oth the species composition and chemical content of the plants
growing under the trees. He rated walnut high as an ideal pasture tree
because of its period of leaf activity; its light crown canopy; its
small, fragile leaves which decompose rapidly, and are high in mineral
matter and nitrogen; its deep tap root which competes very little with
the surface rooted grasses for moisture and nutrients; its hardiness;
and finally its high commercial value.

[Footnote 8: Smith, R. M., 1942. Some effects of black locust and black
walnut on southeastern Ohio pastures. Soil Science, Vol. 53, No. 5.]

It seems apparent, therefore, that the introduction of improved black
walnut trees into permanent pastures would be practical from the
agronomic angle to say nothing about the beneficial effect of shade to
livestock and possible income from occasional crops of high quality
nuts.

One stumbling block to the adoption of this idea is the protection of
the trees during the period of their establishment. The conventional
cattle guard with three or four long posts supporting a wire fence is
expensive in both labor and materials.

During the spring of 1946 in connection with my forestry instruction at
Ohio State University, I had as one class project the planting of 50
black walnut seedlings of selected parentage in the cattle and poultry
ranges on the University farm. Thirty of these trees were planted along
a fence row at 32 foot intervals and were protected by a single electric
wire connected to a battery charger.

The set-up is illustrated in figure 1 which shows the charger at one end
of the line and the wire supported by the line posts and a short single
post opposite each tree. The one year old seedlings were planted 4 feet
from the fence at alternate posts and the wire zig-zagged along the line
to create the guards around the trees. Within a few days after planting
and completion of the electric guards the trees were mulched to control
weeds and conserve soil moisture.

While this experiment has been in effect for only one growing season,
the results, to date, indicate that this method is effective in
providing protection from livestock. Growth and survival of the trees
has been very satisfactory thus far.

The advantages of this method appear to be the rather low cost of labor
and materials and ease of installation.

Within the next decade, we should be able to determine how the nuts from
these seedling trees compare with th