hood the hickory was the local
fruit. The fruit and tree hold great promise for the future. If the
hickories are to be of commercial importance, the work must be done by
all concerned and not left to a few eager individuals to carry on the
work alone.

MR. MACHOVINA: Mr. Chairman, members of the Association, I hope you will
bear with me if I run 30 seconds over. Perhaps I had better point out
that my training is that of an engineer and not a botanist, hence this
report on the Merrick tree is that of a layman. I have not bothered to
go into detail on the various features of the tree, such as leaves,
buds, and so forth, because I have slides which you will see afterwards.

The Merrick Hybrid Walnut

P. E. MACHOVINA, _Columbus, Ohio_

The Merrick hybrid walnut is a natural cross between Persian and black
walnut and is distinguished from most other such hybrids by the good
crops it usually bears. The tree is located in Rome Township, Athens
County, Ohio, on property owned by Mr. M. M. Merrick a farmer and fruit
grower.

In August, 1950, Mr. Merrick first described his "English" walnut to the
writer and arrangements were made to view the tree. Most striking at
first sight was the large crop of nuts. The general outward appearance
of the tree suggested it to be pure Persian; however, upon closer
examination, mixed parentage became evident. As a hybrid, the tree's
history was a matter of interest and the owner was happy to supply what
information he could.

Mr. Merrick purchased the property on which the hybrid is located, in
1921. A few years prior to this, the previous owner had planted six
Persian walnut trees obtained from a nursery in northern Ohio. These
young trees bore their first crop of nuts during Mr. Merrick's first
year of ownership. It is known that the nursery owners were also
proprietors of a commercial Persian walnut orchard located in the
vicinity of Niagara Falls. With this combination of date and orchard
location, it seems not illogical to presume that the six nursery trees
were of the Pomeroy strain. From Mr. Merrick's description of the nuts
produced by these trees, they appear to have been two each of three
different grafted varieties. In the early nineteen-thirties, Mr. Merrick
planted several nuts from the Persian trees and raised a number of
seedlings. One of these seedlings, transplanted to its present location,
is the subject of this discussion and is presumed to be a cross between
o