red in
bushels, however, but in pounds. No other hickory nut has begun to touch
it, in its regularity, reliability and its quality: that is, no hickory
so far north. It is the thinnest shelled hickory of any that I have ever
tested out, and releases its kernels about the best of any. It has one
fault, however; the staminate blossom is abortive, never produces any
pollen. It needs a pollinizer and we have been recommending the
Bridgewater and the Kirtland which we know by actual experiments have
produced pollen in large amounts, sufficient for pollinization of this
tree. Even before Kirtland and Bridgewater pollens were available those
trees, grafted to the Weschcke, bore hickory nuts every year, but in
very small quantities. I am now quite sure that they borrowed pollen
from the wild bitternut trees which are in abundance nearby. There is
also the other possibility, which has not been conclusively proved, that
this variety is a parthenogen. Innumerable hard frosts in early springs
have destroyed butternut crops and walnut crops, but these hickory nuts
invariably come through such seasons and escape the early fall frosts,
which come in September, for the reason that the nuts are matured
usually the second week in September. We therefore can recommend the
Weschcke hickory freely. We have not determined how far north it can
live, but I believe the 45th parallel is very safe, and as far west as
the Dakota line. It originated at Fayette, Iowa, and probably would
thrive far into the south. It grafts extremely well on the wild
bitternut hickory root which is about the hardiest known. Your father
was very partial toward it as a stock. This root system does not handle
all hickories by any means. In all my trials using pecan scions the only
pecan which grafts well on it and survives indefinitely, is the Hope.
This is also a very hardy tree but we cannot recommend it as a nut tree
because we have never seen the parent tree bear any nuts. The parent
tree is now twenty years old. Quite a large tree but no nuts. It is
growing in an unfavorable location for bearing since it is shaded by
much larger trees. It is growing right here in St. Paul.

The Bridgewater and the Beeman are two more hickories which are very
hardy and which come into bearing quickly, also are successfully grafted
on bitternut root. They do not mature their nuts so reliably nor so
early by any means as the Weschcke. For a little further south they
might be very reli