The McKinster tree may be viewed in the accompanying illustrations which show it without foliage and with foliage. The pictures were taken in March and August, respectively, 1953. Since it is a very beautiful and relatively clean tree, the McKinster would be desirable in any yard. From the pictures, it will be noted that the site is unfortunate being restricted by two garages, an alley, and with numerous overhead utility wires. Some effort was made two years ago to keep the tree out of the wires by cutting back top growth. The trimming stimulated the usual vigorous, annual growth to produce terminals as great as 10 feet in one year. Ordinarily, annual growths of 6 feet of husky wood are not unusual. New wood and buds are hardy in appearance and assume a rich brown color upon maturing. With such growth, cutting 1000 feet of scion wood annually would be no problem. The tree is now about 35 feet in height with a like spread. The bearing record of the McKinster Persian has been excellent. Its first crop of five or six nuts was borne at five years of age and large crops have been consistently set each year since with but one exception. Crop records have been impossible to maintain since the tree is located in a section of the city where squirrels abound. Any nuts saved must be protected by screen-wire cages. The hunger of the squirrels for the nuts is amazing. For example, in 1951, they descended upon the tree during the first week of July and destroyed all nuts of the large crop within two weeks. These nuts could not possibly have been filled and, consequently, could have been of little nutrient value. In their voracity, the squirrels frequently work on the cages and sometimes manage to break through. To facilitate this endeavor, limbs up to one inch in diameter carrying cages are sometimes cut off so the squirrels can attack more conveniently from the ground. [Illustration] It could be that nuts saved by caging are sometimes inferior. The cages used are made by folding window screen into a doubled, 4 to 6 inch square, producing an "envelope" with wire sewn edges. Crowding from one to three nuts into a cage may result in inhibited development, especially since considerable leaf surface must be removed when installing a cage. Because Mr. McKinster has been ill for several years, it has been difficult to accomplish the caging; consequently, but few nuts are saved. For example, in 1950, there were insufficient nuts to meet the 25 nut sample required by the contest judges. All available nuts, some probably inferior, were entered, and it is a matter of conjecture whether the nuts might have been judged higher under different circumstances. Also conjectural are the questions of crop size and regularity of bearing in the event the tree was permitted to mature its nuts.