.

Mr. Lake: I thought that the paper had to do with trees that were
planted as nuts.

The Secretary: No, I think I made that perfectly clear.

Mr. Lake: What is that new statement about roots, that it is desirable
to leave them?

The Secretary: That it is better that a tree should go undisturbed than
that it should be transplanted.

Mr. Lake: Isn't there a question about that?

The Secretary: A question would arise in the hands of an expert,
perhaps, but I think for an amateur, that a tree growing where the nut
was planted is more likely to live and do well than a transplanted tree.

Mr. Lake: I am not so certain about that, but what I had in mind was
that the planter would get the idea that the tap-root was not to be cut
off and that it is very desirable to the tree.

The Secretary: That's a good point.

The Chairman: About cutting the tap-root I have said yes and no so fast
that I don't know which I've said last, and it seems to me that we ought
to have discussion on this very point.

The Secretary: I have said that in buying these grafted trees you should
set them out following the instructions of the nurseryman closely.

Mr. Lake: But that statement about the tap-root would lead the average
planter to think that it was very desirable to have the tap-root.

The Secretary: Has it been settled that it is not desirable?

Mr. Lake: Well, I think it has been generally accepted that it is of no
special value.

The Secretary: That trees will grow as well transplanted as if they have
never been transplanted?

Mr. Lake: Well, I shouldn't want to put it that way, but this is the
point: I would like to have the tree planter understand that a walnut
tree doesn't need the tap-root and if he cuts off the tap-root in
planting, there is no great loss. I wouldn't want to say that his trees
wouldn't begin to bear earlier or bear larger if left in the original
place. I prefer to transplant my own tree after it is grown, rather than
run the risk of getting scrub trees in the post hole or on the hill. I
prefer to select the grafted trees even without the tap-roots, which
would be removed in digging, and planting them all uniform, rather than
to plant the seeds. Speaking for the amateur, I think the latter is good
practice. The point I had in mind was that many people will not take the
time to plant nuts but will want to set grafted trees, and the question
is, should they have considerable tap-root--the grafted trees?