It is a singular fact that a misfortune can sometimes develop into a blessing.  Last year, 1914, was an unfortunate one in that an early and late drouth caused poor bud development, and, of course, they were not in a condition to withstand our usual winter weather.

In the spring of 1915, as soon as bud development took place, I commenced to prune.  I cut off all weak branches to a strong bud and sometimes went over the trees a second time in order to insure that the work should be well done.  These trees referred to are mostly three years old and at that age the pruning should be done very systematically.

It is a mistake to have a tree three or four years old in bearing.  You will have branches from 2 to 4 feet long without any laterals, quite differently from other fruits, as the apple, peach, pear, etc.  If these long branches are allowed to remain you will find that the terminal buds will develop nuts and weigh down the branch.  But with proper management the life and productiveness of the tree can be improved by pruning.  A branch 3 or 4 feet long should be cut back one half.  Of course great care must be taken where the cut is made, for the future welfare of the tree.

I have a very fine five-year-old Hall variety on my side lawn that shows the neglect of proper pruning at the right time.  The branches are entirely too long and drooping.  In order to overcome this defect I will have to cut back to two-year-old wood and force the dormant buds for the future tree.

There is another great advantage in the proper method of pruning the young Persian, that is, that the finest kind of bud wood becomes available.

You will please remember that in pruning the walnut we are not pruning for color as with other fruits.

The tree should be as round headed as a Norway maple, and if some of the limbs should show indications of weakness by crowding then cut them out for the benefit of others close by.

REPORT ON NUT GROWING IN CANADA

G. H. CORSAN, TORONTO

Not being able to meet with you this September, as I have to go down to the State of Mississippi, I send this paper to your president whose paper on the Garden of Eden we all read in the Country Gentlemen of July 7, and so much admired.

Progress has not been made on my place sufficient to warrant my inviting you to Toronto next convention, but I will say that the year after next I will certainly have something worth seeing.  But Dr. J. H. Kellogg of Battle Creek, Mich., extends an invitation to you to hold the next convention at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where nuts and nut preparations are used exclusively in the place of meat and fish and fowl.  Here at Battle Creek on Dr. Kellogg’s private grounds and on the Sanitarium grounds may be seen Colonel Sober’s Paragon chestnuts, Mr. Pomeroy’s English walnuts and Mr. Reed’s grafted pecans,