New-York tribune., 1896-10-04
GROWING NUTS FOR MARKET
THEIR CULTURE AN ESTABLISHED IN
DUSTRY.
-,rsrx,.r GROVES IN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
NUTS THAT PROVE PRoFiTABi'E-hAH-
yEsTING THE CROP.


Nr-Ts THAT PROVE PROFITABLE-HAh-
vEsTING THE CROP.
In Camden County ~ j., just back OF biack-
wood. there is probably the largest S"e"
cultivated chestnut grove In this country, ana from
its $50 acres of woodland several thousaho o"Sie
NJ large chestnuts are harvested every iaii anu
sbinned to New-York City About ten years ago IL
dawned upon farmers and business men that money
could be made by raising chestnuts Tor 'he "'. "'
and about that time trees were planted eA.e''NeV
throughout the country, the fruits oi WHY" "
lust now made apparent in the decreaseu 'o'' "
chestnuts and the heavy supply that comes 10 '"e
large cities. The grove In Camden 'ou"'! ""'
planted about FIVE years ago by company whc.
caIed itself the Mammoth Chestnut Company, anu
they selected a fine natural grove of chestnut trees
and then started In to graft on these trees the man
moth imported chestnuts. At first the frehc" an.
Italian chestnuts the largest KINDS that reacne"
our markets then. were grated upon the ha.No
trees. but later the improved Japanese varieties
were substituted These the largest OF dii
chestnuts, and they have attained their preseh.
size and quality through years of cultivation ana
selection. Many of the japanese chestnut trees
have been transplanted to this country, ana they
have been found hardy enough for the New-Jersey
climate yielding large crops Of nuts much carrier
In the season than the native chestnuts.
All chestnuts by transpanting and cultivation
nroduce rlpe nuts earlier than the wild trees. The
cultivated japanese do not require the frost 10
give them that delicious flavor which makes native
nuts so desirable. but they can be harvested with
the peach and plum without losing any oil ther
nutty flavor. While the native chestnuts DO not
appear in the market until frost has opened the
burrs Of the trees, the Japanese chestnuts nave
been selling at the best fruit stands ever since
August %. These are not imported nuts. as many
suppose but they came either direct from the New
Jersey trees grated with the improved varieties
or from the transplanted japanese trees.
The Japanese chestnuts raised in Jersey TINS year
range from two to five and even six inches IN diam
eter and they are soft mealy and nutty Amer-
can peope have not vet learned the art of cooking
these nuts for ordinary use. and the demand does
not begin much before Thanksgiving. when they
are employed for stufing turkey. Most OF the crop
Is consequently left on the trees until later IN Inc
sea son. even though ripe for gathering Ihere Is no
book of recipes describing the various methods or
preparing chestnuts for the table but the japanese
have fifty different ways of cooking them. Ihey
are pounded into a meal for bread. cooked In pud-
ding boiled with lima beans baked with tsh. poui-
,rv games and meats and prepared in many other
WAYS They serve as an important article OF diet
I'm Japan and when their use Is as general IN this
country present prices are expected 10 advance
SCORES OF GROVES IN NEW-JERSEY
The question OF making nut culture profitable IS
no longer open to doubt for there are scores OF
dividends upon the investments These plantations
are not bv any means confined TO chestnuts. domes-
tic or imported, but they include nearly all OF the
nuts of commerce that will thrive anywhere IN the
United States. The nut trees are usually OF slow
growth at the start but they increase in geometrcal
ratio with age and good cultivation Nearly all or
them come true from the seed and good nuts Sc
lected In the market be made TO sprout and pro-
duce trees that will bear similar fruit The COM
parative time required for the ordinary American
chestnut to produce from the seed Is SHOWN IN a
report by Professor Budd. who experimented with
trees in Benton County, Iowa In eleven years from
the time the nuts put in the ground the trees
were from six to eight inches In diameter and from
twontv-fvc to thirty-iive feet in height A few OF
the sturdy ones bore nuts at seven years. ana by
the ninth wear most OF them bore fair crops. and
many very full ones.
The chestnut IS certainly the greatest American
nut tree for 1t thrves in every part OF the country
but the hickory nut Is almost as extensive Ihis
nut has been more generally neglected than the
chestnu. but owing to the increased demand Tor
good hickory timber there has in recent years been
a decided change. The value of this timber Is SO
important that umhermen figure that 1t would ne a
good investment buy land for anything under s-o
an acre for hickory trees and that the prohts OF the
nuts would not have to be counted at all to make a
good margin.
The American pecan in the long run is considered
one of the best nuts for the average grower to raise
H. those States where suitable land for 1t Is cheap
rhcr. are many varieties. and some are much hard
Ter and valuable than others. but some at
least can be found that will thrive in every region
,yhcr. the hickcrias and oaks flourish. Some hardy
varieties are growing AT Niagara to-day. and III
Northern Illinois and Indiana where the tempera-
ture has been % degrees below zero. On the other
hand the paper-she varieties grow only in South