[Footnote 4: 274 trees planted in 1938 and 60 in 1940, at spacing of 25 feet on square.] The yield's produced in the 1938 planting have been outstanding, as indicated by the data in Table I, The trees began bearing when younger and developed heavier production than those of the 1926 planting, whether judged by age of tree or years of bearing. Many of the trees have produced nuts of outstanding size, attractiveness, eating quality, and keeping quality. There has been the usual degree of variation common to any collection of seedlings, but the best trees in this planting have been superior to any previously seen. Nut size has varied from 23 to more than 100 to the pound; the color of the nuts has varied from light tan to deep mahogany, and a few are nearly black. All have been of good eating quality. The keeping quality has varied materially, some keeping very well and others quite poorly. Bur opening, has likewise varied so that at one extreme the nuts drop entirely free from the burs on some trees and at the other extreme the burs drop with the nuts in them and considerable work is required to remove the nuts. It is out of this group of trees that the three seedlings have been selected that the U. S. Department of Agriculture is considering worthy of variety status. These have not yet been officially released and no official description is yet available. The yield data for these three selected Seedlings are given in Table II. Table II. Yield data by years, of three seedlings tentatively proposed for variety status, Philema, Georgia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tree Proposed Yield in Pounds by Years Total yield No. Nuts (in Lbs.) per Lb. --------------------------------------- No. Name 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 from Planting ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7880[5]Meiling .2 3.6 20.9 36.9 23.9 73.1 36.9 195.5 38-43 7919 Kuling 4.0 3.8 5.8 6.5 13.8 34.2 50.2 38.2 168.5 35-43 7930 Nanking .1 3.8 28.0 37.8 1.0 87.7 54.6 213.0 30-43 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Footnote 5: Meiling ("Beauty") is the first name of Mme. Chiang Kai-shek.]