ginning of the breeding period in
1930.

"We are carrying out our breeding program in the following way:

"We have selected the Chinese and Japanese species to cross with the
American because the Asiatic species are disease-resistant, and we hope
to incorporate this quality of disease-resistance with the tall timber
growth of the American. We find that the Chinese are in general more
disease-resistant than the Japanese. Other stocks which have been
incorporated in our hybrids are the European _C. sativa_, the southern
chinquapins _C. pumilia_, _C. ozarkensis_, _C. floridana_, and Dr. Van
Fleet's old hybrid, presumably of _C. crenata_ and _C. pumila_, which
goes under the name of S8, and _C. seguinii_. After the hybrids become
old enough, we inoculate the tallest of them with the blight fungus in
order to get an index of their disease resistance. The most
disease-resistant are bred together and of their offspring the tallest
are selected, inoculated, and the most disease-resistant are bred
together again. For example, this year we had 350 hybrids from last
year's breeding experiments set out in a special nursery at Hamden and
carefully tended during the season. Of these 350 we have selected 50
which are the tallest and straightest, that is, 20 inches and over. The
others were sent to Washington, D. C., where the Division of Forest
Pathology, Department of Agriculture, is working along a similar line,
but with more attention to the nut phase of the problem.

"Our ultimate aim, of course, is to establish a race of chestnut trees
which shall replace our now practically extinct American chestnut. The
loss in money value from this timber tree has amounted to millions of
dollars in comparison with which the value of its nut crops is very
small indeed.

"However, we are interested in the nut problem, and whenever any
particularly fine nuts appear we note the fact. We have now a strain of
Chinese chestnut which has not yet come into bearing which we believe
will have nuts as sweet as the old American chestnut, but much larger."

With this forward-looking note we close our report. We have a foundation
upon which to build that is substantial and tried. The pioneering work
of a patient, far-sighted, and distinguished group of workers has shown
us much of what to do and what not to do. It is now up to us, the
farmers, the planters, to multiply their work and continue it.

Side-lights on the 1943-4 Survey

Very many i