Part 16

Being interested in better varieties of fruit trees, he also became interested in better varieties of nuts. Having some native nut trees on his farm, he began to buy the better varieties of nut trees grown by other nurseries. When these came into bearing, not being satisfied with the known varieties of nuts on the market, he began his search for better nuts.

In the fall of 1930 while searching in the river bottoms of Clinton County, Illinois, he discovered the Gerardi hican, and began its propagation and distributed it among other nurseries. It is now known the country over.

A few years later while hunting in the same river bottoms with a friend named Frank Gildig, he was shown a very fine pecan which now bears the name of the Gildig pecan. And also the Queens Lake Pecan originated in the same locality. These were introduced in the year 1936. His health failed and in 1942 he discontinued growing general nursery stock and grew only nut trees, until his death, which was caused by cancer in the spring of 1947.

MAJOR HIRAM B. FERRIS

Our Major Hiram B. Ferris, of Spokane, Washington, died May 14th, 1947. He was a valued member, and his loss is keenly felt. He has been a source of inspiration, and a highly esteemed bank of information and instruction. His passing is very much regretted.

(Submitted by George L. Denman, Spokane, Washington.)

Mrs. William Rohrbacher, Mrs. John Hershey, Mrs. J. F. Johns. (_Committee Members_)

Exhibitors At the Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association, Guelph, Ontario, Sept. 3, 4, 5, 1947

A. B. Anthony, Sterling, Ill. Black walnuts, Anthony shagbark hickory.

Mrs. F. L. Baum, Yellow House, Pa. Black walnut kernels.

G. H. Corsan, "Echo Valley", Islington, Ont. Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Japanese walnuts, heartnuts, filberts, shellbark and shagbark hickories.

H. H. Corsan, Hillsdale, Mich. Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Japanese heartnuts and walnuts, pecans, hicans, butternuts, butternut hybrids, shagbark and shellbark hickories.

Dr. R. T. Dunstan, Greensboro College, Greensboro, N. C. Black walnuts, filberts, shagbark hickories, pecans.

Fayette Etter, Lemasters, Pa. Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Chinese chestnuts, filberts, shagbark and shellbark hickories.

J. U. Gellatly, Westbank, B. C. Hybrid filberts, hybrid butternuts, photographs.

A. G. Hirschi, Oklahoma City, Okla. Pecan clusters, various varieties.

E. F. Huen, Eldora, Iowa. Black walnuts.

G. J. Korn, Kalamazoo, Mich. Black walnut kernels, black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Persian walnut hybrids, shagbark hickories.

Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, Ithaca, N. Y. Black walnuts, Japanese heartnuts, Turkish filbert, shagbark and shellbark hickories.

J. C. McDaniel, Nashville 3, Tenn. Shagbark hickories, heartnut, Texas walnut.

Papple Brothers, Brantford, Ont. Black walnuts, Japanese heartnuts, filberts.

Jay L. Smith, Chester, N. Y. Filberts, Japanese chestnuts.

H. F. Stoke, Roanoke, Va. Black and Persian walnuts, heartnuts, filberts, shagbark and shellbark hickories, Chinese, Japanese, American and hybrid chestnuts, papaws, chestnut grafts.

Kenneth Thomas, Baltimore, Md. Black walnuts.

Lynn Tuttle, Clarkston, Wash. Persian walnut nuts and shield buds, filberts.

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md. Persian walnuts, heartnuts, pecans, Chinese and Japanese chestnuts, Allegheny chinkapin.

Vineland Experiment Station, Vineland, Ont. Persian walnuts, filberts, almonds.

J. F. Wilkinson, Rockport, Ind. Black walnuts, hicans.

[Illustration: PICTURES MADE ON THE _1947_ TOUR]

The photograph on this page was taken by Sterling Smith, those on pp. 126-7 are by Dorothy Milne. Groups of NNGA members are shown examining nut trees and other items of interest on G. H. Corsan's place, "Echo Valley," Islington, Ontario.

Attendance

Mr. and Mrs. Royal Oakes, Bluffs, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gressel, Mohawk, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. F. L. O'Rourke, East Lansing, Mich. Mr. Ford Wallick, Peru, Ind. Mr. Carl Prell, South Bend, Ind. Dr. Arthur S. Colby, U. of Ill., Urbana, Ill. Rosamond H. Waite, M.D., Perrysburg, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond E. Silvis, Massillon, O. Mrs. Herbert Negus, Mt. Rainier, Md. Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Gravatt, U. S. Plant Industry Sta., Beltsville, Md. W. M. Churchill, Chicago, Ill. Edwin W. Lemke, Detroit, Mich. Wm. C. Hodgson, White Hall, Md. Ivor H. Harrhy, Burgessville, Ont. Gordon Porter, Windsor, Ont. Dr. and Mrs. Wm. Rohrbacher, Iowa City, Ia. Betty Rohrbacher, Iowa City, Ia. Anne Clarke, Columbus, Ohio. G. L. Slate, Geneva, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. John H. Connelly, Milford, N. J. J. F. Wilkinson, Rockport, Ind. Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, Ithaca, N. Y. Sterling A. Smith, Vermilion, Ohio D. C. Snyder, Center Point, Iowa Dr. J. Russell Smith, Swarthmore, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Stoke, Roanoke, Va. Eugene F. Cranz, Ira, Ohio Victor Brook, Rochester, N. Y. George Salzer, Rochester, N. Y. Dr. and Mrs. H. L. Crane, Hyattsville, Md. Spencer B. Chase, Norris, Tenn. Ira M. Kyhl, Sabula, Iowa Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Allaman, Harrisburg, Pa. H. A. English, Duncan, B. C. Wm. J. Little, St. George W. J. Strong, Vineland, Ont. Harry R. Weber, Cincinnati, Ohio G. J. Korn, Kalamazoo, Mich. Roy E. Ferguson, Center Point, Iowa Elton E. Papple, Cainsville, Ont. Merle H. Papple, Cainsville, Ont. E. F. Huen, Eldora, Iowa C. C. Lounsberry, Ames, Iowa Ralph Emerson, Highland Park, Mich. Joseph C. McDaniel, Nashville 3, Tenn. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine McCollum, White Hall, Md. H. W. Guengerich, Louisiana, Mo. J. S. Shoemaker, Guelph, Ont. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bernath, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. William S. Clarke, Jr., State College, Pa. E. Sam Hemming, Easton, Md. John Rick, Reading, Pa. Lewis E. Theiss, Lewisburg, Pa. Ralph Gibson, Williamsport 15, Pa. Gilbert L. Smith, Wassaic, N. Y. Levi Housser, Beamsville, Ont. Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. Moyer, Harrisburg, Pa. Ernest Chitton, Norwich, Ont. H. Lynn Tuttle, Clarkston, Wash. Mrs. J. A. Neilson, Guelph, Ont. Mildred Jones, Lancaster, Pa. J. R. VanHaarlem, Vineland Station, Ontario

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Announcements

PUBLICATIONS

Fall, 1947 and Winter, 1947-48 numbers of "The Nutshell", news bulletin of the NNGA, have been issued by the Secretary's office. It is intended to have this bulletin distributed to members four times a year. It will carry news of the Association's activities, supplementing the "Nut Growers News" column in the American Fruit Grower magazine, as well as reprints of items from other sources that concern nut growers in the northern two-thirds of the United States plus southern Canada. Beginning with the Winter, 1947-48 issue, advertising is being accepted in "The Nutshell." Members who have not received the first two issues, and others who want additional copies, may obtain them by writing to the Secretary.

This Report is a few pages short of its anticipated size, because of the withdrawal for additional entries of a "Bibliography of References on Nuts of Special Interest in the North." We hope to have this brought up to date for publication in the next Annual Report.

PUBLICITY

All members can contribute to the strength of the Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc., by showing its publications to their neighbors, and by calling them to the attention of local farm paper and newspaper editors.

Several of our members have helped swell the NNGA membership by mentioning it in nut tree articles for local and regional publications. As an example, Mr. H. F. Stoke wrote a short article on Chinese chestnuts for the "Southern Agriculturist", February, 1948 issue. At the end he stated that a list of nurseries selling Chinese chestnut and other nut trees could be obtained from the NNGA Secretary's office. To date (January 26, 1948) more than 50 requests have been received and each day brings more. Along with the nursery list, these correspondents receive information about the Northern Nut Growers Association, so any sudden increase in our membership in the States from North Carolina to Texas can be ascribed to this bit of publicity.

STYLE MANUAL

Mr. Clarence A. Reed, our retiring President (1946-47), has a suggestion for writers for publication:

"An authoritative guide for writers is the _STYLE MANUAL_ issued by the U. S. Government Printing Office (Washington 25, D. C.) Its use by Association writers would go far toward standardizing their papers and in simplifying the work of editing. The 1945 edition contains 435 pages. Cloth bound $1.50. Paper cover 35c. There is no charge for postage."

1948 MEETING

The dates selected by the Directors for the 39th Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc. are September 13, 14, and 15. The place is Norris, Tennessee. Norris is about 25 miles from Knoxville.

J. C. McDANIEL, Secretary, c/o Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Nashville 3, Tennessee.

Hybrid Walnut Scions Offered for Nut Breeding

(The following note seems to me to belong in the NNGA Report, even though it wasn't on the program. It is an invitation to the experimenters to get something they might want.--J. Russell Smith.)

Thomas R. Haig, M.D., 3344 H. St., Sacramento, California, reports a promising cross of northern California black X Persian walnut: "The nuts are fertile. This hybrid produces =pistillate flowers only=, lending itself easily to pollination with the various varieties of Persian. Should any experimenter wish scions he is welcome. Such scions could save considerable time.

"The tree is now 9-10 years old. I obtained 5 nuts in 1947, by back-crossing the hybrid to Persian walnut. One seedling obtained previously by this hybridization is not yet bearing."

Other members who have available scions of promising hybrids or other new varieties of nut trees are invited to communicate promptly with the Secretary. A list of these will be published in =THE NUTSHELL= for Spring, 1948.

Hybrid Oak Information

Mr. Thomas Q. Mitchell, 16 East 48th Street, New York 17, New York, calls our attention to his article on "Hybrid Oak Crop Trees," in Harper's Magazine for February, 1948. He adds: "A much longer article is in preparation (in collaboration with Mr. Charles Morrow Wilson) for Scientific Monthly. Can you report any hybrid or exotic oaks there, or put me in touch with any Dendrophiles interested in oak hybrids as crop trees?"