from McMinnville. Seed from such trees as these would produce the very best trees for grafting upon.

There are very few California blacks of pure strain in the country. The hybrids or crosses with the American or eastern black walnut, are better trees for grafting stock than the pure Californias. They are more hardy and better adapted to our climate.

WHAT TO PLANT

Horticulturists of equal fame and experience take different views on the subject of planting, some contending that the nut should be planted where the tree is to grow; others that seedlings are the thing, and still others that trees should be grafted. And as all three plans have produced good results in Oregon, the individual planter may take his choice, according to the circumstances in which he is situated. The truth is that the walnut is one of the hardiest of trees, and with good attention will not disappoint if the right kinds are properly started.

In planting walnuts to raise seedling trees the best available seed nuts should be used. Select the best and most prolific variety and the one most suited to the climate.

It is claimed that the nuts from a grafted tree will produce the best seedling trees. This may be true as a rule, as the nut from such a tree will have some of the characteristics of the stock upon which the parent tree was grafted. It may inherit some of the resistant qualities of the black walnut or the rapid growth of the California hybrids. It may have early ripening qualities. It is well to consider all these points as well as the quality of the nut when selecting seed.

By careful selection and cross pollination many and better varieties will be produced. No doubt a nut superior to any that has yet appeared in any country will yet be originated in the Willamette Valley, as in the case of the Bing and Lambert cherry and some other fruits.

The improvement of the walnut in this section is one of the most fertile fields of investigation to be found anywhere and one that promises big reward to the successful culturist. And the walnut grower need not wait long to find whether he has a prize or not, for just as soon as the little sprout comes from the ground and has hardened sufficient to handle, a skillful grafter can place it in a bearing tree and the second or third year know the result of his experiment by the production of fruit, and this not more than three or four years from the planting of the seed.

The advantage of planting walnuts, providing you secure first generation nuts of the right variety for your soil and atmospheric conditions, is in simplicity and inexpensiveness. You merely purchase your nuts of a reliable concern, or from an isolated grove of one variety (many send direct to France, where pure strains can be more readily gotten), and in February plant them on their sides in a shallow box of moist sand; keep in a cool place. In April, or as soon as they sprout, dig a hole 2-1/2 or 3 feet deep, put in surface loam, and plant three or four nuts to a hole about 2 or 3 inches deep. They will come up by June and make a growth of a foot or so the first season.

It is contended by many that nothing is gained by planting seedlings in the nursery, as the set-back from transplanting prevents their bearing any earlier than trees of the same age grown from nuts.

Grafted trees, on the other hand, are difficult to obtain in large numbers, are expensive, but produce nuts of uniform size and beauty, and the pollination is said to be more sure.

The industry is still too young in Oregon for the final word to have been spoken on this point. The future will undoubtedly add much valuable information as larger experience supplants theory with facts.

The vital point is to plant good nuts or reliable seedlings from a pure strain.

In choosing varieties be governed by your location. If frosts are to be feared get late-blooming varieties, the leading ones established in Oregon being the Mayette and the Franquette. Other varieties will undoubtedly be introduced in the next few years that will withstand frost in regions where walnut planting now seems impractical. Mr. Henry Hewitt's one tree that blooms the fourth of July, at an elevation of 1,000 feet, is evidence of the possibilities in this direction. Air drainage is necessary.

The tested varieties in Oregon to date, and the results, are as follows:

Mayettes (the famous "Grenoble" of commerce) and Franquettes are first choice for hardiness and for reliable commercial crops, the nuts being of good size, fine flavor and in every way meeting the highest market demands.

Praeparturiens bear earlier than other varieties, are very productive and as fine flavored as a hickory nut, but the nuts are small for best commercial prices.

The Chaberte is a hardy tree, good for the uplands, and prolific; a delicious nut, small but excellent for confectioners use.

The Ford Mammoth, Glady and Bijou are too large to find favor for commercial purposes.

The Parisienne, Meylan and Lanfray are newer varieties that give much promise, but have not been thoroughly tested.

H. M. Williamson, Secretary Oregon State Board of Horticulture, in an article says:

"The extremely unfavorable weather of the past winter (1908-9) has been one of the best things which could have happened to many heedless persons who planted walnut trees without first taking pains to learn anything about the business. The destruction of many young trees of the Santa Barbara type was a blessing to those who planted them, and the planters deserve no sympathy, for the warnings not to plant trees of that type have been ample for many years past.

"The fine condition of suitably located groves of walnut trees of Franquette, Mayette and other French varieties, after a winter which proved the most trying to fruit trees of all kinds which we have known during a long period of years, has given firm confidence to those who are leading in the development of the walnut industry in Oregon.

"The varieties which are best adapted to culture in this state are those which produce the finest nuts known to the world."

SEEDLING WALNUTS

The leading commercial orchard in the state is that of Mr. Thomas Prince, of Yamhill county, and is composed almost entirely of seedling trees. The history of this orchard is best told by Mr. Prince in the following very conservative letter:

"About 17 years ago the Ladd Stock Farm of Yamhill, Oregon, by the advice of Mr. H. E. Dosch, then Secretary of the Oregon Horticultural Society, purchased from the late Felix Gillett, Nevada City, Cal., and planted quite a number of young walnut trees which are now in bearing. The first few years their cattle received first attention and the young trees were not cultivated as much as they should have been to make good growth. They therefore do not grow the quantity of walnuts they would have produced with better cultivation. Two or three years after this Mr. Z. T. Davis, of Dundee, Oregon, also by advice of Mr. Dosch, purchased of Mr. Gillett some 500 one-year-old seedlings. One year later the writer, who had some land adjoining Mr. Davis, also became interested and set out about 1,500 additional trees, and about two years later purchased the place belonging to Mr. Davis, and became owner of the young trees at Dundee, with the exception of a few purchased by several neighbors. All are now in bearing.

"Those who do not know the facts are inclined to give the writer more credit than he is entitled to. Mr. Dosch, the Ladds, Mr. Davis and Mr. Gillett were first to interest themselves and should receive the credit to which they are entitled.

"We have now in Oregon and Washington quite a few trees in bearing, and we believe they can be grown here with profit. There is much to learn. We find the young trees should be carefully set out and receive good cultivation for the first few years. That the selection of the trees and the location in which to grow them are very important. The number of trees to the acre, and whether to grow seedling or grafted trees; and if grafted whether root grafting or top grafting is best must be considered.

"I think growing of walnuts has the advantage of many other products. The crop is easily grown, harvested and marketed; the labor greatly economized and the net profits a larger per cent of the gross receipts; while sometimes with other crops the results are just the reverse--the net profits but a small per cent of the gross receipts.

"The question is often asked how much is land worth that is suitable; how long before trees will bear, and how much will they produce, etc. The price of land depends largely on location; generally it is worth from $50 to $150 per acre. Seedling trees come into bearing from 7 to 9 years of age, quantity from 10 to 50 pounds per tree; number of trees per acre, 20 to 40."

These trees are about 60 years old and were planted by I. M. Johns, who took the donation claim two miles southeast of McMinnville, about 1844, now the Derr farm. The trunk of the largest one on the right is 10 feet in circumference, and is probably the largest English walnut tree in Oregon. They have some nuts every year, but are shy bearers, due no doubt to lack of proper pollination. The nut is not large, but is full of good meat and resembles the Parry. The trees are about two hundred yards from the Yamhill river, are hale and hearty and seem good for a few centuries. In fact, all of the seedlings examined in this county are healthy and vigorous.

There are half a dozen or more walnut trees growing in the woods and about the garden of Mr. J. T. Jones, seven miles west of McMinnville, which are a valuable study to the walnut grower. They are seedlings from the Casey tree, and they all bear full crops every year. The largest is 21 inches in diameter. One of them has a much larger and finer nut than that grown on the Casey tree. Hardpan is reached about 18 inches below the surface, which would indicate that no tap root were needed were it not for the fact that a tiny brook runs down through the garden not far from the trees.

Following is the testimony of Col. Henry E. Dosch, taken from "Better Fruit" of August, 1908:

"It is over twenty years since I first experimented with nut culture, more especially English, or, more properly speaking, French walnut culture, and by persistent effort in keeping this matter before the horticulturists am more than gratified to know that this important industry is at last receiving the attention it deserves; and a few who took my advice in the beginning and planted on a commercial basis are now reaping the benefit, as their products command the highest price in the market.

"First generation nuts are produced on original trees, or on trees grafted from the original trees. Those nuts when planted produce second generation trees, and the nuts from these second generation trees are a little larger than the original or first generation, which is due to the peculiar soil and climatic conditions of the Pacific Northwest, so well adapted to nut culture. Trees grown from second generation nuts retrograde very rapidly, producing nuts not half so large as even the first generation trees, and finally running out altogether. Hence it is very essential that we plant nuts from the original trees, or trees grown from the original nuts or grafted from the original trees."

A tree on John E. Brooks' claim, Casey Place, is one of the earliest and most important trees in the country. It has borne a good crop every year for thirty-five years, and in all that time has led a strenuous life. It was planted first in Portland from a nut supposed to have been brought from the Rhine in Germany by a German sea captain. It was broken down by stock when Amasa Brooks saw it, and with the consent of the owner transplanted it to its present site, on the side of a red hill a few rods above the house and about 100 feet above the level of the valley. There it was much abused by stock, and exposed to other accidents. When it began to bear, the squirrels would gather the nuts as soon as they were big enough to attract them. When the tree was visited in August, 1909, for the purpose of getting a photograph it was found that a squirrel had burrowed under the roots, making an opening large enough to admit a good-sized foxhound, and a quantity of nuts hulls were piled about it and scattered beneath the tree. It is 23 inches in diameter and has a branch spread of nearly 60 feet. Trees of the fourth generation from this tree are in bearing near McMinnville and are producing fairly good nuts, some better than the original tree, demonstrating that the seedling walnut tree can be improved here by seed selection.

The above is a two-year-old grafted tree in the orchard of Mr. Prince. It was sent to him by Judge Leib, of San Jose, in order to convince him of the superiority of the grafted tree. You will note that the little bush has two good-sized nuts, and also that it bore one last year, the first year from the nursery. With this ratio of increase at 20 years of age it would produce about three and one-quarter tons of walnuts, counting 42 nuts to the pound, the weight of first-class Oregon walnuts. But this is not probable.

GRAFTED TREES

The testimony in favor of the grafted tree is not yet very abundant in Oregon, as the grafting business is new; but with the evidence at hand it will surely have a standing in court.

Prof. Lewis speaks plainly on this subject. He says:

"One of the main points of discussion is, Which are preferable--grafted or seedling trees? Let us consider the seedling tree first. There are men who claim that these are superior to grafted trees, especially in size, prolificness, etc.; that there is something about our wonderful Oregon climate that causes the so-called second generation trees to bear larger and better fruits than the parent plant. And these writers love to dwell on the subject of generation. There is at times a sort of mystery, an uncanny vagueness connected with this subject that is baffling and bewildering to the layman, and causes him to listen with mouth agape. It is the same sweet silly story that we have had to learn by bitter experience with other nuts and fruits, and some of us will evidently pay dearly for it in the case of the walnut. The term 'first generation' is generally applied to the parent tree--some say the original tree, while others put the clause on the original grafted tree. Nuts taken from such trees and planted produce the second generation trees. These may be equal, may be superior, or may be inferior to the original stock. It is this very variation and instability that makes the seedling to a more or less degree a gambling proposition."

The following is taken from a paper on walnut culture by Luther Burbank, read before the annual meeting of the California Fruit Growers convention:

"In all cases the best results will be obtained by grafting on our native California black walnut or some of its hybrids. No one who grows English walnuts on their own roots need expect to be able to compete with those who grow them on the native black walnut roots, for when grown on these roots the trees will uniformly be larger and longer lived, will hardly be affected by blight and other diseases, and will bear from two to four times as many nuts, which will be of larger size and of much better quality. These are facts, not theories, and walnuts growers should take heed.

"Although not popular among nurserymen, yet the best way to produce a paying orchard of walnuts is to plant the nuts from some vigorous black walnut tree, three or four in each place where a tree is to stand. At the end of the first summer remove all but the strongest among them. Let the trees grow as they will, for from three to six years, until they have formed their own natural, vigorous system of roots, then graft to the best variety extant which thrives in your locality, and if on deep, well-drained land you will at once have a grove of walnuts which will pay, at present, or even with very much lower prices, a most princely interest on your investment. By grafting in the nursery, or before the native tree has had time to produce its own system of roots by its own rapid-growing leafy top, you have gained little or nothing over planting trees on their own roots, for the foliage of any tree governs the size, extent and form of the root system. Take heed, as these are facts, not fancies, and are not to be neglected if you would have a walnut grove on a safe foundation.

"I hold in my hands a record, and also a photograph, of one of the Santa Rosa walnut trees, grafted, as I recommended, on the black walnut, 1891; this was handed to me by the owner, George C. Payne, of Campbell. The record may be of interest to you: Dimensions (1905)--Spread of top, 66 feet; circumference one foot above ground, 8 feet 9 inches. No record of nuts was kept until 1897, which amounted to 250 pounds; 1898, 302 pounds; 1899, 229 pounds; 1900, 600 pounds; 1901, 237 pounds; 1902, 478 pounds; 1903, 380 pounds; 1904, 481 pounds; 1905, 269 pounds; 1908, 712 pounds.

"The walnut has generally been considered a very difficult tree to graft successfully. Mr. Payne has perfected a mode of grafting which in his hands is without doubt the most successful known; by it he is uniformly successful, often making one hundred per cent of the grafts to grow. Who can do better by any method?

"When you plant another tree, why not plant a walnut? Then, besides sentiment, shade and leaves, you may have a perennial supply of nuts, the improved kinds of which furnish the most delicious, nutritious and healthful food which has ever been known. The old-fashioned hit-or-miss nuts, which we used to purchase at the grocery store, were generally of a rich, irregular mixture in form, size and color, with meats of varying degrees of unsoundness, bitter, musty, rancid, or with no meat at all. From these early memories, and the usual accompanying after-effects, nuts have not been a very popular food for regular use until lately, when good ones at a moderate price can generally, but not always, be purchased at all first-class stores.

"The consumption of nuts is probably increasing among all civilized nations today faster than that of any other food, and we should keep up with this increasing demand and make the increase still more rapid by producing nuts of uniformly good quality. This can be done without extra effort, and with an increase in the health and rapid and permanent increase in the wealth of ourselves and neighbors."

An American black walnut growing on a lot on the east side of Grant street, residence of J. C. Cooper, McMinnville, grafted by Mr. Payne May 14, 1908, grew 7-1/2 feet in 95 days and was still growing when the terminal buds were nipped by the early September frost of that year. The sprouts were pruned back to 12 inches. The tree made a vigorous growth in 1909, making a spread of 13 feet. Some think the American black a better tree for grafting stock that the California black. One of the noblest and grandest trees in any American forest is the American black walnut, and while a little slow at the beginning of its career it is only a question of time when it will overtake all others. It knows no disease or pests, and he who plants it lays a foundation for 20 to 50 generations to come as well as for himself and those of his own household.

A four-year-old hybrid, 4 inches in diameter, grafted in by Mr. Payne, grew a sprout as shown, 7 feet 9 inches high in four months from the setting of the graft. It is growing on the east side of D street near the Presbyterian church in front of the residence of Mrs. Sarah Updegraf, McMinnville, Oregon. Three trees there all show the same vigor, with little or no cultivation.

John H. Hartog, formerly of Eugene, wrote of the experience of Mr. E. Terpening, one of the most successful walnut growers near that city.

"Mr. Terpening is a devotee of the grafted tree. And why? A burnt child spurns the fire, says the proverb. Mr. Terpening set out second generation Mayettes and Franquettes, expecting that these seedlings would produce true, but when they commenced to bear, behold his amazement at finding that he had a variety of almost every kind. This was enough to convince him that in the future he would use grafted trees, and know what he was doing and what kind of nut he was raising.

"Counting out trees of other kinds, he has four acres in walnuts, and these produced--

In 1905 700 pounds In 1906 1200 pounds In 1907 2000 pounds In 1908 3000 pounds

"This spring he set out 450 more trees and wisely he put them 50 feet apart and will grow peaches in between for a few years. While it is generally said that walnuts come into bearing after 8 years, Mr. Terpening states that the grafted tree will bear commercially in 6 years, which tallies exactly with my experience.

"The Terpening walnut trees are grafted on American black and his favorite variety is the Mayette and lately the so-called Improved Mayette."

WALNUT GRAFTING

Walnut grafting is in a class by itself, and walnut budding is not a success as practiced at the present time, although the ordinary method is shown in the cut. The top grafting method shown is easy and sure if you have "the know-how and skill." One of the important things to remember in tree surgery as well as other kinds, is to work quickly and deftly. Don't let the wounds of the scion or stub remain exposed longer than necessary. Make the cuts smooth with a very sharp knife, kept sharp by frequent "stropping.'" Expert walnut grafters are few, but the ordinary skillful orchardist or amateur can do fairly successful work by a study of the drawings in "Details of Walnut Grafting" on next page, and using common sense methods.

Cut off the branch or stock to be grafted with a sharp priming saw at a point where the stump will be from one to two and a half inches in diameter. Split through the center of the stub with a sharp knife as shown in figure 1, using a mallet. Depress the point of the splitting knife and strike with the mallet, cutting the bark and sap down the side of the stub instead of tearing it, then depress the handle and cut down the other side in the same way. Open the split slightly with a hardwood wedge, as in figure 2. Slightly bevel the split, cutting upward, with a sharp knife as in figure 3. Insert the carefully fitted scion as at figure 4, being careful to have the cambium layer, the inner layer of the bark, of both stub and scion come together.

When the scion is carefully fitted remove the wedge and fill the split with paper as shown at figure 5. Then cover all wounds over with wax brushed on warm as at figure 6. The melted wax should be about the consistency of thick honey. Tie a paper sack over all as at figure 7. This should remain until scions begin to grow. It keeps them warm and prevents drying out by hot winds. In from ten days to three weeks the scions will have started sufficient to gradually remove the cover as at figure 8. In eight or ten days from the time grafts are set a small opening should be cut or torn in the north side of the paper sack so that the sprouting buds may have air and their growth noted.