Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-02-21
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Nut Culture.

concerning the cultivation of nuts for
profit, the inquiries asking chiefly
about chestnut and pecan nuts, though
flberts, hazel and shellbarks are also
on the list. So far as what is being
done in the vicinity of the large east
ern cities, there is no planting of nut
trees going on, excepting the Spanish
or Italian chestnut There are groves
OF this being set out near PHILADELPHIA,
the planters relying on the large sized
nuts to find them market. There is
but little else will do It, as the native
chestnut, a much better favored nut
is abundant in the grove but a, few
miles away. Indeed, not twenty-five
miles away farmers are still chopping
down their chestnut trees for fencing
purposes. It presents a curious anon
ally, the farmer chopping down his trees
and not far from him hopeful men
| planting other treee for the purpose of
reaping profit from the nuts. What
| will be the future for the Spanish and
japanese nuts remains to be seen. At
| the present time, just as soon as the
crop of Spanish chestnut is ripe in
Southern Europe they are sent over
| here to what extent they are called for,
| and at a low figure. Those who grow
| them here will have the advantage of a
few weeks time over the imported
nuts, and possibly Uncle Sam may
! place duty on the foreign article to
| give our raisers a chance. Aside from
| this is the question whether the de-
mand for this nut will be large enough
| to make it pay to raise. 1t is twice as
large a nut as the native one, but not
nearly of as good quality. Will size
overbalance lack of quality? Expert
ence in other ways leads to the con-
clusion that it will lot Quality will
win leaving a moderate demand for the
| larger but inferior article
The Japanese is still larger nut, of
perhaps rather better quality than the
Spanish, and making a tree of less
size. And it commences to bear earl
Ter. In regard to pecan nuts, there does
not seem to have been any expert
ments to prove how far north this tree
can be profitably grown A very large
tree exists in Germantown. nlantefd
some fifty years ago, but it is soon to
cut down to make room for a church
MS tree has never formed enough fr17it
TO make it profitable, had II honn
planted for that purpose. It would
probably not pay for many a wear IA
pant trees with the expectancy of do
rlVlng any profit from them. unless far
away from any seaport. Tn Phi1o
aelphla the nut of the pecan comes di-
rect from Texas and in season con ~
naa from commission men at from 90
" LOG per pound, dependent on the
eIAe OF the nuts. And reports from
le1as say that the pecan tree is 60
ABUNDANT and fruit so freely that tho
nuts hardly pay to collect. And to
aoo 20 this, it is fact that it's timber
IS not equal to that of other hickories
mere is more in shellbarks than in
some other nuts. There is not nearly
the same number of wild trees of if &c
there are OF the chestnut. There is AL
ways demand for the nuts to a mod
crate degree. The trees bear well and
II Tor no other use it would pay for it's
valuable timber. The hazeInut and fl
bert, which is an improved hazel, grows
freely enough and bears very well. de-
spite prevailing idea to the con-
trary. But the European climate
seems to suit these bushes to perfec-
ton, judging from the immense guam
titles of nuts sent to us from Europe
every fall. There are hazelnuts wild
in our woods fully the equal of the
European one, should anyone wish to
grow them But the f1lbert, the i'm
proved hazel, must be had from nurs-
cries or be imported. It can be grated
ON the common hazel or increased by
layering the branches in spring.
Looking After the Waste in Dairying