ded nut trees are as a class not slow in coming into bearing provided
they have had good care. I have had Lancaster heart nut trees set out in
the fall bear next spring and have had hand-pollinated English walnuts
bear the third year. Apparently a year or two longer will be required
before they bear staminate flowers. Walnut trees certainly appear to
bear fully as young as apple trees, in fact sooner, as a class, than
apple trees which I set out at the same time that I did walnut trees.
Pecan trees appear to take about two or three years longer than walnuts
and hickories several years longer than pecans. On the other hand
top-worked hickory trees bear about as soon as young transplanted
Persian walnuts. Hazels with me have taken about as long as Persian
walnuts but I think that they are more rapid in most instances. The soil
of most of my place is quite heavy, walnuts, pecans and hickories doing
finely. I am inclined to believe that a lighter soil would be fully as
good if not better for hazels.

_Stocks:_ The varying rapidity of growth of trees of the same variety
has been noticeable and has caused more than passing notice for one can
not help thinking that such varying rapidity of growth would be likely
to cause equal variations in bearing. It would seem as if this must be
caused by the variations in the stocks for the scions all come from the
same tree. Inspection of seedling trees has shown that some grow much
faster than others. If normal growth trees are considered, trees making
less than half this are numerous and those making double are rather
rare. Apparently we have in seedling stocks enough variations in vigor
of growth to account for the variations in growth noticed in grafted
trees of the same variety. Mr. Jones tells me that he expects to discard
nearly 50% of his seedlings because not vigorous enough to bud or graft.
Then there are some trees which seem incapable of taking grafts or buds.
It would seem very desirable to select rapid growing stocks that will
take buds and grafts readily and use those but this will mean working
out means of propagating them by cuttings, layers, or some asexual
method and these have not been well worked for nut trees, other than
hazels, although some work has been done on it.

The above conclusions are largely from the limited observations I have
made on my small place. None are very new for I believe I have heard all
of them advanced before, but observing them myself has fi