Northern Nut Growers Association Incorporated 39th Annual Report: at Norris, Tenn. September 13-15 1948
Science
Northern Nut Growers Association Incorporated 39th Annual Report: at Norris, Tenn. September 13-15 1948
Northern Nut Growers Association -- Periodicals; Nut trees -- Periodicals; Nuts -- Periodicals
John Hershey taught me the technique of grafting nut trees. I had
grafted and budded in all kinds of ornamentals and fruits, but I needed
training in nut trees. So in the spring of 1935, I guess, I grafted
about a hundred Thomas black walnut on trees where I found them in the
woodland. At the same time I grafted maybe a hundred Japanese persimmon
of possibly a dozen varieties on the common native persimmon. I
purchased three, four, maybe five Japanese persimmons and planted these
trees in the spring of 1935. All these persimmons, maybe 60 or 70 of
them, grew nicely. The Thomas grew very well, and the winter of 1939 or
1940, I don't recall just which, was rather severe. We had below-zero
weather, and all of my persimmons were killed--I thought. The next year
I found a persimmon tree up in the woods with maybe a peck of great big
nice persimmons and later I found that that was a Fuyugaki persimmon.
All the rest of mine were winter killed. Those that I purchased were
winter killed the first year. I don't know why. I grafted the persimmon
about 5 feet high. Those that were grafted at the ground I noticed
winter killed the first year, and these that are grafted up about
shoulder high seemed to live three or four years before they winter
killed, and the one variety that survived as Mr. Kline and Mr. Chase, or
someone, has told, is Fuyugaki, I believe. I have a Tamopan persimmon, a
great big, nice persimmon about so big, but bitter as the dickens, and
about the only thing I think it is good for is to look at. It is pretty.
But the Fuyugaki is never bitter. It is very tasty even partially green,
and as it ripens my lady thinks it is very good, and I think it is good,
myself.
I have about two or three varieties of mulberries. I got them from Glen
St. Mary Nurseries in Florida. They make awfully good pig feed and bird
feed, and I don't mind eating them myself.
There are some honeylocust, Millwood and Calhoun. I purchased several
seedlings of thornless honeylocust from some northwestern nursery and
grafted them to Millwood and Calhoun. I also have four trees that are
ten years old and they have never borne. Last year there was one tree of
that hundred that bore heavily, and the rest of them are barren. It must
be lack of pollenization, or something. I am not getting fruit from my
honeylocust.
Someone asked me what I am going to do with all this stuff, and I said,
"Well, the squirrels and I will have lots of fun anyhow, and the cows
will eat the honeylocust if they ever bear."
I have two pecan trees that are bearing nicely. One is a Posey and the
other is a Greenriver, bearing very nicely. They are about ten years
old. I have some Schley and Delmas and Mahan, and they are not bearing.
I don't know why. We are out of the realm of the southern pecan and too
far south for the northern pecan, I am afraid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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