involved in obtaining nuts from controlled crosses
between Persian and black walnut trees; and we know that seedling trees
raised from the nuts of such crosses are almost always sterile. The
Merrick hybrid, yielding good crops, offers possibilities both in
crossbreeding and in the raising of seedling trees from the nuts of the
tree itself. In the latter connection, Drs. Crane and McKay, of the
U.S.D.A., requested several pounds of Merrick nuts for planting purposes
this spring. The writer himself planted five such nuts, of which four
germinated. Of the four trees, one died early in the season, while the
remaining three have thrived. The heights attained by the three
remaining trees thus far this season are 1, 2, and 3 feet, respectively.
These trees have the general appearance of young Persian seedlings.

The only crossbreeding attempted thus far ended in failure when a storm
destroyed most of the bags prior to application of pollen. Persian
pollen was used on the few bloom remaining covered but, unfortunately,
no nuts were set. The experiment will be continued. Also, the Merrick
will be topworked onto producing walnuts, both Persian and black, in the
hope of obtaining nuts from which interesting and perhaps better second
generation hybrids can be raised.

An interesting point of conjecture on which to terminate this report,
and one to which nut experts will likely give little credence, may be
found in a statement made by Mr. Merrick and vouched to by Mrs. Merrick.
The statement is to the effect that the nuts borne by the Merrick during
its early years, that is, prior to the time the adjacent Persians were
killed, were of much better quality, being more like Persian walnuts
both in appearance and in flavor. We've heard of "pollen influence" with
chestnuts. Did it occur here?

TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION

Producing Quality Nuts and Quality Logs

L. E. SAWYER, _Director, Division of Forestry and Reclamation, Indiana
Coal Producers Association_

I was trained as a forester and having worked at the profession for
nearly thirty years, my first thought of trees is for their utility in
building or in cabinet work. In school we were taught that the fruit of
forest trees was a by-product. Its economic importance was not
emphasized nor was the possibility of establishing stands of some
species specifically for the production of their fruit.

Through the years the value of the nut crop from some species has
increased