Growing Nuts in the North Part 5

*Beaver hybrid hickory *Fairbanks hybrid hickory *Laney hybrid hickory Burlington hybrid between pecan and sh.e.l.lbark hickory Rockville hybrid between pecan and sh.e.l.lbark hickory Hope pecan pure pecan grafted on to bitternut roots Hand pure s.h.a.gbark *Bridgewater pure s.h.a.gbark Barnes hybrid hickory *Cedar Rapids pure s.h.a.gbark *Weschcke pure s.h.a.gbark *Deveaux pure s.h.a.gbark *Brill pure s.h.a.gbark *Glover pure s.h.a.gbark *Kirtland pure s.h.a.gbark *Siers thought to be a hybrid between the mocker nut and bitternut *Stratford hybrid (bitternut by s.h.a.gbark) *Creager

*Have produced mature nuts

There are three or four others that are hardy but all means of identification having been lost, it will be necessary to wait until they come into bearing before their varieties will be known. As experiments continue, more varieties of worthy, hardy hickories and hiccans will be found which will justify completely the opinion of those of us who always hail as king of all our native nuts, the hickory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _1930--Weschcke Hickory as borne by parent tree at Fayette, Iowa._

_1939--After several years of bearing grafted on Northern Bitternut hickory at River Falls, Wis._

_1940--Still further change in shape and size from graft on Bitternut._

_1941--Change and increase in size now is so p.r.o.nounced as to almost extinguish its original ident.i.ty._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Weschcke hickory nut natural size shows free splitting hull. Photo by C. Weschcke._]

Chapter 8

b.u.t.tERNUT

Like the hickory tree, the b.u.t.ternut shares in the childhood reminiscences of those who have lived on farms or in the country where b.u.t.ternuts are a treat to look forward to each fall. The nuts, which mature early, have a rich, tender kernel of mild flavor. Only the disadvantage of their heavy, corrugated sh.e.l.ls prevents them from holding the highest place in popularity, although a good variety cracks easily into whole half-kernels.

b.u.t.ternuts grow over an extended range which makes them the most northern of all our native wild nut trees, although their nuts do not mature as far north as hazelnuts do. b.u.t.ternut trees blossom so early that in northern lat.i.tudes the blossoms are frequently killed in late spring frosts. Only when the trees are growing near the summit of a steep hillside will they be likely to escape such frosts and bear crops regularly. I have found that really heavy crops appear in cycles in natural groves of b.u.t.ternut trees. My observation of them over a period of thirty-two years in their natural habitat in west-central Wisconsin has led me to conclude that one may expect b.u.t.ternut trees to bear, on an average, an enormous crop of nuts once in five years, a fairly large crop once in three years, with little or no crop the remaining years.

As a seedling tree of two or three years, the b.u.t.ternut is indistinguishable from the black walnut except to a very discerning and practiced eye, especially in the autumn after its leaves have fallen. As the trees grow older, the difference in their bark becomes more apparent, that of the b.u.t.ternut remaining smooth for many years, as contrasted to the bark on black walnut trees which begins to roughen on the main trunk early in its life. Bark on a b.u.t.ternut may still be smooth when the tree is ten years old. Forest seedlings of b.u.t.ternut, when one or two years old, are easily transplanted if the soil is congenial to their growth. Although the tree will do well on many types of soil, it prefers one having a limestone base, just as the English walnut does.

A b.u.t.ternut seedling usually requires several more years of growth than a black walnut does before it comes into bearing, although this varies with climate and soil. It is impossible to be exact, but I think I may safely say that it requires at least ten years of growing before a seedling b.u.t.ternut tree will bear any nuts. Of course, exceptions will occasionally occur.

As a b.u.t.ternut tree matures, it spreads out much like an apple or chestnut tree. Of course, it must have enough room to do so, an important factor in raising any nut tree. Enough room and sunlight hasten bearing-age and insure larger crops of finer nuts. Grafting valuable varieties of b.u.t.ternut on black walnut stock will also hasten bearing. I have had such grafts produce nuts the same year the grafting was done and these trees continued to grow rapidly and produce annually.

However, they were not easy to graft, the stubborn reluctance of the b.u.t.ternut top to accept transplantation to a foreign stock being well known. This factor will probably always cause grafted b.u.t.ternut trees to be higher in price than black walnut or hickory. The reverse graft, i.e., black walnut on b.u.t.ternut should never be practiced for although successful, the black walnut overgrows the stock and results in an unproductive tree. Specimens 25 or more years old prove this to be a fact.

b.u.t.ternut trees are good feeders. They respond well to cultivation and lend themselves to being grafted upon, although, from my own experience, I question their usefulness as a root stock. I have found that when I grafted black walnuts, English walnuts or heartnuts on b.u.t.ternut stock, the top or grafted part of the tree became barren except for an occasional handful of nuts, even on very large trees. Since this has occurred throughout the many years of my nut culture work, I think it should be given serious consideration before b.u.t.ternut is used as a root stock for other species of nut trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Weschcke b.u.t.ternut. Smooth shallow convolutions of sh.e.l.l allow kernels to drop out freely. Drawing by Wm. Kuehn._]

I had the good luck to discover an easy-cracking variety of b.u.t.ternut in River Falls, Wisconsin, in 1934, which I have propagated commercially and which carries my name. A medium-sized nut, it has the requisite properties for giving it a varietal name, for it cracks mostly along the sutural lines and its internal structure is so shallow that the kernel will fall out if a half-sh.e.l.l is turned upside down. I received one of those surprises which sometimes occur when a tree is as.e.xually propagated when I grafted scions from this b.u.t.ternut on black walnut stock. The resulting nuts were larger than those on the parent tree and their hulls peeled off with almost no effort. Whether these features continue after the trees become older is something I shall observe with interest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Self hulling b.u.t.ternut. Weschcke variety. Drawing by Wm.

Kuehn._]

The nearly self-hulling quality of these nuts makes them very clean to handle. The absence of hulls in cracking b.u.t.ternuts not only does away with the messiness usually involved, but also it allows more accurate cracking and more sanitary handling of the kernels. In 1949 I noticed a new type of b.u.t.ternut growing near the farm residence. This b.u.t.ternut was fully twice as large as the Weschcke and had eight prominent ridges.

The nut proved to be even better than the older variety and we intend to test it further by grafting it on b.u.t.ternuts and black walnut stocks.

Although hand-operated nutcrackers have been devised to crack these and other wild nuts, they are not as fast as a hammer. If one protects the hand by wearing a glove and stands the b.u.t.ternut on a solid iron base, hitting the pointed end with a hammer, it is quite possible to acc.u.mulate a pint of clean nut meats in half an hour.

The b.u.t.ternut tree is one whose lumber may be put to many uses. It is light but very tough and stringy and when planed and sanded, it absorbs varnish and finishes very well. Although not as dark in natural color as black walnut, b.u.t.ternut resembles it in grain. When b.u.t.ternut has been stained to represent black walnut, it is only by their weight that they can be distinguished. In late years, natural b.u.t.ternut has become popular as an interior finish and for furniture, being sold as "blonde walnut," "French walnut," or "white walnut," in my opinion very improper names. I see no reason for calling it by other than its own. Depletion of forests of b.u.t.ternut trees brings its lumber value up in price nearly to that of fine maple or birch, approaching that of black walnut in some places.

I have run several thousand feet of b.u.t.ternut lumber from my farmland through my own sawmill and used it for a variety of purposes. It is probably the strongest wood for its weight except spruce. I have used it successfully to make propellers which operate electric generators for deriving power from the wind. Because b.u.t.ternut is so light and, properly varnished, resists weathering and decay to so great an extent, I have found it the best material I have ever tried for such construction. In building a small electric car for traveling around the orchards, I used b.u.t.ternut rather than oak or metal, which saved at least 100 pounds of weight, an important matter since the source of the car's power is automobile storage batteries.

b.u.t.ternut is very durable in contact with the ground and is used for fence posts on farms where it is plentiful. Bird houses built of this wood will last indefinitely, even a lifetime if they are protected with paint or varnish. b.u.t.ternut is like red cedar in this respect, although much stronger. Stories have been told of black walnut logs which, after lying unused for fifty years, have been sawed into lumber and found to be still in excellent condition. It is quite likely that the same could be said of b.u.t.ternut for these woods are very much alike in the degree of their durability and resistance to weather.

An incidental value b.u.t.ternut trees have is their ability to bleed freely in the spring if the outer bark is cut. Therefore, they can be tapped like maple trees and their sap boiled down to make a sweet syrup.

It does not have the sugar content that the Stabler black walnut has, however. Another possible use is suggested by the sh.e.l.ls of b.u.t.ternuts which, even when buried in the ground, show great resistance to decay. I have found them to be still intact and possessing some strength after being covered by earth for fifteen years. This indicates that they might be used with a binder in a composition material. Their extreme hardness also offers a good wearing surface.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Electrically operated wagon constructed of native b.u.t.ternut wood known for strength and light weight as well as durability. Author's sons aboard. Photo by C. Weschcke 1941._]

Not only good things can be said of the b.u.t.ternut tree and it would be wrong to avoid mentioning the deleterious effect that a b.u.t.ternut tree may have on other trees planted within the radius of its root system. I have had several experiences of this kind. One b.u.t.ternut tree on my farm, having a trunk six inches in diameter, killed every Mugho pine within the radius of its root system. This amounted to between 50 and 100 pines. Their death could not be attributed to the shade cast by the b.u.t.ternut as Mugho pines are very tolerant of shade. As the first branches of the b.u.t.ternut were more than three feet off the ground, the pines could not have been influenced by the top system of the tree nor do I believe that it was due to fallen leaves, but rather directly to the greatly ramified roots. Large evergreens, such as Colorado blue spruce, native white pine, limber pine and Jeffrey pine are known to have been similarly influenced. While small b.u.t.ternut trees do not, in my experience, have this effect, this may be explained by the fact that the radius of their root systems is much more limited. Most plants, other than pines, thrive within the influence of b.u.t.ternut roots, however, and it certainly does not damage pasture gra.s.s as some of the country's best grazing land is among such trees. The damage results from a chemical known as Juglone which is elaborated by the root system and when the roots of the b.u.t.ternut cross those of its evergreen neighbor, this acts as a poison to the evergreen and may kill it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _An 8-foot propeller of b.u.t.ternut wood is the prime mover for wind power generator which in a brisk wind generated 110 volts and 10 amperes at 300 RPM._]

The b.u.t.ternut is attacked by one serious disease which is in the nature of a blight (melanconium oblongum), since it is transmitted through spores. It usually attacks old trees, the branches of the top part dying, and the bark on the main trunk becoming loose. The disease progresses slowly and I have seen large trees infected for twelve or fifteen years, continuing to bear fine crops. It does have a very weakening effect, though, and eventually saps the life from the tree long before its natural span of life of about fifty years is over.

Chapter 9

PIONEERING WITH ENGLISH WALNUTS IN WISCONSIN

The convention of the Northern Nut Growers' a.s.sociation at Geneva, New York, in 1936, brought many interesting subjects to the attention of nut enthusiasts. None, however, commanded as much attention as an exhibit by Paul C. Crath, of Toronto, of walnuts from the Carpathian Mountains in Europe. There were more than forty varieties of walnuts represented in it, in sizes ranging from that of a large filbert to that of a very large hen's egg, and in shape being globular, ovate or rectangular. The exhibitor had these identified by varietal numbers until testing and propagation should suggest appropriate names. In several talks which Rev. Crath gave during the convention, he described his trips and findings in the walnut-producing sections of the Polish Carpathians. The subject remained in prominence during the three days of the convention and the idea was suggested that the a.s.sociation sponsor another trip to Europe to obtain walnuts growing there which Rev. Crath considered even hardier and finer than the ones he had. The plan was tabled, however, for only two of us were eager to contribute to the venture.

On my return home, I thought more about what a splendid opportunity this would be to procure hardy English walnuts to grow in this part of the country. I interested my father in the idea, and, with his backing, corresponded with Rev. Crath. This was not the first or the last time that my father, Charles Weschcke, had encouraged me and had backed his good wishes and advice with money. A professional man and a graduate of pharmacy and chemistry of the University of Wisconsin, he showed an unusual interest in my horticultural endeavors. The immediate outcome was Rev. Crath's visit to my nursery at River Falls, to determine whether material that he might collect could be properly tested there.

To my satisfaction, he found that temperature, soil conditions and stock material were adequate for such work.

We contracted with Rev. Crath to reproduce as.e.xually all the varieties that he could discover and ship to us, agreeing to finance his trip and to pay him a royalty whenever we sold trees resulting from the plant material he sent us. We decided that the material which he was to gather should include not only English walnuts but also the hazels or filberts native to Poland. The walnuts were to consist of about six hundred pounds of seeds, representing some forty varieties, several thousand scions and about five hundred trees. We planned that the filberts should consist of both trees and nuts, but because of a total failure of this crop the year that Rev. Crath was there, only trees were available.

Rev. Crath left Canada in October 1936, and spent all of the following winter in Poland. While he was there, I began the task of arranging for the receipt of the walnuts and hazels he was to send, and so began a wearisome, exasperating experience. First, it was necessary to obtain permits from the Bureau of Plant Industry in Washington. Because of the vast quant.i.ty of material expected, these permits had to be issued in the names of five people. Next, I engaged a New York firm of importers, so that no time would be lost in re-routing the shipment to the proper authorities for inspection. This firm, in turn, hired brokers who were responsible for paying all duty, freight and inspection charges. I certainly thought that we had everything in such readiness that there would be nothing to delay the shipment when it arrived. How wrong I was!

Although Rev. Crath had written me that the shipment had been sent on a certain Polish steamer, I learned of its arrival only from a letter I received from the importing company, which requested that the original bill of lading and invoice be sent to them at once, as the shipment had already been in the harbor for a week but could not be released by the customs office until they had these doc.u.ments. I had received the bill of lading from Rev. Crath but not the invoice, for he had not known that I would need it. So my valuable, but perishable, shipment remained in port storage day after day while I frantically sought for some way to break through the "red tape" holding it there. Cables to Rev. Crath were undeliverable as he was back in the mountains seeking more material. In desperation, I wrote to Clarence A. Reed, an old friend, member of the Northern Nut Growers' a.s.sociation and in charge of government nut investigations in the Division of Pomology at Washington. Through his efforts and under heavy bond pending receipt of the invoice, the walnut and filbert material was released and sent to Washington, D. C. As there was too much of it to be inspected through the usual facilities for this work, it was necessary to employ a firm of seed and plant importers to do the necessary inspecting and fumigating. At last, terminating my concern and distress over the condition in which the trees and scions would be after such great delays and so many repackings, the shipment arrived in St. Paul. There remained only the requirement of getting permission from the Bureau of Plant Inspection of the State of Minnesota to take it to Wisconsin, where, if there was anything left, I intended to plant it. This permission being readily granted, we managed, by truck and, finally, by sled, to get it to the nursery about the middle of the winter.

The following spring, we planted the nuts and trees and grafted the scions on black walnut and b.u.t.ternut stocks. The mortality of these grafts was the greatest I have ever known. Of about four thousand English walnut grafts, representing some twenty varieties, only one hundred twenty-five took well enough to produce a good union with the stock and to grow. Some of them grew too fast and in spite of my precautions, were blown out; others died from winter injury the first year. By the following spring, there were only ten varieties which had withstood the rigor of the climate. Of the five hundred trees, only a few dozen survived. Fortunately, this was not one of our severe, "test"

winters, or probably none of these plants would have withstood it.

The walnuts which were planted showed a fairly high degree of hardiness.

Of 12,000 seedling trees, our nursery is testing more than 800 for varietal cla.s.sification. These have been set out in test orchard formation on two locations, both high on the slope of a ravine, one group on the north side, one on the south. It has been suggested that from the remaining seedlings, which number thousands, we select 500 to 1000 representative specimens and propagate them on black walnut stocks in some warmer climate, either in Oregon, Missouri or New York. This would determine their value as semi-hardy trees worthy of propagation in such localities. Such an experiment will probably be made eventually.

The same year, 1937, in which I obtained the Polish nuts, I also bought one hundred pounds of Austrian walnuts, to serve as a check. Eighty pounds of these consisted of the common, commercial type of walnut, while the remainder was of more expensive nuts having cream-colored sh.e.l.ls and recommended by the Austrian seed firm as particularly hardy.

Altogether these nuts included approximately one hundred varieties, twenty of which were so distinctive that their nuts could be separated from the others by size and shape.

About two thousand seedlings grew from this planting, most of which proved to be too tender for our winter conditions. The seedlings grown from the light-colored nuts show about the same degree of hardiness as the Carpathian plants. Many of them have been set out in experimental orchards to be brought into bearing.

After the first year, the English walnuts progressed fairly well. Large trees, which had not been entirely worked over at first, were trimmed so that nothing remained of the original top, but only the grafted branches. The winter of 1938-39 was not especially severe and mortality was low, although it was apparent that all of the varieties were not equally hardy. Even a few of the scions grafted on b.u.t.ternut stocks were growing successfully. I had made these grafts realizing that the stock was not a very satisfactory one, to learn if it could be used to produce scionwood. As the results were encouraging, I decided it would be worthwhile to give them good care and gradually to remove all of the b.u.t.ternut top.

Each fall, the first two years after I had grafted all these walnuts, I cut and stored enough scionwood from each variety to maintain it if the winter should be so severe as to destroy the grafts. Unfortunately, the grafts had developed so well, even to the actual bearing of nuts by three varieties, that in 1940 I did not think this precaution was necessary. Then came our catastrophic Armistice Day blizzard, the most severe test of hardiness and adaptability ever to occur in the north.

Many of our hardiest trees suffered great injury from it, such trees, for instance, as Colorado blue spruce, limber pine, arborvitae; cultured varieties of hickories, hiccans, heartnuts; fruit trees, including apples, plums and apricots, which bore almost no fruit the next summer.