Ridgely.—Burs large, with dense spines, but not as long as those of the Paragon. Nuts large, pointed; shell dark brown, with very little pubescence, and this mainly at the point (Fig. 33). In quality this variety ranks very near, if not the equal of, the best of its class, and it has been highly commended, by those who have been acquainted with it, for many years.
The origin of the Ridgely, as recorded, leaves the question of name a debatable one. Some sixty years ago a Mr. Dupont, of Wilmington, Del., gave or sent to Mr. D. M. Ridgely, of Dover, Del., a sprouted chestnut, and this was planted and became the original tree of the variety under consideration. It has been called Dupont, because he raised the nut and kept it over winter and until it sprouted; then it passed into the care of Mr. Ridgely, who thenceforward gave it his attention. The tree is now of immense size, and some seasons has produced more than five bushels of nuts, selling at eleven dollars per bushel. It is quite probable that the Dupont family were the first to raise European chestnut trees to a bearing size in this country, for some of its members were settled in Delaware before the war of the Revolution. Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, during the French ministry of Vergennes, was employed in forming the treaty of 1783, in which the independence of the United States was formally recognized by England. In 1795 (Am. encyclopedia) he came to this country and joined his sons, who had become successful manufacturers of gunpowder at or near Wilmington, Del., where their descendants, or at least some of them, are still engaged in the same business. If any of the old and original chestnut trees have escaped the numerous "powder mill explosions" which have frequently occurred in that neighborhood, they are probably much older than the Ridgely. I am also inclined to believe that a very large majority of all the hardy chestnut trees of the European species scattered about the country are the direct descendants of the old Dupont stock.
Scott.—Burs large, with long branching spines. Nuts from the original tree, as received the past season, are only of medium size, but said to be much larger on younger trees. Shell dark brown, smooth, with a little fuzz around the point. As my specimen tree has not, as yet, fruited, I am unable to say anything of its productiveness from personal experience, but in a note from Mr. William Parry, under date of Oct. 15, 1894, he says: "I send specimens of the Scott chestnuts, grown by Judge Scott, of Burlington, N. J. The crop is about gone and it was with difficulty I could get these, which are about the average size; earlier in the season many are larger. Judge Scott has grown those nuts for market several years. The original tree was bought by his father many years ago from the nursery of Thomas Hancock. He bought three trees for Spanish chestnuts, planted them in a row about thirty feet apart, and the one from which these nuts were obtained happened to be in the middle. It is now a large tree, the trunk about five feet in diameter. It is a regular and heavy bearer. Judge Scott has propagated and planted an orchard from this variety, and claims among its important features, large size and early bearing,—two-year grafts generally produce nuts; immense productiveness and good quality; beautiful, glossy, mahogany color; freedom from fuzz, and an almost entire exemption from the attacks of the chestnut weevil. While the crop of two trees standing on either side of the Scott is badly damaged by worms, it is the exception to find a wormy nut among the Scott.
"The crop sells readily at ten to twelve dollars per bushel. This year (1894) some sold as low as eight dollars, the lowest ever known for this variety."
Styer.—Burs large, round; spines long, branching, but not as coarse as those of Comfort. Nuts medium to large, decidedly pointed, and the point fuzzy. Shell dark brown, with a few longitudinal stripes, but not ridged. A handsome nut of good quality. This variety has been distributed under the name of Hannum. The original tree, which is a mammoth in size, is still standing on the farm of a Mr. Hannum, near Concordville, Delaware Co., Penn. But Mr. T. Walter Styer, of the same place, is propagating and introducing it as the Styer.
Some of the varieties in this group may not prove to be distinct, and later they will be relegated to their proper place as synonyms, but I have thought it best to record them by the names under which they have been received. In writing these descriptions I have had the nuts and leaves before me, but there may be characters overlooked which will become more conspicuous as the grafted trees become older and more mature. The Dager chestnut, from Delaware, is a promising variety, disseminated through the Department of Agriculture, but as I have not seen the nuts at this writing, a description is necessarily omitted.
Among the French varieties of this species which are said to succeed admirably in California, a large proportion would probably do equally well in Delaware and further south. Among those worthy of trial I may name the Avant Chataigne, Comale, Exalade, Green of Lemousin, Grosse Précoce, Jaune Rousse, Lyons, Merle, Nouzillard, Quercy, etc. I have tried some of these, but with such indifferent results that they were abandoned. Cultivators of nut trees located in a milder climate, should take advantage of whatever improvements there have been made in Europe, by importing grafted trees or cions. There are a few ornamental varieties of the European chestnut, but none worthy of any special attention.
Japan Chestnuts.—The first authentic account I have been able to find of the introduction of the Japan chestnut into this country, is of a number of trees received by S. B. Parsons & Co., Flushing, N. Y., 1876, from the late Thos. Hogg, who, as is well known to all horticulturists, spent several years in Japan collecting many rare kinds of trees and shrubs, which were shipped direct to Parsons & Co. The chestnut trees received in 1876 fruited two years later, or in 1878, and soon attracted attention, on account of the large size and excellent quality of the nuts and the precocious habits of the trees.
The success of this typical variety of the Japanese species, as I have assumed to designate it, proved that there were oriental chestnuts—heretofore untested in this country—that were certainly worthy of an attempt to obtain. This variety, introduced by the Messrs. Parsons & Co., does not appear to have been disseminated under any distinct varietal name, but merely bears the rather meaningless one of Japan chestnut, and for the purpose of giving it a position where it may be recognized—by name at least—from other varieties more recently introduced, I shall take the liberty of calling it "Parsons' Japan."
Soon after it became known that the oriental chestnuts would succeed in this country, the fruit growers and nurserymen of California began to import and plant these nuts, shipping an occasional lot to their customers in the Eastern States, and from these hundreds of seedlings have been raised and distributed, under the general name of Japan chestnut. Among the nuts imported there are some of extraordinary size, even larger than anything of the kind obtained from Europe, as shown in Fig. 34, natural size, and from a specimen received direct from Japan. Some of the nurserymen who have secured these very large nuts for planting, offer the seedlings raised therefrom under such names as Mammoth and Giant Japan, but as there is no certainty, and scarcely a probability, that such seedlings will produce nuts as large as those planted, the names are rather misleading, although proper enough if given to grafted varieties of large size. When an extra-fine variety is produced from the nut, it should, of course, be preserved and propagated in the usual way.
The late Wm. Parry, of Parry, N. J., was one of the first nurserymen to attempt to produce new varieties of the Japan chestnut in this country, and his sons have continued his experiments in this direction. Others may have been equally successful, but I have been unable to obtain any satisfactory reports from those to whom I have applied for information; consequently, I can only say that the following, with few exceptions, originated at the Wm. Parry nurseries.
Advance (Parry).—Burs medium, slightly flattened on top; spines medium, short, almost sessile, as shown in Fig. 35, and this is a characteristic of all the Japan chestnuts; branching and widely separated on a very thin husk. Nuts very large; shell a light yellowish brown, with a few slight darker streaks from base to apex. Quality excellent for one of this species. Ripens early, and long before touched by frost.
Alpha (Parry).—Very similar to the last, but ripens earlier, which would be an advantage in some localities. Tree vigorous and productive.
Beta (Parry).—Bur medium; spines rather long and thin for one of this group, set on a thin husk. Nut large; shell light brown, smooth, with a slight trace of pubescence near the tip. The leaves are shallow and coarsely serrate, and on some the teeth or serratures are entirely wanting. Ripens a little later than the Alpha, or about the first of October in northern New Jersey.
Early Reliance (Parry).—Burs medium, with short, almost deflexed spines, on an exceedingly thin husk. Nuts large, more pointed than in the last, and of a lighter color the past season, but this may not be constant, and may be due to the long and severe drouth of the summer of 1894. Usually three nuts in a bur, and sometimes four or five, but I do not consider this increase in number a merit in any variety, for where there are more than three they are likely to be of small size and very much deformed. The original tree of the Reliance is enormously productive, and a regular bearer.
Felton.—A seedling of the common Japanese chestnut, raised by J. W. Killen, of Felton, Delaware.
Giant Japan (Parry).—Burs large to extra large for a variety of this species, with medium low branching spines on a very thin, parchment-like husk. Nuts extra large, usually only two in a bur, often only one, and about two inches broad, much depressed at the top, with a short point set in an irregular depression or basin. Shell dark mahogany color, more or less ribbed; kernel coarse grained, as is usual in the extra large varieties of nearly all species of the chestnut. This is probably the largest variety of the Japanese chestnut raised in this country, of which grafted trees are obtainable at this time. There may be others equally as large, but if so they are unknown to the writer.
Killen.—Of the Japan species, and described as very large, the nuts over two inches in diameter and of fair quality. Raised by J. W. Killen, of Felton, Del.
Parsons' Japan.—Burs medium, with rather thick-set and long spines. Nuts large, one inch and a half broad, curving regularly to a point; shell smooth, almost glossy, brown, with faint stripes of a darker shade extending from base to apex. In quality the kernel is far better than most of the European varieties, being finer grained and sweeter. When grafted on strong stocks the trees come into bearing early, or in two or three years. This is the best known, and probably the most widely distributed variety, of the Japanese species in this country, having been introduced, as I have stated elsewhere, in 1876.
Parry's Superb (Parry).—Burs broad, cushion-shaped, or much flattened on top, with extra long, widely branching spines from single or multiple stems, very much as in the European varieties. But the thin husk, the nuts, and the growth of tree, wood and leaves, stamp it as a pure Japanese variety. Nuts large, broader than long, with a decided sharp woody point; almost entirely destitute of even a sign of pubescence. A very promising and distinct variety.
Success (Parry).—Burs very large, broad, with only a few short, scattering, branching spines on the top, thicker toward the base; on a thin, parchment-like husk, and this is so thin that it sometimes cracks open and exposes the nuts within before they are fully ripe. Nuts extra large, nearly equal to the Giant, but of a more regular and symmetrical form, being nearly as long as broad, tapering to a point. Shell smooth, dark brown, with a slight pubescence about the point. Usually three nuts in a bur; an ideal variety in every respect.
There is a variety of the Japan chestnut recently much lauded under the name of Mammoth or Burbank, which is said to be of immense size, and as sweet as the common American chestnut.
Injurious Insects.—The chestnut tree is rarely attacked by insects. It is true that grubs may occasionally be found boring into the wood or cutting sinuous burrows under the bark, but this is mainly in trees weakened by exposure, in removing protecting companions, as when removing forests, or by plowing up and destroying the roots, in cultivating the land about them; but the attacks of insects upon such specimens is nature's way of getting rid of the feeble and least valuable, making room for the healthy and strong. But my thirty years' residence in a chestnut grove leads me to think that this nut tree is exceedingly free from wood borers of any kind.
Entomologists, however, have noted several instances of insect depredations upon individual trees, by a few species of the long-horn beetles, three or four in all, but these occur so rarely that they are scarcely worthy of notice as pests of the chestnut. There are also several species of caterpillars occasionally found feeding on the leaves of this tree, also some sucking bugs or tree hoppers, and two or three kinds of plant lice, but none of these have, as yet, become at all formidable enemies, or likely to become so later. But the chestnut has one enemy which is so abundant and destructive to the nuts as to call for an extended notice. I refer to the common native chestnut weevil (Balaninus carytripes, Boheman). The little fat, white, round, legless grubs, nearly or quite a half-inch long, must be familiar to every person who has handled or eaten chestnuts raised in this country, whether of the exotic or native varieties. The parents of this grub are oval-shaped beetles about one-half inch long or less; wing covers, body and legs densely covered with a short yellow down, and from the front or thorax there extends a long, slightly curved, slender snout (Fig. 36), sometimes nearly an inch in length in the females, but usually less in the males. The mouth parts are at the extreme end of this snout or proboscis, and the female, with her mandibles, it is claimed, reaches down among the chestnut spines and gnaws a hole in the husk, into which she drops an egg; and when this hatches, the minute grub cuts its way through the green husk and into the nut, the hole made in its progress closing up behind, leaving no mark or scar. Although I have taken hundreds of these weevils on chestnut trees, I never have been so fortunate as to take one in the act of ovipositing, but have come so near it as to find the ovipositor still extended as the insect crawled out from among the spines.
The chestnut weevil usually appears in great numbers soon after the trees bloom in spring, but they continue to come out all through the summer; I have occasionally found them late in September, which probably accounts for finding small and half-grown grubs in the nuts as they ripen and fall from the trees. These late grubs often remain in the nuts all winter, but the greater part escape earlier, or very soon after the crop is ripe. The grubs crawl out of the nuts and work their way into the ground to a depth of from a few inches to two feet, much depending upon the nature of the soil. Having very powerful jaws, they readily cut through a layer of leaves or soft wood, and I have known them to cut holes in sheets of dry cork. These grubs remain in the ground until the following season, then come forth in their winged or weevil stage, except the belated, broods, or those that have not reached full size in the autumn; these remain in the ground the entire summer, coming out late in the fall, or pass over until the second year, as I have proved by burying the grubs in a barrel sunk in the ground, covering the top with fine wire netting, to prevent the escape of the weevils as they emerged from time to time during the season.
As a rule, we find only one grub in a nut, of the American sweet chestnut, but in the larger varieties of the European and Japanese, two or more is not unusual, which rather favors the idea that the female weevil does possess something akin to reason, which guides her in locating stores of food available for her progeny. I have never observed that the weevils had any choice among varieties, all being subject to their attacks alike, provided all were growing in equally favorable positions. But if the trees are of different sizes, some tall and others short, some exposed to the winds and others protected, then the ravages of this pest will, no doubt, be as variable as the surrounding conditions. As the weevils emerge from the ground in spring or early summer, they will naturally seek the nuts most convenient and on the small trees, then those on the lower branches of the larger ones, while those on the upper part of the tree, where they are fully exposed to the winds, may wholly escape the attacks of these pests. This leads me to think that whoever attempts to cut off native chestnut forests, with the expectation of renewal with the larger varieties, by grafting the sprouts, will find the chestnut weevil a rather formidable enemy. I have found it so on a limited number of trees in my own grounds, that are grown from grafted sprouts near large native specimens, the weevils destroying nearly every nut; but out in the field, away from the woods, and where the young trees are scattered and exposed to the full sweep of the winds, the nuts are sound and free from insect enemies. The only remedy is to collect and destroy the weevils, which is not a serious matter where only the larger varieties are cultivated.
Diseases of the Chestnut.—I have never noticed any special disease among chestnuts, neither do I find any mentioned in European works on forestry. The nearest approach to any such malady being recorded as having appeared in this country, is found in a paragraph in Hough's "Report on Forestry," 1877, p. 470, where the author copies from Prof. W. C. Kerr, State Geologist, North Carolina, as follows: "The chestnut was formerly abundant in the Piedmont region, down to the country between the Catawba and Yadkin rivers, but within the last thirty years they have mostly perished. They are now found east of the Blue Ridge only, on higher ridges and spurs of the mountains. They have suffered injury here, and are dying out both here and beyond the Blue Ridge. They are much less fruitful than they were a generation ago, and the crop is much more uncertain."
While there is nothing said about any chestnut disease in the paragraph quoted, we only infer that the author intended to convey the idea that the trees were suffering from some endemic malady, although it may have been due to long drouths, insect depredators, or other causes. A few years later Mr. Hough, in his "Elements of Forestry," refers to the subject again, and admits that "the cause of the malady is unknown." But as chestnuts continue to come to our markets in vast quantities from the Piedmont regions, there must be a goodly number of healthy trees remaining.
Uses.—The economic value of the chestnut, as food for mankind and the lower animals, has been, and is still, so well known, that no extended dissertation or compilation of historic instances of its usefulness are required here. For almost two thousand years it has been an important article of food throughout southern Europe, and in some of the mountainous districts it is almost the "staff of life" among the poorer people, who not only use these nuts in their raw state, but roasted, boiled, stewed, and even dried and ground into flour, from which a coarse but nutritious kind of cake or bread is made. These nuts are also used in the same way by the poorer classes of China and Japan, and probably in other oriental countries. In France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, the chestnut crop is of immense importance, not only for domestic use, but commercially, because all surplus is wanted by other nations, who are ever ready to take a share, and pay a good round price for the same.
In this country chestnuts are mainly used as a luxury or a kind of pocket lunch for the children, as they are rarely brought to the table, and it is very doubtful if the American housewife, or our cooks,—unless foreign born and bred,—know anything about preparing these delicious nuts for comestible purposes. Cereals, meats, fruits and vegetables have always been so abundant and cheap in this country, that the poorest of the poor could indulge in them without stint or limit; but all this will change sooner or later, and when our population has doubled or trebled, the edible nuts must become of much more importance than now, and a roast turkey stuffed with chestnuts may figure as the ideal of gastronomic art.
As our native chestnuts are now annually consumed by the thousands of bushels, and the imported varieties by millions of pounds, and all as a mere luxury,—not a necessity nor an article which we could not dispense with without any serious inconvenience,—we may well consider what the future demand must be, and make haste to meet it with an abundant supply.
CHAPTER VI.
FILBERT OR HAZELNUT.
Corylus, Tournefort. Name from korys, a hood, helmet or bonnet, in reference to the form of the calyx or husk enclosing the nut. Order, Corylaceæ. Deciduous trees or low shrubs. Male flowers appearing in the autumn in pendulous cylindrical catkins two inches or more in length, with a two-cleft calyx partly united with the bracts or scales. These catkins remain on the plants all winter, becoming fully developed, and shedding their pollen early the following spring. Female flowers minute, entirely hidden within the buds during the winter, but early in spring their bright red, thread-like stigmas push out from the tips of the lateral or terminal buds. Ovary two-celled, with one ovule in each. Nut globular, ovoid or oblong, often in clusters, but each enclosed in a leafy, two- or three-valved husk, fringed or deeply notched at the upper end. Leaves broadly heart-shaped, serrate, with sturdy, short leaf-stalks. The filbert and hazel always bloom before the leaves appear in spring, and the male catkins usually open and begin to scatter their pollen in this latitude during warm days in March, the females soon following, their bright-red stigmas pushing out from the ends of the buds, but as soon as fertilization has been consummated they shrivel and disappear. The trees may then remain leafless for weeks following, and yet produce a heavy crop of fruit.
The common English name, filbert, is from "full-beard." All the varieties with husks extending beyond the nut, and with fringed edges, are filberts (Fig. 37); while those with husks shorter than the nuts (Fig. 38) are hazels, from the old Anglo-Saxon word, hæsel, a hood or bonnet. The parentage, size, form or quality of the nut, is not to be considered in this classification, for when the nuts are ripe and fallen from the husks, there is nothing left to distinguish the hazelnuts from filberts, unless a person is sufficiently familiar with a variety to know to which group it belongs. In France these nuts are known under the general name of Noysette; while in Germany it is Haselnuss; in Holland Hazelnoot; and in Italy Avellana, from Avellana, a city of Naples, near which there is a valley where these nuts have been extensively cultivated for many centuries.
History of the Filbert.—It is claimed that the filbert was first known to the Romans as Nux Pontica, because introduced from Pontus; but it must have become naturalized throughout southern Europe in very early times. But the Italian name of Avellana appears to have been applied to the wild hazel of Britain, long before Linnæus adopted it as the specific name of the indigenous species. John Evelyn, one of the most careful and learned of English arboriculturists of his time, in referring to these nuts, in his "Sylva," 1664, says: "I do not confound the filbert Pontic, distinguished by its beard, with our foresters or bald hazelnuts, which, doubtless, we had from abroad, bearing the names of Avelan or Avelin, as I find in some ancient records and deeds in my custody, where my ancestors' names were written Avelan, alias Evelin."
The filbert has been celebrated in prose and poetry from ancient times, as we may infer from a remark of Virgil, who says that it has been more honored "than the vine, the myrtle, or even the bay itself" (Eclogue vii).
The supposed occult power of a forked twig of the hazel as a divining-rod (virgula divinatoria) for finding hidden treasures, veins of metals, subterranean streams of water, and even pointing out criminals, is, of course, purely mythical, although so solemnly attested by many learned men in the past; and I would not consider this myth worthy of a notice here were it not for the fact that it was early imported into this country, and is still firmly believed by many persons among our rural population. It is true that the supposed attributes of the European hazel have been transferred to different plants in this country, mainly to the peach and our indigenous witch-hazel (Hamamelis Virginiana), but the myth still lives, a legitimate descendant of an Old World nut tree.
There is little to be said in regard to the history of the filbert and hazelnut in this country, but it is quite likely that both of the European species, and many varieties, were brought here and planted by the early settlers in the Eastern States, and bushes of the same could have been seen in many gardens a hundred years ago; but I have been unable to find any account of extensive plantings of these nuts, although nurserymen, all along, have been offering choice varieties to their customers. In the main, our pomologists have either remained silent in regard to these nuts, or, at most, referred to them very briefly in their published works.
William Prince, of Flushing, N. Y., in a "Short Treatise on Horticulture," published in 1828, refers to the filbert as follows:
"This shrub or, in some cases, tree, accommodates itself to every exposition, and to every variety of soil, but prefers a moist loam on a sandy bottom, with a northern exposure. It is easily multiplied by seeds, layers or inoculation. In fact, these nuts, which are vended in large quantities in our markets, grow as well in our climate as the common hazelnut, and produce very abundantly. Such being the case, it is hoped, ere long, sufficient will be produced from our soil to supersede the necessity of importation, as plantations of this tree would amply remunerate the possessor; or if planted as a hedge, would be found to be very productive. A single bush of the Spanish filbert in my garden has produced a half-bushel annually."
Mr. Prince then names a few of the best varieties, which are about the same as those recommended at the present time, and he was, no doubt, honest in recommending filbert culture to his countrymen, for his own limited experience proved that the trees would grow here and fruit abundantly.
A. J. Downing, in the first edition of his "Fruits and Fruit Trees of America," 1845, says: "The Spanish filbert, common in many of our gardens, is a worthless, nearly barren variety; but we have found the better English sorts productive and excellent in this climate (Newburg, N. Y.), and at least a few plants of these should have a place in all our gardens." If a few plants will succeed in a garden, then we might reasonably suppose that the number might be safely increased, and this was the idea of Mr. Prince, and many other writers on the subject since his time, but I fail to find any record of extended experiments with these nuts in this country, and as there must be some good reason for this neglect, perhaps my own experience in the cultivation of the filbert and hazel, to be given in succeeding pages, may throw some light on this question.
Propagation.—Filberts are readily propagated by almost all the modes employed in the multiplication of ordinary fruit trees and shrubs. The nuts are not at all delicate, and may be planted in the fall, or stored in a cool place, mixed with sand or sphagnum, and then put out in spring, always selecting a rather light and rich soil for a seed bed, and in such beds plants from one to three feet high may be obtained the first season. The seedlings produce such a mass of fine roots that they are readily transplanted without danger of loss. Varieties are perpetuated and multiplied by budding, grafting, suckers, layers, and some grow quite readily from cuttings made of the young, vigorous shoots, cut up into proper lengths in the fall, and then buried in the ground until the following spring, then planted out in trenches, as usually practiced with currants, grapes and similar plants. The method of propagation most generally practiced in Europe and this country is by suckers, and as the cultivated varieties of the filbert usually produce these from the base of their stems in profusion, there is no lack of material; besides, they make as strong, healthy and productive plants as can be procured in any other way. To secure an extra number of roots on these suckers, they should be banked up with a few inches in depth of good rich soil, or old manure, about midsummer, and then late in the autumn dig down to the base and remove with knife or chisel, after which they may be headed down to about fifteen or eighteen inches, and heeled-in for the winter, to be planted out in nursery rows early in spring. If a greater number of sprouts are wanted than the plants naturally produce, the main stem may be cut down; but this will seldom be necessary, because the young transplanted suckers will usually produce more or less new ones the first season, all of which can be utilized for multiplying the stock if they are wanted.
Soil, Location and Climate.—European varieties of the filbert thrive best in what may be termed a rich loam, with a dry subsoil. If the soil is too moist, the trees are inclined to run too much to wood, producing less fruit. In the famous nut orchards of Kent, England, the soil is loam upon a dry, sandy rock. The trees in these orchards are manured at least once in two years, especially after they reach the full bearing age. Almost any good soil that is rich enough to produce a good crop of corn, and is not submerged in winter, will answer for the filbert in this country.
In selecting a location for a filbert orchard, an open, airy one would probably be preferable to a spot so sheltered as to cause the flowers to appear so early as to be injured by frosts. Furthermore, I would warn cultivators to keep as far away as possible from any hedgerows or plantation of the wild native hazel bushes, for these are always loaded with disease germs that are fatal to the foreign species. We might reasonably suppose that filberts would succeed better in the Southern than in the Northern States, but if the experience of those who have tried them there count for anything, then these nuts are not adapted to the South, owing to the fact that the flowers almost invariably push out during warm days in winter, and these are destroyed later by frosts. In the more elevated regions of the northern border of the Southern, and in similar locations in the Middle States, these nuts will doubtless thrive, or at least the climate will prove congenial. The more equable the climate and free from extremes in temperature, the better; but the most important element in this country is moisture, especially in summer, when the nuts are filling out; and the best way to supply this, where irrigation cannot be practiced, is to keep the ground around the trees continually covered with a mulch of leaves or other coarse vegetable matter.
Planting and Pruning.—The space to be allowed between the plants, when set out for bearing, will, of course, depend very much upon the size they are expected to attain. Those varieties which assume and remain in the bush form may be planted very close together, or not more than six to eight feet between the plants; but those which become small trees must be given more room. The larger European sorts, which are at present the only ones worth cultivating for their nuts, should be set ten or twelve feet apart, and the rows fifteen to sixteen feet, then if properly pruned they will shade the ground and be in a convenient form for gathering the crop. The trees may be planted in the orchard when quite small, and some kind of vegetable crop grown among them for the first two or three years, but I would prefer keeping the plants in nursery rows until they were four or five feet high, and then transplant to the orchard, and set a short, stout stake by the side of each, to keep the main stem in an upright position until the tree is well established.
The first pruning,—except removing suckers from those in the nursery rows,—will be the heading back of the main or central stem to a hight of two or three feet, for the purpose of laying the foundation, as it were, of the head of the future tree. Three or four of the larger branches, which will push out from near the top of the severed main stem, are to be selected to form the top, and all others removed. Small lateral branches or twigs will spring out from the larger or main ones, and in this way the head of a bearing tree is formed. But before attempting to prune a mature or fruitful tree, we must consider the mode of fructification, for the filbert does not bear nuts on the young growth of the season, as in the chestnut, but on the small branchlets or spur-like twigs of the preceding season, or, as we may say, on the one-year-old twigs. The small fruiting twigs are seldom more than four to six inches long, and sometimes almost every well-developed bud on these contain pistillate flowers and embryo nuts, either singly or in clusters. In pruning the bearing trees, the main point to be observed is to head back the strong leading shoots, to prevent the trees growing too tall, as well as to force out the side or lateral twigs as fruiting wood for the ensuing year. If the heads of the trees become too much crowded to admit light and air to the center, some of the larger branches must be removed entire. The best time to prune is in early spring, when the trees are in bloom, for at this season we can readily determine the injured from the sound male catkins, and preserve enough of these to insure perfect fertilization. It is not necessary, however, that there should be healthy pollen-bearing catkins on every tree in an orchard, for if one in a dozen is well supplied, there will be sufficient to fertilize the flowers of all growing near by. It often happens, in our rather severe climate, that the catkins of some trees or varieties are winterkilled, while the pistillate flowers enclosed in the buds escape injury, and when this occurs it is well to have some hardy variety at hand, from which pollen can be obtained when needed. The inferior varieties are usually the most hardy, and the wild European hazel or our northern beaked hazel, will usually escape injury where all the large improved sorts fail, and it requires but a few minutes' labor to cut branches bearing sound catkins, and scatter these about through the heads of trees requiring such assistance to make them fruitful.
SPECIES OF AMERICAN HAZELS.
Corylus Americana (Walters). Common hazel bush.—Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, coarsely serrate; husk somewhat downy, with a wide, flattened, fringed border extending beyond the roundish nut. Shell rather thick and brittle; kernel sweet and good, but the nut is too small to be considered of much value. A low shrub, with many stems springing from the roots. Young shoots and twigs downy and glandular-hairy. Common in woods and old fields from Canada to Florida.
Corylus Rostrata (Aiton). Beaked hazel.—Leaves ovate or oblong, somewhat heart-shaped, pointed, doubly serrate; husk extending an inch or more beyond the round or ovoid nut, forming before it opens a long tubular beak, hence the name. The husk is densely covered with nettle-like bristles, which are quite irritating to tender hands. The nuts are small, usually growing in clusters at the ends of the twigs, only a few coming to maturity. A low shrub or small tree, usually growing in a dense clump, not spreading from subterranean stems, as in the last species. Common on rather firm and rich soil along the borders of streams, in the northern border States, and southward on the Alleghanies, but most abundant in the north through Canada, and westward to the Pacific in Washington and Oregon, where, in the mountains, it often assumes the tree form, growing to a hight of twenty-five to thirty feet, with a stem from four to six inches in diameter. The wood is light, soft, and very white to the center. It also extends southward to central California, but here it is only a small bush, this form having been described under the name of Corylus rostrata, var. Californica, A. de C. This species probably reaches its highest development in the Cascade range, in northern Oregon. The same or a closely allied species of the hazel extends far into northern Asia. There are no improved varieties of either of our native species of the hazel in cultivation.
EUROPEAN SPECIES OF CORYLUS.
Corylus Avellana (Linn.). Common hazelnut.—Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, coarsely and unevenly serrate; husk bell-shaped, spreading, with a fringed or deeply cut margin. The original form of this nut is supposed to have been ovate or oval, but with a plant indigenous to such a wide range of climate and country, and one that has been so long under cultivation,—running wild in many localities where it is not a native,—it would be very difficult at this time to determine its primary botanical characters. A common shrub or small tree throughout the greater part of Europe and Asia.
Corylus Colurna (Linn.).—Constantinople hazel. Leaves roundish ovate, heart-shaped; husk double, the inner one divided into three deeply cleft divisions, the outer with many long, slender, curved segments, giving to the calyx or husk a fringed appearance, but leaving the end of the nut fully exposed (Fig. 39). Nuts small, and for this reason rarely cultivated. Native of Asia Minor, where the tree attains a hight of from fifty to sixty feet. It is, however, hardy in France and England, and was introduced into the latter country some three hundred years ago, probably by Clusius, who received either nuts or plants from Constantinople, hence its present name.
There are several other hazels and filberts, so distinct from the two common European types that botanists have, in a few instances, been inclined to elevate them to the rank of species, and among these I may name Corylus heterophylla, or various-leaved filbert, from eastern Asia, also the Corylus ferox, or spiny filbert, which has a long and deeply cut or fringed husk. It is a native of the Sheopur mountain in Nepaul. But from the two common European species, C. Avellana and C. Colurna, and their hybrids, many hundreds of varieties have been raised, and from among these we may readily select a dozen possessing all the distinct and estimable properties to be found in this genus of nut-bearing plants; to multiply names without securing anything of intrinsic value, is but a waste of time and labor on the part of the cultivator.
As we have no popular varieties of American origin, I am compelled to consult European catalogues in making a selection of those most promising for cultivation here, and this is, perhaps, an advantage, inasmuch as our transatlantic cousins have had a long experience and abundant opportunities for determining the merits of the varieties they recommend. If hardiness and adaptation to our soil and climate are to be taken into account, in making a selection, then we may fail for the want of experienced guides, as it is undeniable that very few persons in this country have ever attempted to conduct extended experiments in the cultivation of either the native or European species and varieties of the hazel.
Taking this view of the situation, I shall avail myself of the small but select list of varieties given in that standard work, "The Dictionary of Gardening," edited by Mr. George Nicholson, of the Royal Gardens, Kew, England.
SELECT LIST OF VARIETIES.
Alba, or White filbert.—Considered in England one of the best varieties in cultivation. From the peculiar structure of the husk, which contracts rather than opens at the outer edge, this filbert can be kept longer in its cover than most others. As fashion demands that fresh filberts must be brought to the table in their husks, this variety deserves special attention. It is also known as Avelinier Blanche, Wrotham Park, etc.
Cosford, or Miss Young's Thin-Shelled.—Nut oblong, of excellent quality; husk hairy, deeply cut, about as long as the nut. Highly valued on account of the thinness of the shell.
Crispa, or Frizzled Filbert.—Shell thin, somewhat flattened; husk richly and curiously frizzled throughout, open wide at the mouth, and hanging about as long again as the nut. Ripens late, and one of the most productive.
Downton Large Square.—Nut very large; shell thick and well-filled; husk smooth, shorter than the nut. A peculiarly formed semi-square nut, of the best quality.
Lambert's Filbert (Corylus tubulosa).—Nut large, oblong; shell thick and strong, the kernel being covered with a red skin; husk long, rather smooth, serrated at the edges, longer than the nut. A fine, strong-growing, free-fruiting variety. It is quite popular in California, where it has been in cultivation for twenty years or more under the name of Red Aveline. Specimens I have received from there were not as large as those raised in England, but this can be accounted for by the difference in climate. This variety is cultivated in Europe under various local names, as, for instance, Great Cob, Kentish Cob, Filbert Cob, and Large Bond Cob.
Grandis, or Round cob-nut.—Nut large, short, slightly compressed, very thick and hard; husk shorter than the fruit, much frizzled and hairy. This is supposed to be the true Barcelona nut of commerce, and is one of the finest grown. This is the large round hazel or filbert so largely imported for the trade in this country. It has many synonyms, and among them we may record Downton, Dwarf Prolific, Great Cob and Round Cob.
Purple-Leaved filbert.—Usually cultivated as an ornamental shrub in this country, but under proper treatment it is one of the most valuable for its fruit. Leaves very large, and of a deep purple color. Nuts and husk of the same color, which they retain until cut by frosts. Nuts large, an inch in length; husks much longer than the nut, and slightly hairy. The catkins are tender and become winterkilled in our Northern States, but if the pistillate flowers are fertilized by pollen from some more hardy plant, this purple-leaved filbert is exceedingly prolific. I have gathered eighty nuts from a small bush in my garden, the flowers of which had been fertilized from another variety in early spring.
Red filbert. Red Hazel, Avelinier Rouge.—Nut medium ovate, not long as in the tubulosa, or Lambert's filbert; shell thick; husk long and hispid. A very productive variety of good quality.
Spanish filbert.—Nut very large, oblong; shell thick; husk smooth, longer than the nut. A very large variety, sometimes confounded with the Round cob-nut and its synonyms.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH FILBERTS.
Believing that our failures are often of far more value, in the line of education, than our successes, I shall not hesitate to place my own on record as guideposts to those who may be seeking the most direct road to success in nut culture. Having had a rather extended and expensive experience in the cultivation of filberts, I propose giving a brief account of it here, with the hope that it may save some other enthusiast from losing time and money.
My attention was first specially drawn to these nuts in 1858,—while a resident of the city of Brooklyn, N. Y.,—by a neighbor who had a moderately large garden, on three sides of which he had planted a row of English filberts. These trees, at the time, had attained a hight of about fifteen feet, with broad, open heads, and they rarely failed to produce a heavy crop of nuts, which sold readily at very remunerative prices, for as they were always gathered in the husks and sold by the pound, the amount obtained from these few trees seemed to be enormous, considering the small space they occupied in this garden. The owner of these filbert trees, being an Englishman by birth, never tired of showing his English filberts to visitors, and of descanting upon their value, as well as upon the stupid indifference of the Yankees in neglecting the cultivation of these valuable nuts. I imbibed enough of my neighbor's enthusiasm to secure a good stock of his plants, a few years later, for cultivation in my grounds here. The third year after planting, quite a number of the bushes produced a fair crop of nuts, but I noticed that an occasional shoot was affected with blight, and these were immediately cut out and burned. The next season more of the branches were affected, and from these the blight extended downward on the main stems, and when these were cut away the sprouts from below made a very vigorous and apparently healthy growth, some reaching a hight of six feet the first season, but a year or two later these were also attacked and destroyed by blight.
Finding that the filberts in my grounds were doomed, I visited my old neighbor in Brooklyn, hoping to learn something of the origin or cause of the disease; but the blight had invaded his garden, and not a tree remained. On my return from this visit I had every filbert and hazel plant on my place dug up and burned, thinking by such means to stamp out the disease. After waiting ten years, I thought it time to try filberts again, and to be certain of securing pure and healthy plants, I concluded to raise them from the nuts, and sent an order for a few pounds of the largest and best variety to be found in the celebrated filbert orchards of Kent, Eng. In due time the nuts arrived, and they were very large, and all of one variety, as ordered. They were mixed with sand and buried in the garden until the following spring, then sown thinly in shallow drills and covered with about two inches of rich soil.