OREGON 
 
 WALNUTS 
 
 
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC 
 
THE 
 COLLEGE OP 
 
 x^' 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 CHIEF DIVISION OFHORTICULTURE 
 
 OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 
 
 CORVALLIS, OREGON 
 
 PU BLISH E D BY 
 
 GENERAL PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC 
 
 PORTLAND, OREGON 
 
PFPT, 
 
 Main 
 
 Atria. 
 
 Oregon Walnuts 
 
 HpHIS book is com- 
 -** piled for the purpose 
 of giving accurate infor- 
 mation on Walnut Cul- 
 ture in Western Oregon. 
 
 tj To the prospective wal- 
 nut grower, it will be 
 found valuable in locat- 
 ing and establishing the 
 orchard and in selecting 
 varieties of trees. 
 
 <JTo the present owner 
 of a walnut orchard it 
 will be found valuable 
 for the technical analysis 
 of grafting, pruning, 
 cultivating the orchard 
 and harvesting the crop. 
 
Walnut Culture in Western and 
 Southern Oregon 
 
 The culture of English walnuts is increasing to such an 
 extent it bids fair to become one of the principal horticultural 
 activities^of the state. Walnuts have been grown in the state 
 now for about twenty-five years, there being one commercial 
 orchard of fifteen acres, twenty-one years old, and numerous 
 scattered trees throughout the state of about the same age. 
 The industry, however, during these twenty-five years has had 
 rather a checkered career. Many of the early trees were of 
 types that were not suited to our climatic conditions. Many 
 trees of the California soft shell, or Santa Barbara, type were 
 planted. Nuts were often bought at grocery stores and planted 
 by interested parties. While many of these trees grew, rela- 
 tively few of them ever bore commercial crops of fruit, at least 
 not regularly. 
 
 About ten years ago, walnut planting assumed almost boom 
 proportions and, consequently, many of the trees planted were 
 
 Rolling land best for walnut growing. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Walnut trees in their prime. 
 
 of the tender, inferior grades, and the winter of nineteen eight 
 fortunately destroyed a large percentage of such trees. With 
 the introduction of superior French strains, the industry became 
 firmly established, until now we have thousands of acres just 
 coming into bearing, producing nuts that are selling as high 
 as thirty- five cents per pound. A list of some of the larger 
 plantings is given in the back of this bulletin. 
 
 The present consumption of the English walnut in the 
 United States is only about 50,000,000 pounds this being only 
 about one-half pound for each person in our great country. 
 Of these nuts, 22,026,524 pounds are raised in the United States 
 and during the past few years an average of about 30,000,000 
 pounds has been imported. Of these 22,026,524 pounds that 
 are produced in this country, California is producing 21,432,266 
 pounds, Mississippi 66,492 pounds, Oregon 79,060 pounds, and 
 all other states 448,706 pounds. There are at present in the 
 United States 914,270 bearing English walnut trees, while 
 806,413 are still too young to bear. This is according to the 
 United States census of 1910. While Oregon has a very small 
 percentage of bearing walnut trees, it has, nevertheless, about 
 one-fourth of the young trees of the entire United States that 
 have not reached bearing age. 
 
 The most encouraging fact concerning English walnuts is 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 that the consumption of this food product in the United States 
 during the past ten years has practically doubled. Ten years 
 ago we were raising somewhat over 10,000,000 pounds the last 
 census gives us 22,026,524 pounds. In 1902 we were importing 
 over 12,000,000 pounds, while in 1912 we were importing from 
 26,000,000 to 37,000,000 pounds. It has been said by some 
 that we will have less and less foreign competition. I hardly 
 know upon what facts such statements are based, since the 
 imports have increased, if anything, faster than the home pro- 
 duction. It would not be safe for walnut men to feel that they 
 have no competition. The pecan, filbert and almond all enter 
 into some competition against the English walnut. However, 
 it should be a very easy matter to encourage the American peo- 
 ple to use more nuts in their diet. In fact, they are already 
 doing that without any special effort on our part. 
 
 The present outlook for the expansion of the industry is 
 very promising. Undoubtedly the American public will consume 
 many times the present output and very little concern need be 
 given by the present producer for the marketing of this product. 
 In a few years, however, this sub- 
 ject will need special attention. 
 
 Choosing the Orchard. 
 
 Location : The climate of west- 
 ern and southern Oregon is ideal 
 for the production of the English 
 walnut. It more nearly approx- 
 imates the climate of Europe and 
 Asia, where these nuts are pro- 
 duced abundantly, than any 
 other section of the United 
 States. In other words we have 
 very few extremes of temper- 
 ature as regards either heat or 
 cold. The moisture supply is 
 generally ample. Where the Protecting the grafts in paper 
 improved French strains are bags until the scions sprout. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 A well developed walnut tree. 
 
 planted, very little damage will result from frost. In choos- 
 ing the orchard, however, one should bear in mind that good air 
 drainage is essential and that if the trees are planted in frost 
 pockets there will be damage during certain years, despite the 
 fact that the French strains bloom so late. In some of the moun- 
 tain sections, there is a possibility that the extreme rains, both 
 in the spring and fall, might have an influence on the yields. 
 The walnut should not be planted where there are extremes of 
 heat in summer. This tends to cause a burning of the nuts 
 and will often result in a poorly filled nut. 
 
 Soil: The walnut is a deep rooted, heavy feeding plant and 
 should, therefore, be planted in deep, rich, moisture-retaining 
 soils. There are many types of soil found in western and south- 
 ern Oregon, and undoubtedly we will find as time goes on that 
 certain soils that have heretofore been held as not suitable for 
 walnut culture will be found to be producing commercial crops. 
 The red hills and river bottoms, at the present time, are the 
 principal producers of this crop, and where these soils are deep, 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 7 
 
 the trees are making magnificent growth. While few walnuts 
 are grown as yet on the heavier clays, there is a possibility that 
 if the American Black nut is used, for a root, there will be a 
 possibility of producing heavy commercial crops. 
 
 The surface soil should be friable and easily tilled, and one 
 which can be formed easily into a good heavy dust mulch for 
 retaining moisture. The sub-soils should be of such a nature 
 that roots can penetrate and get plenty of food and moisture. 
 Avoid rock, coarse gravel soils and extremely heavy clays. The 
 deeper the soil is, the better. It is a waste of money to plant 
 walnuts on soils which are only from two to four feet in depth. 
 While young trees will thrive on such soils, you cannot hope to 
 produce large, healthy, heavy producing trees under such con- 
 ditions. 
 
 Soil drainage is a question that should be looked into very 
 carefully, as the average root used will not stand an excess of 
 moisture. The gently rolling locations are always preferable 
 to flat areas, as the former are more apt to give good soil and 
 air drainage. 
 
 The scions have 
 sprouted well. 
 
 Bags removed, showing 
 sprouted scions. 
 
8 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Propagation. 
 Sprouting of 
 Seed: There are 
 several methods 
 used in preparing 
 the seed for sprout- 
 ing. Some growers 
 have practiced 
 planting in the fall 
 in the open ground 
 
 in the nursery. 
 Franquette Walnuts . , 
 
 There are several 
 
 difficulties in this method. One is that the nuts do 
 not often germinate over-well. In fact, some of the types of 
 black walnuts may remain in the ground two years before they 
 germinate, and there is some danger of decay. However, where 
 it is desired to grow seedling English walnut trees, it is the 
 common practice of our nurseries to plant the nuts in open 
 ground in the nursery row in the fall. 
 
 Another danger to be watched out for is that of squirrels. 
 If given the opportunity, they may purloin the entire patch. 
 
 Other growers have practiced stratifying the seed in boxes 
 in sand. When this is done the nuts are often stratified in the 
 fall. Care must be taken, however, that the sand does not 
 become too wet, for if it does, the nuts will mold, and there is 
 danger of decay. On the other hand, if the sand is allowed to 
 become too dry, the nuts will not germinate. One of the most 
 satisfactory methods is to wait until late winter, or early spring, 
 say in February. Choose the 
 warm, sunny side of some build- 
 ing. Lay down a few 2x4's and 
 upon these put boards. Spread 
 on the boards a few inches of 
 moist sand then spread the nuts 
 on this moist sand and cover 
 
 them with additional sand. If 
 
 Bagging of trees in nursery 
 
 Sufficient sandy SOll IS not to be as soon as they are grafted. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Walnut trees, eight years of age. 
 
 had, the nuts can be covered with wet burlap or blankets. 
 Care should be taken that if extremely heavy rains come, 
 some boards are laid over the bed to shed the water and 
 keep the soil from washing away. The success of germina- 
 tion by this method has been phenomenal in many cases, espe- 
 cially where California Black seed has been used. 
 
 In the early spring these nuts will germinate and send out 
 good vigorous sprouts. Before transplanting in the open sand 
 one should choose good rich ground for the nursery. This 
 should be plowed and harrowed very thoroughly, so that it con- 
 tains no lumps. The ground should then be furrowed and the 
 young sprout walnuts carefully transplanted in rows. Care 
 should be taken in drawing the dirt up around the transplant 
 
 not to break the sprout. One 
 
 needs to be very careful during 
 the first few cultivations not to 
 injure the young shoots, as they 
 are about as tender as asparagus 
 shoots, and if the ground is 
 lumpy there is danger of the 
 
 lumps being thrown up against 
 Low method of heading trees 
 
 and good system of staking, them and injuring the shoots, 
 
 
10 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 11 
 
 thus making them worthless. If the ground is rich and well 
 prepared, the young trees will soon start into vigorous growth, 
 and they should be given the best of tillage and hand hoeing, 
 so as to keep them growing. It will be advisable, in many 
 cases, to stake the young trees to keep them from becoming 
 injured. 
 
 If the trees are given good care, the large majority of them 
 should make sufficient growth in one season so that they can 
 be successfully grafted the following spring. 
 
 In grafting English walnuts, it is imperative that one choose 
 good scion wood. This can generally be found on all trees pro- 
 ducing vigorous one-year-old wood. Some of the two-year-old 
 wood will suffice. The tip growth is undesirable, as it is too 
 soft and spongy. The wood which makes the best scion should 
 not contain over one-half its diameter of pith. Scion stocks 
 can be cut a foot or more in length. These can be stratified in 
 moist sand or, preferably, can be put in cold storage plants, 
 where they are stored on ice. They can be kept there at least 
 until needed. In fact, scions in this way could be kept for some 
 of the very late English walnut trees which do not come into 
 activity until June. Care must be exercised to keep the buds 
 absolutely dormant, as a sprouted scion is worthless. 
 
 Grafting the Walnut Trees: There are many large black 
 walnut trees scattered over the state which should be top-worked 
 to the better strains of English walnuts. In four years these 
 trees could be made to be extremely productive. 
 
 Walnut grafting is exceedingly difficult and I would sug- 
 gest that if you have very much grafting to do, either in the 
 nursery rows, or in top-working of trees, you either work with 
 someone who is considered an expert in this class of work, or 
 employ someone who has demonstrated that he can do the work 
 successfully. The most successful work in this state has been 
 done by Mr. George G. Payne, of Campbell, California. The 
 methods used, however, are outlined in the following descrip- 
 tion, taken from directions given by him : 
 
12 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 "For scions select round wood with buds not too far apart. 
 Use upright or horizontal wood and never dropping wood. 
 Avoid terminal buds. Spurs on young trees a foot or less in 
 length make good wood. 
 
 "When possible, leave scion wood on trees until two or three 
 weeks before they show signs of starting, which would be about 
 April first to tenth. Cut in lengths from twelve to fourteen 
 inches and stratify carefully in sand. 
 
 "Before grafting, wait until buds on stock show signs of 
 bursting. If placed in position before the sap starts they may 
 dry out. One can start in earlier on English walnuts than on 
 Blacks, but Blacks will permit a longer grafting season. 
 
 "Bright, extra sharp tools are necessary. Good knives are 
 the IXL, the Henckel, budding knife, large size; Joseph 
 Rogers' iron-handled grafting knife; and a shoemaker's knife 
 is very desirable. For a splitting knife use Rogers' butcher 
 knives. A splitting maul like an old-fashioned potato masher 
 is good, dimensions 11x41/2x3. Hickory or hardwood wedges, 
 
 six inches in length, of different 
 widths, are desirable for split- 
 ting. Have the edges a little 
 thinner than the center. Have a 
 sharp saw. Use oil stones, em- 
 eries, etc., to keep tools always 
 sharp. 
 
 "Never make a concave cut on 
 scion. Choose a piece of wood 
 having two eyes of straight 
 growth. Cut off 2^/2 inches be- 
 low bud, with slanting cut. Turn 
 lower bud upward. Begin with 
 knife on opposite or a little lower 
 than bud. Cut just through the 
 bark to wood. Continue down- 
 
 i u- u ward, very gradually cutting 
 A system of heading back which . . . 
 
 should be avoided. Instead of deeper, until two-thirds of cut is 
 l!mbs aVe at l6aSt ^ completed. The remaining one- 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 13 
 
 A well handled orchard. 
 
 third is cut considerably more abrupt. Turn the scion 
 over and treat the other side the same. Have scion 
 a little thicker on the outside. After scion is cut, prepare stock. 
 Saw of f straight, then take butcher's knife and split very lightly 
 through center, then bear heavily on handle of knife and split 
 the opposite side of stock. Now drive in wedge. One must 
 now carefully fit stock to scion. It is generally necessary to cut 
 out a little wood on each side of split in such a way that when 
 wedge is released the scion is caught firmly and perfectly. The 
 scion should be inserted as with other grafts, so as to bring 
 growing layers together. Next, stuff newspaper down in the 
 chink between the two scions. Now wax. Cover entire cut 
 surface. It is fatal to leave it exposed. It is sometimes neces- 
 sary to rewax three or four times. If scion buds are slightly 
 covered with wax it will do no harm. After waxing, tie an 
 inflated paper bag over graft, leaving an inch or two for scions 
 to grow. 
 
 Nursery Grafting. 
 
 "The work is done at the same season as top-working. When 
 possible, avoid doing the grafting in the early morning hours, or 
 following a heavy rain, for at such times considerable bleeding 
 may take place. 
 
14 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Young walnut orchard with cherry fillers. 
 
 "Pick away the dirt from around the tree. With a sharp band 
 shear, cut off the tree about two inches above the ground. In 
 making the cut always have the blade down. Then with a 
 shoemaker's knife make a vertical cut from an inch to an inch 
 and one-half in length, the cut terminating at the stub of the 
 stock. The cut is very shallow at the lower end and ends deeply 
 at the center. Now make a cut at right angles to the first. The 
 result will be that you will take out a right-angled piece from 
 the stock, the cut being broad and deep at the top and shallow 
 and drawn to a point at the lower end. 
 
 "A scion is so cut as to fit this right-angled notch in the 
 stock very closely. First cut the scion off sharply, then make a 
 cut at right angles to this, which will be from an inch to an inch 
 and one-half in length. Draw it in slightly toward the point. 
 If the scion and stock do not fit absolutely smooth, make new 
 cuts until you get a true, smooth connection. Now take some 
 coarse twine or yarn and wrap the two together securely, 
 finally tying with a half hitch. This being done, wax over very 
 carefully, probably at least two or three times, as per directions 
 given for cleft grafting. Use paper bags and treat as in pre- 
 vious method." 
 
 Mr. Fred Groner of Hillsboro, Oregon, who has done a 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 15 
 
 Top-working the American Black to the English 
 
 great deal of successful walnut grafting, states that he is able to 
 get a larger percentage where the nursery trees for grafting are 
 cut off at the point where the wood begins to get soft. He has 
 also found that a beveled knife is superior for the work. How- 
 ever, since the mushroom root rot is making its appearance, it 
 may be better to follow some of the California methods and 
 graft the trees well above the surface of the ground. We would 
 also caution the walnut grafters to cut their scions so that there 
 is a long surface of contact. 
 
 The grafting wax that is being used very successfully is the 
 following : 
 
 Resin, 5 pounds ; finely pulverized charcoal, % pound ; bees- 
 wax, 1 pound ; raw linseed oil, 1 gill. 
 
 After melting the beeswax and resin over a fire that is not 
 too hot, add the charcoal, stirring steadily, then add the oil. 
 After moulding the bricks, it should be placed in greased pans. 
 As one needs to use the wax it may be broken off in lumps and 
 melted in suitable dishes. It should be in liquid form when 
 applied. 
 
 Establishing the Orchard. 
 
 In establishing the walnut orchard, the first point to study 
 carefully is the choosing of the trees. There are two types of 
 
16 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Walnut tree with a nice spread 
 but headed a foot too high 
 
 trees being planted in the North- 
 west at the present time name- 
 ly, the seedling and the grafted 
 trees. The grafted trees are gain- 
 ing in popularity very rapidly. 
 It is hard to find men who have 
 tried both seedling and grafted 
 trees, who do not favor the graft- 
 ed ones. I have found only a few 
 
 men who have tried the grafted trees, who are in favor of dis- 
 carding them and taking up the seedlings, while a great many 
 men now growing both grafted and seedlings say that if they 
 were planting again they certainly would plant grafted types 
 exclusively. 
 
 The statement is often made that the seedling orchards are 
 worthless. This statement is altogether too strong. There is 
 no question, in my mind, that some of the seedling orchards that 
 have the right type of seedlings will prove to be very attractive 
 investments, while, on the other hand, the proper type of grafted 
 trees is without doubt the best investment to make. 
 
 The advantages of the grafted tree are that you will have 
 a more uniform orchard, the trees will come into bearing 
 younger, and the product is very much more uniform than can 
 be expected from the seedling orchards. Many of the seedling 
 trees bloom or come to foliage too late to procure good crops. 
 Others bloom so early that they are invariably injured by the 
 frost. Walnuts will bloom over a period extending from early 
 
 April until the middle of July. 
 The very early trees are general- 
 ly caught by frost, and it is 
 doubtful if trees that come out as 
 late as June 15 will mature their 
 crop. Trees coming out from the 
 ^*^ first to the middle of May are 
 
 Low headed type of Walnut Tree. ver - v desirable. Some trees are too 
 Very satisfactory if tied well, weak physically and are valueless. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 17 
 
 Young walnut orchard with prune fillers and garden truck. 
 
 It must not be assumed that there is no fluctuation in 
 grafted trees, as grafted walnut orchards will probably vary 
 to about the same extent that the apple, pear, plum or orange 
 will vary. On the other hand, there are many seedling orchards 
 that will not produce over sixty per cent of good trees. 
 
 Many of the planters of walnuts five or six years ago 
 attempted to purchase grafted trees in large numbers, but found 
 it impossible to do so. The trees were not for sale at any price. 
 Again, some of the early grafted trees were very disappointing. 
 They were imported French trees that had been grown in cold 
 frames and flower pots and were stunted, inferior trees. The 
 introduction of such stock did very much to prejudice some 
 of our early planters against the grafted trees. 
 
 As regards whether to plant seedlings or grafted trees, 
 
 very careful judgment must be 
 used. Where seedling trees are 
 planted, the nut should be chosen 
 from an isolated tree or an or- 
 chard where one variety is grown. 
 If nuts are chosen from mixed 
 orchards, 'where cross pollina- 
 A Well Headed Walnut Tree tion has taken place, one must 
 
18 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 expect variation, for, 
 as the old saying is, 
 "Blood will tell." The 
 more crosses you have, 
 the more variations one 
 must naturally expect. 
 In former days, much 
 was said concerning the 
 generation of trees. The 
 first generation consist- 
 ed of trees from nuts 
 which were taken from 
 the selected trees. The 
 second generation were 
 the trees which resulted 
 from these nuts. It was 
 formerly believed by 
 some people that, ow- 
 ing to climatic and soil 
 conditions of our state, 
 these second genera- 
 tion trees would pro- 
 duce nuts superior to 
 the mother trees, and 
 superior to any trees 
 which would follow 
 from mixed pollination. 
 The walnut, however, 
 follows the same gen- 
 eral rules as do other 
 plants ; namely, that 
 when you have seed- 
 lings, you may be fortunate enough to secure a few superior 
 to either parent in some respects, but a large majority of the 
 nuts will be inferior to either parent. It is only by selecting 
 these isolated seeds that have not been cross pollinated, from a 
 
 Varieties of Oregon grown walnuts. 
 (1) Mayette (2) Meylan 
 
 (3) Parisienne (4) Parry 
 
 (5) Chaberto (6) Franquette 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 19 
 
 hardy French strain, 
 such as the Franquette, 
 that one can expect to 
 secure good seedling 
 stock. 
 
 Where grafted trees 
 are preferred, one 
 should certainly know 
 something about the 
 pedigree of the trees, 
 for unless the roots are 
 vigorous and the scions 
 selected from trees of 
 known value, the graft- 
 ed trees will probably 
 be worthless. 
 
 Some men are com- 
 b i n i n g seedling and 
 grafted orchards in this 
 way. Seedling orchards 
 are first planted and 
 then the percentage 
 which are inferior are 
 grafted over to selected 
 scions. Many of these 
 trees in this way can be 
 made to become very 
 productive trees, but 
 with others the vitality 
 is so poor that it does 
 not pay to attempt to 
 
 do much with them. Eventually we are going to find out what 
 are the four or five best varieties or strains for this section of 
 the country, and as soon as that is determined, a large majority 
 of our trees will be grafted to these best strains. 
 
 There are three types of stock being used in the Northwest 
 
 Nuts at top and bottom are result of seedlings 
 from grafting of pointed Franquette and 
 Round Mayette in center. 
 
20 OREGONWALNUTS 
 
 at the present time the Northern California Black, the Amer- 
 ican Black, and the English. There are many other types that 
 possibly have been used in a limited way, such as the Southern 
 California Black and various hybrids. Undoubtedly, we are 
 going to use more than one stock as time goes on, but at present 
 the Northern California Black stock is the favorite and most 
 of the orchards where this stock has been used produce vigorous 
 young trees. It will take many years to demonstrate the best 
 stock to use under our varied conditions. 
 
 The advantages of the Northern California Black stock 
 are that you get a large percentage of germination of nuts, the 
 trees are vigorous growers, and tend to be fairly uniform. The 
 union with the young scion seems to be satisfactory. The 
 American Black has been tried in certain localities with success. 
 It is not as rapid a grower, and it is harder to germinate the 
 seed. Possibly some of the hybrid trees will be found valuable. 
 
 Age of Tree. 
 
 In purchasing trees one should try to secure good, strong, 
 straight one-year-old trees. It is very easy to get such trees 
 from six to eight feet in height, which show plenty of vigor. 
 
 Setting of Trees Planting the Orchard. 
 
 Before planting the orchard, the ground should be very 
 thoroughly plowed and harrowed and put into good tilth condi- 
 tion. The trees should be set from forty to sixty feet apart. 
 When trees are set at a distance as great as sixty feet, it should 
 be only where the soil is extremely rich, or where one plans to 
 intercrop or use fillers extensively. With many soils, a distance 
 of forty feet is ample, while fifty feet is a distance preferred 
 by many growers. The hole should be dug sufficiently wide 
 to accommodate the roots nicely, and deep enough to allow the 
 filling in of some good top soil and the setting of the tree from 
 two to four inches deeper than it was in the nursery row. When 
 setting, all broken or decayed roots should be cut off with a 
 good sharp knife. Where the tap root has been severed, a 
 good straight cut should be made. Formerly it was argued 
 that walnuts would not grow if the tap root was injured. This 
 has been proved to be a fallacy, as the thousands of acres of 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 21 
 
 c 
 
 c/3 
 
 H 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 grafted transplanted trees in the Northwest now testify. I 
 would treat the roots of the walnuts very much the same as 
 those of any fruit tree. While planting can be done in the fall 
 in many parts of the western and southern parts of Oregon, 
 probably late winter and early spring would, on the whole, be 
 the most desirable. Some men have advocated that, instead 
 of planting trees, nuts be planted in the field where the orchard 
 is to be developed; that three to five nuts be planted in holes 
 where the tree is desired and all but the strongest of these seed- 
 lings be discarded. I have never seen a good orchard developed 
 in this way and doubt its practicability. It certainly is more 
 expensive and harder to take care of young seedlings scattered 
 over a forty-acre field, than it would be to have them in compact 
 rows in the nursery, where they could have the best of care. 
 
 There are various systems of planting the orchard. Where 
 the filler system is to be used, the setting of the trees by what is 
 known as the quincunx system is perhaps the best. In this 
 system the trees are set in fives, the permanent plantings being 
 in the form of squares or rectangles, and the filler being the 
 tree which is planted in the center of the square. About 75 per 
 cent more trees can be planted by this system than by the square 
 or rectangular. The square or rectangular system is the best 
 where one wishes to intercrop extensively; or where it is the 
 aim of the orchardists to grow truck crops, berries or similar 
 crops, this system will prove the more satisfactory. It does 
 not give as many trees to the acre, neither are the trees equally 
 distant, but it does allow for tillage better than any other 
 system. 
 
 The last system is known as the hexagonal. In this system 
 the trees are set, as you might say, in circles of six, with a tree 
 in the center of each circle. The trees are all equally distant, as 
 they are planted the radius of the circle apart. This system does 
 not allow for tillage or intercropping as well as the two first 
 systems. 
 
 There are three systems of pruning the young trees. In the 
 first system, I wish to describe, the trees are cut back when they 
 are planted to two or three buds. These buds are allowed to 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 23 
 
 Tree headed too high. 
 
 force out shoots in the spring 
 and after they have made a suf- 
 ficient growth to determine 
 which one of the three is the best, 
 the other two are removed. The 
 one remaining shoot is then tied 
 securely to a stake, so that it will 
 not be broken or injured in any 
 way. In the second spring this 
 tree is re-headed to a height of 
 about forty-eight inches and the 
 heading formed so as to have the 
 main branches spaced as widely 
 apart as possible. This system 
 is a fairly easy one for the aver- 
 age man to handle. 
 
 The second method is to head 
 
 the trees much the same as our apple trees ; say, twenty-five to 
 
 thirty inches in height and the main head is formed the first 
 
 summer. With this system, how- 
 ever, extremely good staking and 
 
 tying must be followed, or the 
 
 head will not be satisfactory. 
 
 This system is a superior one 
 
 for the expert horticulturist. 
 The third system is to train 
 
 the trees to whip for three or 
 
 four years, allowing no laterals 
 
 to grow until that time. This 
 
 was formerly the most popular 
 
 system in the Northwest, but is 
 
 gradually going out as it makes 
 
 the trees too high-headed, and 
 
 makes it very difficult to stake 
 
 and tie the main scaffold 
 
 branches satisfactorily. English 
 
 ittl 
 
 headed too high 
 
24 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 ' H^ f 
 
 i 
 
 Well kept orchard with prune trees as fillers. 
 
 All walnut trees need thorough staking. A good strong 
 post should be set that will stand at least seven feet out of the 
 ground. During the first two or three years of the tree's life, it 
 will be necessary to do considerable tying in order to prevent 
 
 drooping over too much. Tying 
 with broad strips of cloth, bed 
 ticking, or similar material, is 
 preferable and each individual 
 main scaffold branch should be 
 tied to the stake. Care should 
 be taken not to tie the branches 
 so close to the stake as to cause 
 them to grow too upright. 
 
 The tillage of young walnut 
 orchards is very much the same 
 as that practiced in our young 
 apple and pear orchards. Much 
 plowing and harrowing should 
 be practiced in early spring and 
 
 American Black Walnut Tree the ground placed in such condi- 
 topped with English. Poor .. ,, , ., , i j u TJ 
 
 practice to use so old a tree, tion that it can catch and hold 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 25 
 
 Trees planted too close together, crowding tops 
 
 the spring rains. At frequent intervals the ground should be 
 harrowed, so that no weeds are allowed to grow and the ground 
 prevented from packing and cracking. These frequent shallow 
 harrowings should follow at short intervals until such time as 
 the young trees have made satisfactory growth, which should 
 normally be from the middle of July to the middle of August. 
 In our older orchards, it will probably be necessary to continue 
 tillage later in the fall, because if we do not hold the moisture, 
 the tree's vitality may be affected, or there may be a tendency 
 for the nuts not to fill well. Where trees do not start well the 
 first year or two, it may pay to give each tree a couple of buck- 
 ets of water some time during early summer. The trees should 
 be hoed soon after such watering. 
 
 Where irrigation is practiced, it should be followed as is 
 generally done with the fruit trees. One should take care not 
 to have the water come in contact with the bodies of the young 
 trees. Pools of water should not be allowed to stand close 
 around the trees for any length of time. In irrigating, care 
 should be taken to get plenty of water down in the sub-soils to 
 encourage deep rooting of the trees. Irrigation should not, 
 however, take the place of tillage. The two must go hand in 
 hand if the best results are to be secured. Where one is depen- 
 
26 OREGONWALNUTS 
 
 dent to a large extent upon artificial water, the sub-soil should 
 be examined and never allowed to get so dry that when a por- 
 tion of the sub-soil is pressed tightly in the hand, and the fingers 
 removed, the soil naturally falls apart. After each irrigation, a 
 great deal of tillage should follow. 
 
 As yet most of our orchards in the Northwest are so young 
 that artificial fertilization has never been resorted to to any 
 great extent. Where trees are lacking in vigor, or where the 
 land planted to orchard has been in grain for many years, it 
 will often be found advisable to add stable compost where it can 
 be obtained cheap and in large quantities. One cannot afford 
 to pay much for such fertilizer, however, nor will it pay to haul 
 it far. I doubt if it will pay the average grower to try the 
 commercial fertilizers. Experiment stations, from time to 
 time, are trying out such plant foods. It is only by careful 
 experiments that one can demonstrate the real value of any 
 element. Cover crops often can be sources of material aid to 
 the orchard. These should be planted the latter part of August 
 or very early in September. Under average conditions, the 
 seed should be drilled in at the rate of about forty pounds of 
 forage, or Oregon vetch, to about ten to twelve pounds of oats 
 or rye. It is essential that the seed be drilled in and be planted 
 early. 
 
 Inter-Cropping and Use of Fillers. 
 
 Since the walnut trees are planted so far apart forty or 
 fifty feet there is a considerable waste of ground the first ten 
 years of the orchard's life. The question which confronts every 
 walnut grower is how he can best utilize this area between the 
 trees, so as to bring in some cash return. As far as soil and 
 care of the trees is concerned, the best type of crops to grow is 
 truck garden crops, such as beans, peas, squash, melons ; small 
 fruits, such as strawberries, currants, and gooseberries; and it 
 would even be possible to use some cane fruits, such as raspber- 
 ries, and some men have tried such crops as loganberries. Strips 
 of hay, especially vetch hay, consisting of a mixture of vetch 
 and oats, can be used to advantage by many growers, since in 
 this way sufficient forage can be raised for the horses that are 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 27 
 
 Well headed tree. Properly 
 pruned would become ideal. 
 
 necessary to carry on the orchard 
 work; but where strips of hay or 
 grain are grown between the 
 trees, it is advisable to leave 
 clean tilled strips on either side; 
 otherwise, the trees will become 
 stunted. 
 
 It will be well for some of the 
 walnut growers in western and 
 southern Oregon to consider the 
 possibility of handling hogs in 
 connection with the orchards. 
 Such crops as cow-horn turnips, 
 Aberdeen turnips, rape and 
 vetch, can be planted by the mid- 
 dle of July and should make a 
 most excellent winter feed. It 
 would not be advisable to keep a 
 large number of hogs on heavy, 
 poorly drained soils. On the 
 average rolling soils, this system 
 is practiced and is being used by 
 a number of growers. 
 
 The excess stock of hogs is 
 generally turned off in early 
 spring and this is a time when 
 prices are generally quite satis- 
 factory. If the orchardist has 
 some spare land that he can raise 
 grain on, so as to obtain large 
 quantities of wheat screenings, 
 it may be found possible to pro- 
 duce cheap pork. It is not ad- 
 visable, under ordinary condi- 
 tions, to grow large quantities 
 Of grain among young trees. Tree with weak crotches account 
 J branches all coming out at one 
 
 It is only orchards that are point. 
 
28 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 J 
 
 Walnut Tree with a good spread. 
 
 growing too vigorously that can stand such treatment safely. 
 
 Some men prefer using fillers to inter-cropping. The ideal 
 filler for the young walnut is the Italian prune, a small, com- 
 pact tree which will enable the orchardist to get a number of 
 paying crops before it becomes necessary to take out the trees. 
 After the walnut begins to get large, however, it will crowd the 
 prunes, and it will only be a question of time before the vitality 
 of the prune trees becomes so low that it will be advisable to 
 take them out. 
 
 Walnut culture lends itself to general farming. As the 
 trees require very little spraying and not much unusual atten- 
 tion, the average farmer should be able to meet with a fair 
 degree of success with this crop. Walnut culture also combines 
 itself very nicely with certain crop combinations. For example, 
 berries, prunes and walnuts would make a most excellent com- 
 bination. The berries such as black caps, or loganberries, 
 could be evaporated. Later the prunes could be handled in the 
 same evaporator. Finally, the nuts could be dried in the same 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 29 
 
 building. Thus one would be securing better returns for the 
 investment in the evaporator. A certain amount of general 
 farming and handling of chickens and hogs would lend itself 
 nicely to this above named combination. With the family cow 
 and a good garden, such a combination should very largely 
 meet the requirements of the family table and, at the same time, 
 bring in a splendid cash income. 
 
 Where irrigation is possible, it would be advisable to at- 
 tempt to grow such crops as clover after the orchard has come 
 into bearing, watering it sufficiently to produce both clover and 
 walnuts abundantly. The clover could either be turned into 
 hay or could be pastured over by live stock, such as sheep, for 
 example. 
 
 The walnut should be more adopted as a home tree. It 
 makes a most excellent shade tree for the yard, and can be 
 developed into a satisfactory street tree; but where this is at- 
 tempted, I would advise the growth of first, the American 
 Black, or California Black, and later the top-working of such 
 trees to selected English strains. Thousands of trees in the 
 state have been so top-worked and are becoming very valuable. 
 
 Where walnuts are used as home 
 or street trees, care should be 
 taken not to crowd them very 
 much with such trees as maples, 
 oaks, etc., as invariably the wal- 
 nut does not seem to thrive as 
 well under such conditions as 
 when it has plenty of room. 
 
 Pruning. 
 
 We have already treated the 
 subject of pruning at the time of 
 setting the trees. After the trees 
 have made their first year's 
 growth, one should choose the 
 branches which are to form 
 the framework of the trees. 
 Walnuts on the trees. Four or five branches should be 
 
30 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Prince Dryers, Dundee, Oregon. 
 
 chosen and it is advisable to have these spaced as far apart as 
 practicable, and I would suggest heading them back in about 
 the same way as one would head back the apple, pear, and prune 
 trees, cutting the strongest branches back the most and the 
 weakest ones the least. In this way we will constantly encour- 
 age the weaker branches and bring the trees to a better balance. 
 
 In forming the scaffold branches of your tree, try to choose 
 branches that will not form a poor angle with the trunk. Such 
 branches are very apt to split off by the end of the second year. 
 
 It will be advisable to give the trees annual pruning. The 
 general tendency of many of the English walnuts is to grow 
 decidedly one-sided, one or two branches growing much more 
 vigorously than the rest. These very strong branches should 
 be decidedly checked cut back hard, so as to force out the 
 weaker and smaller branches. By this persistent heading back 
 the first two or three years, you will force out abundant laterals 
 which will give you plenty of wood to choose from in building 
 up a strong tree, one having plenty of bearing surface. If the 
 trees are allowed to go unchecked, they will not only become 
 one-sided, but you will have long naked branches with very few 
 bearing laterals. The amount of wood that can be cut from 
 any tree must vary according to the growth it has secured. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 31 
 
32 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Some branches will be shortened to eight or twelve inches, while 
 with others it will be advisable to let them grow from twelve 
 to twenty inches, according to the balance of the tree. It will 
 be necessary each year to thin out a few of the undesirable 
 branches that form bad angles, or have a tendency to grow 
 inward. 
 
 After the trees come to bearing, about the only pruning 
 necessary will be to thin out the trees where they tend to become 
 too dense, and occasionally suppress some few of the leaders 
 that tend to become too rangy. It will also be found advisable 
 during the first few years to shorten back or remove some of the 
 branches that droop to the extent of interfering with tillage. 
 The great tendency of the walnut is to droop, and no matter 
 how well the trees are trained, one will always have to remove a 
 certain number of drooping branches. 
 
 Pruning should be done preferably after the danger of 
 serious freezing is over and before the sap starts to flowing 
 strongly in the spring. For western Oregon, February is gen- 
 erally a very suitable month for walnut pruning. 
 
 Diseases. 
 
 There are a number of diseases that attack the English wal- 
 nut. The most serious of these is the walnut blight, known 
 scientifically as Bacteriosis. This is a bacterial disease and is 
 probably carried by insects. Its first appearance is noted in 
 early spring. On the leaves it starts in the form of black spots 
 which enlarge and generally cause some malformation of the 
 leaves, those attacked often bending towards the area affected. 
 Black patches will appear on the outer bark, often causing a 
 drying up of the young twigs and fruit spurs, killing them back 
 to the main branches. The damage to the tree, however, at 
 least in Oregon, is, as a rule, not serious ; especially is this true 
 of the better French strains. The greater damage comes from 
 the attack on the nuts. Small, black, irregular spots which 
 spread quite rapidly appear on the surface of the nut. When 
 these appear soon after the young nuts are formed, they will 
 generally cause a large dropping of the fruit. Those nuts 
 which do not drop often have their meats ruined by black decay. 
 
OREGONWALNUTS 33 
 
 Young walnut orchard with strawberries between rows 
 
 Where the attack appears later in the season it will cause por- 
 tions of the hull to dry, blacken and shrivel, and may cause some 
 premature dropping of the nuts near the harvesting period, and 
 even though it may not destroy the meats, it often makes the 
 nuts unsalable, as it tends to discolor the shells. The disease 
 varies according to climatic conditions, being much worse some 
 seasons than others. The early blooming varieties are gener- 
 ally more attacked than the later blooming ones. This is espe- 
 cially true under California conditions. 
 
 There is no known remedy other than cutting out and de- 
 stroying the affected parts. A recent survey which the author 
 made revealed the fact that it seemed to be a general rule this 
 past year that the young walnut trees which were rather low in 
 vitality were the ones most seriously affected by this disease. 
 
 While the disease certain years has been quite bad on some 
 trees, nevertheless it is not of such a nature as to keep one from 
 entering the walnut industry. The best line of resistance to the 
 disease is in choosing fairly resistant strains, and giving the 
 trees good care. 
 
 The mushroom root rot, which attacks such fruits as apples 
 and pears, also attacks English walnuts. While it does not 
 seem to attack the American Black and California Black roots 
 
34 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 TREE PLANTING 
 Fig. 1. Not well planted. During 
 dry seasons nuts will not fill well, and 
 will be bitter. 
 
 Fig. 2. Ground dynamited before- 
 planting, roots go down to permanent- 
 moisture. Drouth and famine proof. 
 
 seriously, it is very serious on English roots, and even where 
 trees are grafted, if the union comes below the ground, it may 
 kill the tree at the point of union. On this account, on recently 
 cleared lands, it might be better to plant the trees with the 
 union exposed. The best known remedy is to scrape the dirt 
 away from the affected parts, clean off decayed portions, and 
 leave such portions exposed to the dry air for at least one 
 season. 
 
 Crown gall has been reported in a few instances, but has not 
 been found to such an extent as to be thought serious. 
 
 Shriveled meats is a problem which may have to be met. 
 This seems to be much more serious in California than in Ore- 
 gon. The shriveling, or drying up of the meats in the shell, may 
 result from a number of causes, such as poor pollination, too dry 
 soil, aphis attacks, or because the tree is so extremely late that 
 it does not have time to develop its fruit. 
 
 Insects. 
 
 About the only insects needing serious attention that so far 
 have appeared to attack our young walnuts are the San Jose 
 scale and the Aphis. Both of these pests are very easily con- 
 trolled and the same remedies that are used for our fruit trees 
 suffice to control these pests. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 35 
 
 WALNUT BLOSSOMS 
 
 Fig. 1, pistilate, or female flow- 
 er, comes at end of new growth ; 
 produces walnuts when properly 
 fertilized. 
 
 Fig. 2, staminate, or male flow- 
 er, commonly called catkin, comes 
 at end of last year's growth; pro- 
 duces pollen to fertilize the pis- 
 tillate. 
 
 Pollination. 
 
 Pollination is a problem that may need some attention. The 
 older grafted orchards of California where only one variety is 
 grown seem to bear quite satisfactorily. Young trees, how- 
 ever, do not set their fruit well. Often a tree from four to six 
 years of age will start from one hundred to three hundred nuts, 
 only to have a large number of them drop to the ground pre- 
 maturely. This is due to the fact that the young walnut trees 
 do not produce sufficient catkins and, therefore, do not have a 
 sufficient quantity of pollen. After the trees become older, 
 there seems to be less trouble from this source. With the young 
 Franquette trees it is especially noticeable that the catkins are 
 scarce the first few years, but by the time the trees reach the 
 period of heavy bearing, at seven years, there are generally 
 sufficient catkins to insure a good crop. With the Mayette, the 
 female blossoms sometimes appear before the male, while with 
 the Glady, they are both apt to appear together. Our experi- 
 ence with fruit has shown that it is better to have several vari- 
 eties in an orchard ; that a larger crop can generally be secured 
 by cross pollination. It would, therefore, seem wise for the wal- 
 nut grower to plant a few trees for pollination purposes, even 
 though the greater part of his orchard consists of a single variety. 
 
36 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 Harvesting and Marketing. 
 
 As soon as the nuts are ripe in the fall, the hulls generally 
 split and the nuts begin to drop. It will be necessary to make 
 three or four gatherings of the nuts at intervals of from three 
 to five days apart. The work can be so handled that it takes 
 about five days to make one picking, and then the crew can 
 start over the orchard the second time. During the first pick- 
 ing, it is unwise to shake the trees vigorously, as such shaking is 
 very apt to cause immature nuts to fall. Many nuts still have 
 their husks tightly sealed and they will drop if the tree is shaken 
 vigorously. Bamboo poles with hooks can be used to jar the 
 branches. Care must be taken, however, not to bruise or injure 
 the branches with the hooks. 
 
 At the second picking, it will be well to shake the trees some- 
 what, but no attempt should be made to remove all the nuts at 
 this time. 
 
 At the third picking, nearly all the remaining nuts should 
 be properly matured. However, in the seedling orchards there 
 is a wide period of maturity. In fact, a few trees never mature 
 their nuts properly. 
 
 Some of the growers have each picker carry two pails. In 
 one they place the culled nuts, and those to which the hull 
 strongly adheres. In the second, the well matured nuts, those 
 free from hulls. The two grades are kept separate in sacks as 
 they are brought to the washer. 
 
 Some growers have found that often those nuts which have 
 not shed their hulls will do so in a few days and make a prac- 
 tice of throwing them up near the trunk of the tree, gathering 
 them the second time. However, there will always be some nuts 
 that will never shed their hulls and are practically worthless for 
 commerce. It does not pay to try to pull the hulls off by hand, 
 as small portions are apt to stick to the nuts, and even though 
 the hull is removed, the nuts are apt to remain discolored. Such 
 nuts are also often poorly filled. 
 
 The nuts should not be allowed to remain in the sacks very 
 long because, in their damp condition, mold will start very 
 rapidly. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 37 
 
 DETAILS OF WALNUT CRAFTING 
 
 Some growers make a practice of picking one day and 
 washing and starting drying the next. In the early morning of 
 the second day the nuts are washed. This is done to remove 
 dirt, mold, fiber, or any foreign material. Some of the small 
 growers have used ordinary churns ; others have placed the nuts 
 in large wooden trays, which are dipped in troughs of water 
 the trays being churned up and down in the water until the nuts 
 
38 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 are clean. Some men are using the prune dippers and washers 
 quite satisfactorily. It will be necessary, however, to use a 
 broom to help wash the nuts, and it is well to have a false bot- 
 tom in the water container. This will allow the fiber to settle 
 below the false bottom. The fiber is often quite plentiful 
 from one to two boxes sometimes being secured from a ton of 
 nuts. Poor nuts can often be picked out as they are passing 
 through the machine. 
 
 It is well to start drying as soon as the nuts are washed and 
 a temperature of at least 70 degrees should be maintained. The 
 best temperature varies from 70 to 90 degrees. Below 70 de- 
 grees the mold will develop. Above 90 degrees, there is danger 
 of causing the seams to break and there is the additional dan- 
 ger of breaking down the oil in the nuts, which will later cause 
 them to become rancid. 
 
 It will take two days and nights to dry the nuts thoroughly. 
 If they can be placed in the dryer in the early morning, they can 
 often be dried sufficiently the first day, so that it will be safe 
 to let the fire go out at night. If no night firing is done it will 
 take four or five days to dry the nuts. 
 
 The numerous prune dryers can be used for the drying of 
 nuts. However, if one were equipping a building especially for 
 handling walnuts, it would probably pay to introduce some of 
 the improved California machinery for washing and grading, 
 and the drying rooms should be built on the kiln type. 
 
 Occasionally nuts can be dried out of doors, but care should 
 be taken not to have them exposed to a temperature greater 
 than 90 degrees, and it will be necessary to cover them at night 
 on account of the excessive dampness in the fall of the year. 
 
 As soon as the nuts are dried, they should be placed in a 
 cool, dry place, where they will keep until ready for the market. 
 
 As yet very little bleaching of the nuts has been practiced in 
 Oregon. The trade has taken all nuts just as they have been 
 washed and dried and has paid the top price for them. It 
 would be well for us, indeed, to encourage this tendency. While 
 bleaching whitens the shells, it is a question as to whether it can 
 be done without causing the quality of the nuts to deteriorate. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 39 
 
 The result of proper care. 
 
 Where bleaching is to be done, the following is a solution used 
 in California: 
 
 6 pounds Bleaching Powder (Chlorate of Lime) 
 12 pounds Sal Soda 
 50 gallons Water. 
 
 First, the bleaching powder should be dissolved in a small 
 quantity of water three or four gallons. Mixture should be 
 stirred until the powder is dissolved. In a separate container, 
 holding a few gallons of water, dissolve the Sal Soda. Mix the 
 two solutions and stir well, and allow it to stand until the Car- 
 bonate of Lime settles in the bottom. The clear liquid should 
 be drawn off and diluted with water so as to make fifty gallons. 
 The nuts are placed in dipping boxes, are immersed in the fluid, 
 and then one and one-fourth pounds of 50 per cent Sulphuric 
 Acid is added. The liquid is agitated by raising and lowering 
 the dipper. In from five to ten seconds the nuts should be suf- 
 ficiently bleached and should then be rinsed in clear water and 
 dried. There are mechanical contrivances for doing this work. 
 The same liquid can be used as long as it gives results. Occa- 
 sionally it is necessary to bleach the nuts more than once. 
 
 As soon as the nuts have been thoroughly dried, they should 
 be graded. Up to the present time, Oregon orchardists have 
 
40 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 been able to sell their nuts without grading, but as the crop in- 
 creases, grading should be established, and probably will be 
 demanded by the purchaser. Generally, at least two sizes are 
 made. First, those nuts which will not pass through a one-inch 
 mesh; and, second, those which will pass through a mesh not 
 larger than one inch and not smaller than three-fourths of an 
 inch. 
 
 There are mechanical contrivances for doing this grading. 
 Buyers will often crack one hundred nuts taken at random from 
 various sacks, and if about ninety per cent of these are well 
 selected, are of the proper color, and properly dried, they will 
 generally purchase them as first class nuts. 
 
 After the nuts have been graded, they should be stored until 
 marketed, and should be kept in a cool, dry place. For market- 
 ing they can be put up in the small cartons, or can be sacked in 
 gunny sacks holding about fifty pounds. 
 
 Variety. 
 
 The question of the best variety, or varieties, to plant is a 
 very important one, and it is the hardest question for us to at- 
 tempt to answer in Oregon at this time. This is due to the fact 
 that such a small percentage of our orchards have reached full 
 bearing. 
 
 We have not, as yet, secured the ideal nut, perhaps we never 
 will. We need one which should approach the following stand- 
 ard: of good size, tightly sealed, handsome color, and not too 
 rough. The shell should be just thick enough to stand han- 
 dling. The kernel should fill the shell thoroughly, should be 
 heavy and have a light pellicle. The variety should be a good 
 pollen producer, a vigorous grower, and free from blight. 
 These are just a few r characteristics that come to my mind off- 
 hand. There are doubtless others. Possibly it is too much to 
 expect all in one nut. To use the familiar idiom, we should 
 certainly be getting everything in a nut shell. 
 
 At the present time, the Franquette seems to be the best nut 
 we have, and the Mayette is very promising. These two are the 
 most desirable varieties at the present time. Undoubtedly, 
 however, we should obtain one or two very favorable strains of 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 41 
 
42 OREGONWALNUTS 
 
 walnuts from the large number of seedlings that have been 
 planted. While the growers are planting the Franquette more 
 than all others combined, it is wise to plant a few other varieties 
 for pollination purposes. This is regardless of whether the 
 Franquette is self-fertile or not, since our work with tree fruits 
 points conclusively to the fact that we get better returns where 
 we provide for cross pollination. It would, therefore, seem 
 advisable for the grower to plant a few of the better varieties as 
 pollinators, even if not more than one tree to the acre were used. 
 
 Franquette. 
 
 This is a very old nut. It has been grown commercially for 
 over a hundred years. There are numerous strains, but the so- 
 called Vrooman is probably superior to most other strains. The 
 Franquette is a high quality nut, is a good vigorous tree and a 
 regular bearer. It does not bear heavily while very young, and 
 one should not expect big returns before the seventh year. At 
 the best, the variety is only a medium bearer. 
 
 While attacked with blight, it is seemingly as resistant as 
 any of the varieties grown. 
 
 Mayette. 
 
 The Mayette is a nut of superb quality. It is the Grenoble 
 nut of commerce, is of ideal commercial shape and quality. Its 
 greatest drawback in Oregon seems to be its light yielding 
 qualities in many cases and its questionable vigor. There is, 
 however, a possibility that we have not secured the best strains 
 as yet in this state. There are a few growers who speak very 
 highly of this variety. Mr. Forbes of Forest Grove thinks it a 
 better yielder and more vigorous than the Franquette. The 
 vigorous Sturgis tree is well known. 
 
 If one could be sure of getting the proper strains, the May- 
 ette ought to be a profitable nut to plant, but at present we ad- 
 vise conservative plantings. 
 
 There are numerous other nuts which might be tried on a 
 limited scale. The Kirk, which originated at Brownsville, is a 
 very heavy yielder, a good grower, and of good quality. Its 
 most serious drawback, however, is that quite a percentage of 
 the nuts are not tightly enough sealed. 
 
OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 43 
 
 Where the walnuts are dried. 
 
 The Meylan is a nut of much promise one of the hand- 
 somest nuts we produce and of good quality. It has not been 
 grown extensively, but indicates that it is rather a light bearer. 
 
 The Glady is a very large nut of good quality, but the mar- 
 ket does not favor large nuts with rough shells. 
 
 The Eureka, Concord, and Wiltz have been tried on a very 
 small scale. The first two so far have not been very promising, 
 but possibly will show up better when more trees come into 
 bearing. 
 
 There are many conflicting reports concerning the Wiltz, 
 but it is in the list which should be tried very sparingly. The 
 soft shell types, such as the Santa Barbara and the Santa Rose, 
 are not suited to the climatic conditions in Oregon. They are a 
 type of nuts which should be confined very largely to Southern 
 California. 
 
 The French strains are seemingly the only ones that it is 
 safe for us to plant extensively. 
 
 It is too early to be able to state just what the yields and 
 profits from English walnut growing in Oregon will be. We 
 know there is a tree in Northern California that has produced 
 712 pounds of nuts in a single year, and it is not uncommon to 
 hear of trees producing more than 200 pounds of nuts. These 
 
44 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 trees, however, are extremely 
 rare, and while there are many 
 orchards which, in a single year, 
 will produce a ton or more of 
 marketable nuts per acre, it will 
 be safer for the investor to plan 
 on a lower average; say, 1,000 or 
 1,200 pounds per acre. These nuts 
 will sell for from 13 to 30 cents 
 per pound, according to present 
 prices, the same depending upon 
 the grade of the product. 
 
 As to how much money can 
 be made from the business, it 
 will depend upon the initial price 
 of land, the acreage developed 
 and the relation of the walnut or- 
 chard to other fruits, or general 
 farm crops. The larger the acreage, other things being equal, 
 the cheaper the production. It would seem that with a combi- 
 nation, including reasonable land values, economic units, and 
 good business management, one ought to be able to expect a 
 return of $100.00 per acre. While, of course, many will surpass 
 this, others will not reach it. However, I would call the in- 
 vestor's attention to the fact that $100.00 clear profit means 10 
 per cent interest on a valuation of $1,000.00 per acre, and there 
 are very few investments in the world that would yield such a 
 figure. 
 
 Ripe English Walnuts 
 bursting the outer shell. 
 
OREGONWALNUTS 45 
 
 List of Principal Walnut Orchards in Western Oregon 
 
 NAME 
 
 No. of Acres Grafted or 
 of Trees Seedlings 
 
 Matthews Planting Co., 
 
 Portland, Ore 1610.87 Seedlings. 
 
 Skyline Orchard Co., 
 
 Salem, Ore. . . . 203 
 
 Age of Trees 
 Years 
 
 200 
 
 65 
 56 
 50 
 49 
 
 Thos. Withycombe, 
 Portland, Ore 
 
 E. L. Dorn, 
 
 Monmouth, Ore 159 
 
 J. W. Jenkins, 
 
 Eugene, Ore 110 
 
 Fred Groner, 
 
 Hillsboro, Ore 100 
 
 Jesse A. Foster, 
 
 Independence, Ore. . . . 100 
 Dundee Fruit & Walnut 
 
 Co., Dundee, Ore 72 
 
 C. M. La Follett, 
 
 Amity, Ore 
 
 J. W. Quackenbush, 
 
 Eugene, Ore 
 
 Charles Trunk, 
 
 Dundee, Ore 
 
 Charles McNary, 
 
 Salem, Ore 
 
 F. C. Malpas, 
 Portland, Ore 
 
 R. Wenger, 
 
 Newberg, Ore 
 
 F. H. Walgamot, 
 
 Portland, Ore 35 
 
 M. C. Jenks, 
 
 Tangent, Ore 31 
 
 James E. Jenks, 
 
 Tangent, Ore 30 
 
 Thos. Schoolcraft, 
 
 Dilley, Ore 30 
 
 Geo. H. Brown, 
 
 New Era, Ore 30 
 
 Thos. Prince, 
 
 Dundee, Ore 27 
 
 H. L. Amoth, 
 
 Newberg, Ore 25 
 
 F. Brutmayer, 
 
 Grants Pass, Ore 25 
 
 Grafted 
 
 Seedlings 
 
 Seedlings 5 
 
 Seedlings 
 
 Grafted 1 to 7 
 
 Seedlings 6 
 
 Seedlings 
 
 Grafted 1 to 7 
 
 Grafted 2 
 
 Seedlings & Graf ted 
 
 Seedlings & Grafted 4, 5, 6 
 
 48V 2 Seedlings & Grafted 
 
 40 Grafted 3-5 
 
 Grafted & Seedlings 7 
 
 Grafted & Seedlings 2 & 3 
 
 Budded . 4 
 
 Grafted & Seedlings 7 
 
 Grafted & Seedlings 8 
 
 Grafted & Seedlings 
 
 Grafted 4&5 
 
 Grafted.. 3 
 
46 
 
 OREGON WALNUTS 
 
 NAME 
 
 No. of Acres Grafted or 
 of Trees Seedlings 
 
 Age of Trees 
 Years 
 
 Willamette Orchard Co., 
 
 Corvallis, Ore 22V 2 Grafted 6 
 
 P. O. Powell, 
 
 Monmouth, Ore 22 Seedlings 6 
 
 E. S. Greer, 
 
 Dundee, Ore 22 Seedlings 
 
 Geo. A. Dorris, 
 
 Springfield, Ore. 20 Seedlings 
 
 S. Ames, 
 
 Silverton, Ore 20 Grafted 1 
 
 L. L. Paget, 
 
 Gaston, Ore 18 Grafted 
 
 Helen V. Crawford, 
 
 Lebanon, Ore 16 Grafted 
 
 John C. Bortle, 
 
 Portland, Ore. . 15 2d Generation Seedlings. . 
 
 Leland Svarvernd, 
 
 Jefferson, Ore 15 Seedlings 21 
 
 S. Lindley, 
 
 Lebanon, Ore 15 Grafted 
 
 Dugald Campbell, 
 
 Eugene, Ore 14 Grafted 4 
 
 H. A. Kruse, 
 
 Sherwood, Ore 14 Grafted & Seedlings 
 
 Alice C. Boochers, 
 
 Lebanon, Ore 13 7 
 
 Dick Kiger, 
 
 Corvallis, Ore 13 Grafted 4 
 
 E. E. Foss, 
 
 Talent, Ore 13 Grafted 3 to 6 
 
 F. Tomek, 
 
 Grants Pass, Ore 13 Grafted 
 
 Wm. Light, 
 
 Dallas, Ore 12 11 
 
 W. K. Cardwell, 
 
 Roseburg, Ore 12 Grafted 4 
 
 F. B. Harlow, 
 
 Eugene, Ore lO 1 /^ Seedlings 16 
 
 Ira C. Powell, 
 
 Monmouth, Ore 10 Grafted & Seedlings 9 
 
 D. C. Hafley, 
 
 Grants Pass, Ore 10 Grafted 3 
 
 J. P. Young, 
 
 Sherwood, Ore 10 Seedlings 6-10 
 
 Will Young, 
 
 Sherwood, Ore 10 Seedlings 6-8 
 
J \\ to K A R y 
 OF THE 
 
 Pub. NO. 93. 3-1-16. 
 
For Information Regarding Railroad Fares, Train Service, Pullman Reserva- 
 tions, etc., Address Any of the Following: 
 
 GENERAL AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga., 80 Peachtree St C. M. Evans, G. A. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., 29 W. Baltimore St W. B. Johnson, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 Birmingham, Ala., 309-314 Brown-Marx Bldg. C. M. Evans, Gen. Agt. 
 
 Boston, Mass., 12 Milk St J. H. Glynn, New England Agt. 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y., 11 E. Swan St S. C. Chiles, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 Chicago, 111., 55 W. Jackson Blvd. . W. G. Neimyer, G. A. 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, 5 E. Fourth St A. G. Little, G. A. 
 
 Denver, Colo., 313 Ry. Ex. Bldg H. F. Kern, G. A. 
 
 Detroit, Mich., 221 Majestic Bldg Edward A. Macon, G. A. 
 
 El Paso, Tex., 206 Oregon St W. C. McCormick, G. A., G. H. & S. A. 
 
 Houston, Tex J. H. R. Parsons, G. P. A. Sunset Central 
 
 Kansas City, Mo., 101 Bryant Bldg C. T. Collett, G. A. 
 
 Little Rock, Ark., 210 Gazette Bldg W. H. Wynne, C. A. 
 
 Minneapolis, Minn., 733 Metropolitan Life Bldg C. A. David, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 New Orleans, La Jos. Hellen, G. P. A. M. L. & T. 
 
 New York, N. Y., 39, 366, 1157 Broadway.. L. H. Nutting, Gen. East. Pass. Agt. 
 
 Oklahoma City, Okla,, 1200 Colcord Bldg T. H. Pointer, Com. Agt. 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., 632 Chestnut St F. T. Brooks, D. P. & F. A. 
 
 Pittsburg, Pa., Park Bldg., 5th Ave. and Smithfield St. .G. G. Herring, Gen. Agt. 
 
 Reno, Nev., 108 E. Second St J. M. Fulton, A. G. F. & P. A. 
 
 Salt Lake City, Utah, 410 Walker Bank Bldg C. L. McFaul, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 Seattle, Wash., 720 Second Ave C. M. Andrews, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo., 1002 Olive St Geo. B. Hild, Gen. Agt. 
 
 Tacoma, Wash., 1111 Pacific Ave C. M. Andrews, D. F. & P. A. 
 
 Tucson, Ariz H. C. Hallmark, A. G. F. & P. A. 
 
 Washington, D. C., 911 G. St. N. W., 
 
 A. J. Poston, Gen. Agt., Washington-Sunset Route 
 
 T , , , A j E. H. Miller, 1088 Flood Building, San Francisco 
 
 ( J. T. Saunders, 314 Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles 
 
 F. E. Batturs, General Passenger Agent San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 F. S. McGinnis, General Passenger Agent Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Jno. M. Scott, General Passenger Agent Portland, Ore. 
 
 Chas. S. Fee, Passenger Traffic Manager San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC 
 
OREGON 
 
 WALNUTS 
 
 
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 SOUTHERN PACIFIC 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
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 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
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