The women of this state are interested vitally these days not only in their own welfare as possible citizens, but in the improving of living conditions and opportunities of our people.  We should have more women interested in the work of this association and interested in seeing that the future value of nuts is appreciated by the wage-earners of the state, both because of their healthfulness and because of the possibility of cheapening somewhat the cost of living.  I urge upon the organization a campaign of education, a campaign which will reach through the women’s clubs, civic organizations, schools and state associations in a way that will cause the people to demand more nuts for food and more nut trees as an absolutely indispensable part of the complete utilization of both the agricultural and forest soils of the state.  The agencies working for agriculture and forestry in a state like New York understand these problems, but often it remains for an organization like yours to bring these forces into active play and to produce the results for which you are working.  Before you can achieve lasting results and results commensurate with the time and effort which you are putting into the organization, you must get hold of the man and the woman who spend the dollars for the living of our people.

The State College of Forestry at Syracuse Experimenting with Nut Culture

Soon after the organization of the New York State Forest Experiment Station south of Syracuse the college took up the matter of growing nut trees and of improving the quality of nuts of native species.  On the New York State Forest Experiment Station just south of Syracuse, where the college is growing a million forest trees a year, there is a woodlot of thirty acres.  In this woodlot were a number of native nut trees and these have been set aside for the purpose of grafting and improving to see what can be done in helping out native nut trees of different ages and sizes.

In 1913 the college purchased a thousand acres of cut-over land two hours south of Buffalo in Cattaraugus County.  At the same time it purchased one hundred and thirteen acres lying along the main line of the New York Central Railroad at Chittenango in Madison County.  This past spring nut trees were ordered from nurseries in Pennsylvania and planted in the heavy soils on the Chittenango Forest Station and also on the State Forest Experiment Station at Syracuse.  At the Salamanca station young nut trees are being staked so that they may be protected and cared for with a hope of developing them as nut-producing trees.  The college plans, as a part of its work in the Division of Forest Investigations, to see what can be done in the way of grafting chestnut sprouts and in introducing nut-growing trees for the purpose of demonstrating that idle lands within farms may be used profitably for nut culture.  The college will be very glad, indeed, to learn of any native nut trees of unusual value anywhere in New York as it is anxious to get material for grafting to native stock already growing on its various forest stations.