Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting: Battle Creek, Michigan, September 10 and 11, 1934
Science
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting: Battle Creek, Michigan, September 10 and 11, 1934
Northern Nut Growers Association -- Periodicals; Nut trees -- Periodicals; Nuts -- Periodicals
I claim only secondary credit for "resurrecting" the Nussbaumer hican
and the Dintleman hybrid, presumably king hickory and bitternut. The
Nussbaumer is the hybrid mentioned in Fuller's Nut Culturist some fifty
years ago. I thought of this for several months and corresponded
regarding this nut and finally made a couple of trips down the river to
Mascoutah and vicinity. I could hardly find a man old enough to know Mr.
Nussbaumer, who was a druggist there. Later he removed to Okawville and
from there to Texas, where he died a number of years ago. I was advised
to see an old nurseryman by the name of Jacob Leibrock, now deceased. I
was told he had two of the trees from seed. He had, but both bore
bitternuts and he had cut them down. I did not think till later that
they probably were not from the Nussbaumer tree and when I wrote for
more information he had passed away. He advised me to see two men toward
Fayetteville down the river. The first one did not know where the tree
was. The second one did but was too busy to go to it, so I hired him to
go as soon as possible and advise me and if possible send me some
samples and I would return later. From what he told me I was sure I was
off the track of the Nussbaumer, but on the trail of a new and better
nut. He said the tree bore "sacks full" and the nuts were so thin
shelled you could crack them in your hand. I went farther down the river
to Fayetteville, not far from which place east the tree was located, but
was there informed the tree was dead. However, the informer told me he
had a seedling from it, but upon investigation found he had a fullblood
pecan, probably planted by a jaybird from a number of bearing trees in
close proximity, for I was satisfied by this time the nut was not even
part pecan. The two original nuts probably never grew. The innkeeper
advised me that Mr. Dintleman, a nurseryman of Belleville, Ill., had
been much interested in the nuts and might have a tree. So I wrote him
asking about it and also wrote Mr. C. A. Reed, U. S. Dept. of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Mr. Dintleman wrote me that our well
known Mr. J. F. Wilkinson, had a seven-year-old budded tree from buds he
sent. And Mr. Reed advised me to write a farm advisor in Missouri.
Through him I was informed a Mr. George Miller, near Bluffton, son of
Judge Miller, mentioned in Fuller's book, had a tree thirty years old.
In short, I found not only the one tree I was after but a second king
hickory and bitternut cross with a shell so thin you could "crack it
with your hands." Shall we call it a Hickbit? Mr. Wilkinson sent me
graftwood and stated he expected we call it the Dintleman. The
Nussbaumer, Mr. Miller informed me, is not a good bearer, but it may be
due to location or lack of pollinization. I now have several trees of
each from spring grafts.
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