The Chairman: The trees are planted on this same old stump land?
The Chairman: A great deal of stump land can be planted in this way.
Mr. Corsan: That wouldn't be planting them along roadsides and in fence corners.
The Chairman: No, they would be looked after; the whole thing is looking after them.
A Member: My idea is that there would be very few nut trees planted if every one was to start his own trees. They put off planting the trees even when they can get them at the nurseries, and if they had to start their own nurseries there wouldn't be one planted to where there's 10,000 now; and I think that in the end the nurserymen are going to attend to the planting of trees and the other people are going to attend to growing them. Maybe I'm mistaken but did this Government ever produce any trees? Prof. Smith spoke of appropriating money and letting the Government get us some new variety. Hasn't it always been private individuals who get the new varieties? I have been trying to think of some fruit tree, apple or something, that a state or the Government has propagated.
The Chairman: In this country I believe the Government has never done it, but in some parts of Europe, especially Switzerland, the taxes of some towns are paid by the trees along the roadside; but there every man has to report on his own trees and the proceeds go to support the town, and the taxes of certain small towns are actually paid today by roadside trees; but this is in a country where land is valuable, and every tree is under the direct supervision of a citizen who must report on it, and the product of that tree goes to the Government, he giving his labor instead of paying taxes.
Prof. Smith: I was merely pleading for the continuation and spread of that work, both geographically and in increasing the varieties of trees.
Mr. Lake: I am heartily in favor of that, but I think it ought to be referred to a committee. I want Prof. Smith to write it out in the form of a letter.
Prof. Smith: I am glad you called my attention to that.
Mr. Lake: The Government and the states are now engaged in such work and this ought to give it impetus. I think that the time and labor of the Nut Growers Association, since its organization, will have been well spent if we succeed in bringing to fructification this one resolution. I want also to suggest that Prof. Smith include among the nuts, the beechnut, because there's more meat in beechnuts for the amount of shell than any other nut we grow.