Test planting was begun in Tennessee in 1939 and then it was extended to the other Valley states as more trees were propagated. For the most part, planting sites were selected by extension foresters and county agents. If the tests were successful they would automatically become demonstrations, so special attention was given those areas where walnut cracking in the home was an important enterprise. Many of the test plantings were located in communities that had been organized for the study and application of improved farming methods. In general, farmers planted the trees in low, fertile spots not suitable for other uses, along fences, or in pastures if they could be protected from livestock. Through 1946, 9,614 trees were planted in 3,286 test plantings. They were scattered all over the Valley, in 92 of its 125 counties. The number of trees per planting varied with the availability of good walnut sites. Generally, there were 2 to 4 trees in each planting. The Results Getting survival and performance data on these widely scattered experimental plantings presented quite a problem. Examination of a few plantings showed that trees given reasonable care had survived and were beginning to bear nuts. So in 1946, the farmers who had planted the trees were polled by mail for an overall evaluation of the plantings. Questionnaires asking for information on survival, growth, and bearing were sent by the state extension foresters to 3,274 farmers. The return of questionnaires was excellent. Forty-two percent came back and three-fourths of them were filled out completely. =Survival and Mortality Causes.= Eighty-one percent of the 1,373 plantings reported on were still active in 1946; that is, they still had at least one living tree. Survival reports received on 3,831 trees planted showed that 2,439 or 64 percent of the trees were living in 1946. Survival was best in the portion of the Valley north and east of Chattanooga; 84 percent in Virginia, 71 percent in North Carolina, and 66 percent in eastern Tennessee. South and west of Chattanooga survival percent was lower: 62 in Georgia, 61 in western Tennessee, 54 in Kentucky, 45 in Alabama, and 26 in Mississippi (Table 1). Causes of mortality, as reported, were classified in five categories; losses prior to establishment, livestock and destruction, drought, insects and disease, and unknown (Table 1). Cause of mortality was listed as unknown for 42 percent of all trees reported dead. Field experience leads us to believe that most of the trees in this category probably succumbed to improper planting or complete neglect following planting. Many persons do not follow planting instructions; they often substitute their own methods with disastrous results.