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Title: The Pecan and its Culture
Author: H. Harold Hume
Release Date: February 13, 2009 [EBook #28065]
Language: English
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[Illustration: PECAN NUTS--uniform in size, color and shape. Variety,
Curtis.]
THE PECAN
AND
ITS CULTURE
BY
H. HAROLD HUME
PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA
THE AMERICAN FRUIT AND NUT JOURNAL
1906
Copyright, 1906.
By
H. HAROLD HUME.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
Introduction. Botany.
CHAPTER I. Commercial and Ornamental Importance of the Pecan.
CHAPTER II. Native and Cultivated Range.
CHAPTER III. Pecan Botany.
PART II.
Varieties.
CHAPTER IV. Varieties.
CHAPTER V. Pecan Judging.
PART III.
Cultural.
CHAPTER VI. Propagation of the Pecan.
CHAPTER VII. Top-working Pecans.
CHAPTER VIII. Soils and their Preparation.
CHAPTER IX. What Varieties to Plant.
CHAPTER X. Purchasing and Planting Pecans.
CHAPTER XI. Cultivation and Fertilization.
CHAPTER XII. Pruning.
PART IV.
Harvesting. Marketing.
CHAPTER XIII. Gathering, Storing and Marketing Pecans.
PART V.
Diseases. Insects.
CHAPTER XIV. Fungous and other Diseases of the Pecan.
CHAPTER XV. Insects Attacking the Pecan.
PART VI.
Uses. Literature.
CHAPTER XVI. Pecan Kernels.
CHAPTER XVII. Literature.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES. _Page_
Frontispiece, 2
An avenue shaded by pecan trees, 13
Pecan flowers, 21
A pecan nursery, 71
Budding tools, 73
A two-year top-worked pecan tree, 85
An old pecan tree top-worked, 88
The pecan bud moth, 136
The case-worm, 139
A pecan catocala, 141
FIGURES.
Approximate pecan areas, 17
Money-maker, Post, San Saba, Bacon, 29
Curtis pecan, 32
Mammoth, Dalzell, Kennedy, 33
Frotscher pecan, 35
Georgia pecan, 36
Schaifer, Ideal, Ladyfinger, Atlanta, 41
Mantura pecan, 43
Pabst pecan, 46
Russell, Franklin, Kincaid, 49
Schley pecan, 51
Stuart pecan, 52
Success pecan, 53
Van Deman pecan, 55
Nussbaumer, 58
H. minima and two hybrids, 59
Schneck hybrid, 60
Grafting iron, Budding knife, 72
Scions, 76
Annular budding, 78
Veneer shield-budding, 79
Chip-budding, 80
Cleft grafting, Whip grafting, 81
One-year pecan in fruit, 82
Pecan tree grown on quicksand, 90
View of bud union, 99
View of whip graft, 100
Annular bud, 101
Rectangular planting system, 104
Hexagonal planting system, 105
Planting-board, 107
A nursery tree with good root system, 119
Taproot cut and uncut, 120
Spraying pecan trees, 131
Nut crackers of different types, 149
Woodson's power kernel extractor, 151
PREFACE.
In the horticultural development of the country, new fruits, new groups
of fruits, new fruit industries are coming into prominence. Our native
fruits in particular are now receiving, in many parts of the country, a
larger share of the attention which they have always merited, and none
has proven itself more worthy of careful study and painstaking care than
the pecan.
Within the last ten or fifteen years it has rapidly emerged from a wild
or semi-wild condition to the status of an orchard nut. The foundations
of its culture were laid a considerable time ago, but only now is it
coming to its own, its well merited standing among the fruits of the
country.
In any horticultural industry many questions must be asked of the plant,
the soil, the climate, in short, of the plant in its environment. They
must be answered aright, if the industry is to succeed. The newer the
plant in cultivation, the more numerous the questions are, the more
difficult to answer.
In an endeavor to aid in solving some of the problems connected with the
culture of the pecan this small volume has been prepared. Pecan culture
has been the subject of careful study, observation and experimentation
on the part of the author for a number of years and the results of these
studies are presented in the following pages.
To the many who have so kindly and willingly assisted in its
preparation, my thanks are herein expressed.
H. HAROLD HUME.
Raleigh, N. C.,
Aug. 1, 1906.
PART I.
Introduction. Botany.
THE PECAN AND ITS CULTURE.
CHAPTER I.
COMMERCIAL AND ORNAMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF THE PECAN.
In all-around excellence, the pecan is equalled by none of the native
American nut-bearing trees and certainly it is surpassed by no exotic
species. It stands in the list of nut trees with but few equals and no
superiors. With this fact known and admitted by all, it seems reasonable
to suppose that the pecan will be grown and cultivated much more
extensively than it now is. Its intrinsic worth deserves a large share
of attention, more than it has received. At present it is gaining a
position of so much importance as an orchard tree, that, ere long, it
will become an extremely important item in the horticultural wealth of
the Southern and Southwestern States.
Large quantities of pecans are sold in the American markets. These are
the product of uncultivated or forest trees. Many orchards of
considerable size, planted with meritorious budded and grafted
varieties, are now in bearing, but the product of these plantings is
entirely used by what may be termed a private trade, either by seedsmen,
or by private individuals for dessert purposes. Some day, varieties of
pecans will become known in the markets just as varieties of grapes,
apples or pears are known. People ask for Niagara or Concord grapes,
Northern Spy or Greening apples, Bartlet or Seckel pears--ask for what
they want, and know what they are getting. The day is far distant when
Frotscher, Schley, San Saba, Curtis, Georgia or other varieties of
pecans will be known by name by the purchasing public, asked for in the
markets and recognized when procured. But that time must and will come,
and until then there is no danger of the industry being overdone, and
not even then, because our population is constantly growing; because the
pecan nut is being put to a variety of new uses, and as yet the export
trade is comparatively undeveloped. (See table, page 15.) It would seem
then that the pecan might reasonably be expected to replace to a certain
extent the foreign nuts in our own markets.
According to the investigations of Woods and Merrill,[A] the pecan has a
higher food value than either the walnut, filbert, cocoanut, almond or
peanut. The results of their analyses are as follows:
-------------------+---------+---------------------------------------+--------
| | EDIBLE PORTION. |
| +------+--------+------+---------+------+--------
| Edible | | | |Carbo- | |Fuel
| Portion.|Water.|Protein.|Fat. |hydrates.| Ash. |Value
| | | | | | |per
| | | | | | |Pound.[A]
-------------------+---------+------+--------+------+---------+------+--------
|per cent.|pr ct.| pr ct. |pr ct.| pr ct. |pr ct.|Calories
Pecans, kernels | 100.0 | 2.9 | 10.3 | 70.8 | 14.3 | 1.7 | 3445
Walnuts, kernels | 100.0 | 2.8 | 16.7 | 61.4 | 14.8 | 1.3 | 3305
Filberts, kernels | 100.0 | 3.7 | 15.6 | 65.3 | 13.0 | 2.4 | 3290
Cocoanuts, shred'd | | 3.5 | 6.3 | 57.3 | 31.6 | 1.3 | 3125
Almonds, kernels | 100.0 | 4.8 | 21.0 | 54.9 | 17.3 | 2.0 | 3030
Shelled Peanuts | 100.0 | 1.6 | 30.5 | 49.2 | 16.2 | 2.5 | 2955
-------------------+---------+------+--------+------+---------+------+--------
[Illustration: PLATE II. An Avenue Shaded by Pecan Trees.]
It is a fact worthy of note that the average man requires 3,500 calories
of energy each day, an amount which must be secured from food consumed.
One pound of pecan kernels, according to the above analysis, would
supply 3,445 calories, or only 55 calories less than the amount required
per day. We are not, be it understood, pointing out this fact because we
believe that the pecan alone would be a satisfactory food, though it is
wholesome, nourishing and palatable and should be used in larger
quantities than is usually the case, but simply to emphasize its high
food value.
According to the foregoing analysis, the pecan is richer in fat than any
of the other nuts. Seventy per cent. of the kernels is fat. The pecan
may at some time be in requisition as a source of oil--an oil which
would doubtless be useful for salad purposes--but it is never likely to
be converted into oil until the present prices of the nuts are greatly
reduced.
If we turn from the dietary value of the nut to the ornamental value of
the tree, we cannot but be forcibly impressed with its value as a shade
and ornamental tree. For these purposes it may be planted far outside
the area in which fruit may be reasonably expected. If given good soil
and sufficient food supply, it grows quite rapidly, making a stately,
vigorous, long-lived tree. In its native forests it is a giant tree,
sometimes reaching a height of upwards of two hundred feet with a trunk
of six feet. Isolated specimens, grown in the open, come to maturity
with wide-spreading branches and the whole tree has an exceedingly
graceful appearance. Wherever it will succeed, no other shade tree is so
worthy of attention as the pecan, and in the fruiting area, beauty and
healthful shade may be combined with utility.
As an orchard tree it is well worth planting. The ground in which the
trees are planted may be cultivated in other crops for a number of
years, thus reducing to a minimum the cost of maintaining the planting,
and when the trees have come into bearing, the same area in trees will
yield more in net returns than the same area in cotton or corn at the
usual market prices.
On the whole, considered from whatever standpoint we may choose, the
pecan is a valuable tree, whether cultivated for its nuts or planted for
shade or ornamental effect.
Exports of Nuts from United States for Years 1900-1904 inclusive.
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| $156,490 | $218,743 | $304,241 | $299,558 | $330,366 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Importations of Nuts into the United States for the Years 1899 to 1904
inclusive, according to the most authoritative statistics.[B]
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1899 1900 1901 |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|VARIETY |Quant'y |Value. |Quant'y | Value. |Quant'y | Value. |
|OF NUTS. |lbs. | |lbs. | |lbs. | |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|Almonds |9,957,427|$1,222,587| 6,317,633| $949,083| 5,140,232| $946,138|
|Cocoanuts.| | 625,789| | 702,947| | 804,233|
|Walnuts | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) |
|Other | | 879,166| | 1,326,804| | 1,518,184|
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|Total Nuts| |$2,727,542| |$2,978,834| |$3,268,255|
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 1902 1903 1904 |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|VARIETY |Quant'y |Value. |Quant'y | Value. |Quant'y | Value. |
|OF NUTS. |lbs. | |lbs. | |lbs. | |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|Almonds |9,868,982|$1,240,886| 8,142,164|$1,337,717| 9,838,852|$1,246,474|
|Cocoanuts.| | 832,383| | 908,242| | 971,852|
|Walnuts | (a) | (a) |12,362,567| 1,106,033|23,670,761| 1,729,378|
|Other | | 1,971,072| | 1,514,406| | 1,523,462|
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|Total Nuts| |$4,044,341| |$4,866,398| |$5,471,166|
+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Calculated from analysis.
[B] Yearbook U.S. Dept. of Agr., 1903, page 686, and 1904, page 728.
CHAPTER II.
NATIVE AND CULTIVATED RANGE.
The pecan is found as a forest tree in the moist bottom lands along the
Mississippi river and its tributaries, from Indiana southward to
Mississippi, and from Iowa to Texas and Mexico.
This region (see Fig. 1) in which the pecan is, or has been found,
native, reaches its northern limit at Davenport, Iowa. It skirts the
Wabash as far north as Terre Haute, Indiana, and along the Ohio river
nearly to Cincinnati, Ohio. From thence its range extends south to
Chattanooga, Tenn., and on to Vicksburg, Miss. From Vicksburg it skirts
the Gulf of Mexico at a distance of seventy-five to one hundred miles to
Laredo, Texas; thence along the Salado river into Mexico. The western
boundary embraces the headwaters of the Colorado river and returns more
or less directly to Davenport, Iowa. On the outskirts of this area, it
extends farthest in all directions along the streams and rivers, while
on the drier intervening ground the line does not extend so far from the
center of the region. Particularly is this true in Southwestern Texas,
where the pecan is confined almost solely to river bottoms.
CULTURAL AREA.
The area in which the pecan is cultivated as an orchard tree is not
confined to the limits of its native range. Plantings have been made
outside its native home in New Mexico, California and Oregon in the
West, and in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Southern Alabama and the Gulf regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Texas. In many other States experimental plantings have been made.
Leaving these out of consideration, however, it will be seen that in
about twenty States the pecan is either found as a native tree in the
forests or is cultivated in orchard form. The area corresponds in some
measure with that in which cotton is grown, though it extends farther
north and west than the cotton region.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. Approximate Pecan areas. Native areas within
solid line. Cultural area within dotted line.]
The attempts which have been made from time to time to cultivate the
pecan in the more northerly States have not proved successful. The tree
has, in many cases, grown well, but fruit has not been produced. The
pistils and stamens of the pecan are not found in the same flower but in
different flowers borne some distance apart on new and one-year-old
wood, respectively. Consequently, it frequently happens that the flowers
are not matured at the same time, as a result of which pollination
cannot take place. Moreover, late spring frosts often destroy one or
both sets of flowers, and the result, as far as fruit is concerned, is
the same in either case. As a result of these experiences, the pecan
cannot be recommended as a nut-bearing tree north of its natural range
in the Mississippi Valley, neither will it succeed at the high
elevations in the Alleghany mountains. It reaches its most northerly
cultural extension in the Mississippi valley and in the coastal plain of
the Atlantic seaboard. But it grows well and makes a good shade tree
farther north, and at elevations far above its native range. Even then,
however, the nuts from which these seedling shade trees are grown should
be brought from the northern sections of its natural distribution. They
are much more likely to withstand the rigorous cold of winter.
Frequently the question is asked as to whether the pecan can be grown in
a certain given locality. Such a question can be answered only in the
most general way. The presence of the larger species of hickories in the
vicinity may be used in some parts of the country as an indication of
the success which might attend the planting of pecan trees, but such a
guide should not be followed too implicitly, and even if the pecan tree
should grow well, fruit might not be secured.
The presence of pecan trees, single specimens perhaps, or two or three,
in yards or about buildings here and there throughout a region, may be
taken as a guide in the matter of planting, and no better can be had.
Nothing will take the place of a practical demonstration in the way of a
vigorous fruiting tree.
CHAPTER III.
PECAN BOTANY.
The aborigines of the country used hickory nuts of different kinds as
food, and in the region in which the pecan grows as a native tree, it
was valued by them above all its relatives.
Penicaut found in his travels that the Indians stored large amounts of
pecans for winter use. The scientific name of the pecan is appropriately
derived from two Indian words, "powcohiccora" and "pacan."
In 1785, the pecan was described under the name _Juglans Pecan_, by
Marshall in his Arboretum Americanum. In 1818, Thomas Nuttall, an
English botanist, separated the hickories from the walnuts and
butternuts, putting them under a new genus which he called _Carya_,
naming the pecan _Carya olivaeformis_. Nuttall's classification was
followed for many years until it was found that in the year previous to
the publication of his work, 1817, C. S. Rafinesque, a French
naturalist, had separated the hickories along the same lines as Nuttall
and published them under the name _Hicoria_. In accordance with the laws
of priority, Rafinesque's name, _Hicoria_, takes precedence over
_Carya_.
The family _Juglandaceæ_, embraces but two genera, _Juglans_ and
_Hicoria_, the former including the walnuts and butternuts, and the
latter the pecan and other hickories. With the exception of the
Shellbark hickory, _Hicoria ovata_ Britton, and the Big shellbark,
_Hicoria laciniosa_ Sargent, the pecan is the only one of the genus
worthy of cultivation.
_Family._ Juglandaceæ Lindl. Nat. Syst. Ed. 2, 180. 1836. Trees with
alternate pinnate leaves and monoecious bracted flowers. Staminate
flowers in long, drooping catkins, provided with three or more stamens
and occasionally with an irregular-lobed perianth adnate to the bractlet
and a rudimentary ovary. Anthers erect, with short filaments,
two-celled; dehiscent longitudinally. Pistillate flowers bracted with a
three to five, normally four-lobed calyx and sometimes with petals.
Ovule solitary, erect, styles two, stigmatic along the inner surface.
Fruit a bony nut, incompletely two to four-celled. Seed large, two to
four-lobed, cotyledons corrugated, oily, without endosperm.
_Genus._ Hicoria Raf. Med. Rep. (II) 5:352. 1808. Trees, with close or
scaly bark, odd-pinnate leaves and serrate leaflets. Staminate flowers
in slender drooping catkins, borne in groups of three, occasionally on
the new shoots, but usually from buds just back of the terminal buds on
last year's shoots, calyx naked, adherent to the bract, unequally
two-third lobed or cleft; stamens with short filaments, three to ten in
number. Pistillate flowers, two to eight, produced on a terminal
peduncle, calyx four-parted, petals none, styles two to four, short,
papillose. Fruit oblong, or obovoid, the husk separating into four
parts; nut smooth or angled, bony, incompletely two to four-celled. Seed
oily, sweet, edible or bitter and astringent. Natives of eastern North
America and Mexico.
_Species._ H. Pecan (Marsh.) Britton. Bull. Torr. Club, 15:282. 1888.
Pecan, Illinois nut, a large tree, 75 to 170 feet in height and a
diameter reaching 6 feet, with rough-broken bark. Young twigs and leaves
pubescent, later nearly or quite glabrous; leaflets seven to fifteen,
falcate, oblong--lanceolate, sharp-pointed, serrate, green and bright
above, lighter below; staminate catkins five to six inches long, sessile
or nearly so, sometimes borne near the base on the young shoots but
usually from the uppermost lateral buds on last year's shoots;
pistillate flowers terminal on shoots of the current season's growth,
produced singly or in clusters of two to nine; fruit oblong cylindrical;
husk four-valved; nut 3/4 to 2-1/2 inches in greatest diameter,
roundish, or cylindrical and pointed, two-celled at the base, partition
thin, bitter, seed deliciously sweet. Found native on the moist bottom
lands along streams from Indiana south to Kentucky and from Iowa south
to Texas, principally along the Mississippi and its tributaries, the
Colorado river in Texas, and along some of its tributaries into Mexico.
[Illustration: PLATE III. Pecan Flowers. Pistillate enlarged below.]
POLLINATION.
Since two kinds of flowers are produced on the pecan, one bearing the
pistils, the other stamens, the pollen must be transferred from the
latter to the former in order that pollination may take place. In many
plants the pollen is transferred from one plant or flower to another by
means of insects; but in the pecan there are no bright colors, no
nectar, no scent to attract insects to carry pollen, but, instead, the
wind is the carrying agent and it needs no attractions. Pollen is
produced in large quantities, necessarily so, since much of it is
wasted.
Unfavorable weather conditions at time of blooming may, however,
interfere seriously with pollination. Heavy winds or wind-storms, and
rains of several days duration, may prevent the necessary and desired
distribution of the pollen, as a result of which no fruit is formed.
Sometimes the staminate blooms are destroyed by frost while the
pistillate ones escape. It makes little difference which is destroyed,
however, as in either case the result is the same--no fruit sets.
The staminate flowers push out from the lateral buds at the same time
the new shoot develops from the terminal one. The pistillate blossom
does not appear until the terminal shoot has grown six or eight inches,
and in the meantime it is protected by the unfolded leaves. The
staminate bloom, on the contrary, is exposed from the first, having no
leaves to protect it. In consequence it is much more likely to be cut
off by frost. Dr. Trelease refers to several observations on proterandry
(maturing of the pollen before the stigmas of the pistils) in the pecan.
This, together with the unprotected condition of the staminate blooms,
we believe, accounts in a large measure for the non-setting of fruit on
the northern boundaries of the pecan area.
The artificial or hand pollination of the pecan is an easy matter and
offers an inviting field for those interested in plant breeding.
Emasculation, or the removal of the stamens from the flowers necessary
in breeding so many plants, is not necessary in the pecan. All that is
needed is to cover the pistillate blossoms with a sack until they are
matured. At this time the inner or stigmatic surfaces of the pistils
will be exposed and ready for the pollen. The pollen, collected from
adjoining trees in bloom or brought from a distance, can then be placed
upon the stigmas and the sack replaced. When the fruit is set, the paper
sack should be replaced by one of mosquito netting. Some careful work
has already been done along this line, and it is hoped that many more
will take up the work. Much yet remains to be desired, and varieties may
be better adapted to different sections. The ideal, large, full-meated,
thin-shelled, prolific and precocious variety of pecan has not yet been
brought forward. It may be accidentally discovered; it may be produced
and can be produced by systematic, painstaking work in breeding. It is
hoped that the number of workers in this inviting field may be
increased. Some may be deterred by the fact that it will take the
seedlings so long to come into bearing. But scions may be taken from the
seedlings raised from cross-bred nuts, top-worked on large trees, and
fruit could be obtained in many cases in a period not exceeding five or
six years from the seed. Those which would not produce fruit in six
years in this way might perhaps as well be discarded.
PART II.
Varieties.
CHAPTER IV.
VARIETIES OF PECANS.
While the list of varieties of pecans is comparatively small, yet a
surprisingly large number of names has been used. The attempt has been
made to collect all the names which have appeared in different
publications. These have presumably all been applied to some pecan at
some time or other, but many of them have never been propagated by
budding or grafting and a very large proportion of them have been lost
track of entirely. In short, they are now represented by names only.
However, they are all given, for the reason that it would be well not to
apply any of these names to other varieties. It might be well to
emphasize the fact that many meritorious varieties would be the better
for re-naming.
In the original descriptions, it will be noted that the thickness of the
shell is given in millimeters. A piece of the shell about the center of
the side covering the back of the half kernels, was accurately measured.
These measurements must not be regarded as absolute, but they are
comparative. All nut illustrations are natural size.
For the origin and synonomy of many varieties credit must be given to
the excellent work of Mr. William A. Taylor, of the United States
Department of Agriculture, who has probably done more than any one else
to straighten out the tangled nomenclature of the pecan.
CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES.
Heretofore, no attempt has been made to group or classify the different
varieties of pecans. Classification does not become necessary until the
number of varieties has increased sufficiently. The following
classification of the varieties with which the author is acquainted, is
based entirely upon the shape of the nuts. No classification of those
varieties of which descriptions are copied has been attempted, as the
descriptions are frequently so meagre as to render it impossible:
1. _Varieties:_ Hound or roundish oblong. Types--Post, Hollis,
Money-maker.
Bacon, Bolton, Extra Early, Georgia, Hollis, Money-maker, Post,
Randall, San Saba, Thomas.
2. _Varieties:_ Oblong, rounded at the base, blunt and
quadrangular at the apex. Types--Pabst, Success.
Frotscher, Pabst, Pegram, Perfection, Success, Sweetmeat.
3. _Varieties:_ Oblong in general outline, rounded, blunt and
abruptly tipped at the base, and abruptly short-pointed at the
apex. Types--Russell, Stuart.
Alley, Carman, Capital, Franklin, Havens, Jacocks, James No. 1,
Kincaid, Lewis, Moore, Morris, Russell, Stuart.
4. _Varieties:_ Oblong cylindrical to almost conical, rounded
at the base, sloping from the middle or above to the
sharp-pointed apex. Types--Jewett, Curtis, Schley.
Clarke, Curtis, Daisy, Dalzell, Dewey, Hume, James' Giant,
Jewett, Kennedy, Mammoth, Rome, Schley, Young.
5. _Varieties:_ Usually long in proportion to thickness, more
or less pointed at both base and apex. Types--Atlanta, Ideal,
Schaifer.
Atlanta, Centennial, Delmas, Domestic, Ideal, James'
Paper-shell, Ladyfinger, Longfellow, Louisiana, Monarch, Money,
Schaifer, Van Deman.
6. _Hybrid Varieties:_ Nussbaumer, McCallister, Schneck,
Pooshee, Westbrook.
ALBA. Size below medium, cylindrical, with pointed apex;
cracking quality good; shell of medium thickness; corky shell
lining thick, adhering to the kernel; kernel plump, light
colored; quality good. (Report Sec. Agr., 1893: 295, 1894).
ALLEY. Size medium, 1-5/8 x 7/8; form ovate; color
grayish-brown with a few purplish-black markings about the
apex; base rounded, tipped; apex abruptly short-pointed,
slightly four-angled; shell brittle, thin, .8 mm.; partitions
thin; cracking quality excellent; kernel full, plump, bright
straw-colored, sutures narrow, moderately deep, secondary
sutures slightly marked; texture firm, compact fine grained;
flavor sweet, delicate, pleasant; quality very good and a good
keeper.
Described from specimens received from Mr. Theo. Bechtel, Ocean
Springs, Miss.
ATLANTA. Size medium, 1-7/8 x 7/8 x 11/16 inches; ovate,
compressed; color dull gray liberally specked with small, dark
dots, splashed with purplish markings from middle to apex; base
sloping, blunt-pointed; apex sloping, short-pointed; shell
brittle, moderately thin; partitions rather thick, corky;
cracking quality quite good; kernel full, plump, sutures narrow
of medium depth, secondary sutures lacking; color light
yellowish-brown, bright; texture solid, compact; flavor sweet,
good; quality very good.
Originated by G. M. Bacon, DeWitt, Ga., and first catalogued
about 1900.
BACON. (Syn.: _Bacon's Choice_.) Size small, 1-1/4 x 7/8
inches; rounded, compressed toward the apex; color dull
brownish-gray, thickly dotted with dark specks, liberally
splashed with purplish-brown markings toward the apex; base
rounded; apex abruptly blunt-pointed; shell thin, .85 mm.;
cracking quality excellent; partitions thin, papery; kernel
roundish, bright, light brownish-yellow, plump, full, smooth,
sutures broad, of medium depth; flavor sweet, nutty, good;
quality very good.
A small pecan of good quality, originated by G. M. Bacon,
DeWitt, Ga., and introduced by him in 1900.
[Illustration: FIG. 2. Money-maker, Post, San Saba, Half Kernel of
Bacon]
BARTOW. Medium size, thin shell and fine flavor. (Bacon's Cat.,
page 29, 1904.)
BEAUTY. Illustrated in "The Pecan and How to Grow It." (Stuart
Pecan Co., 1893, p. 59, fig. 5.)
BELLE. Medium, ovate, quality very good. (J. V. Munson, Farm
and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
BIEDIGER. Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States," U. S.
Dept. Agr., Div. Pomology, 64, 1896.
BILOXI. (W. R. Stuart, Ocean Springs, Miss.) Medium size,
cylindrical, pointed at each end; surface quite regular, light
brown; shell thin; cracking quality medium; kernel plump, with
yellowish-brown surface; free from astringency, of good
quality, and keeps well without becoming rancid. Introduced
several years ago by W. R. Stuart as Mexican Paper-shell, but
the name has since been changed to Biloxi. (Report Sec. Agr.,
1893. 295, 1894).
BLACK JACK. Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States," U. S.
Dept. Agr., Div. Pomology, 64, 1896.
BOLTON. Size medium, 1-3/8 x 1 inches; ovate conical; color
dull gray marked with purplish-brown blotches about the apex;
base rounded; apex angled, blunt, sloping gradually from the
center; shell thick, 1.9 mm.; partitions thick; cracking
quality medium; kernel brownish-yellow, somewhat wrinkled;
sutures broad, deep, inner surface wrinkled, broadly oval in
outline, texture rather open; flavor sweet, nutty; quality
good.
Originated in Jefferson county, Florida. Described from
specimens received from J. H. Girardeau, Monticello, Fla.
BRACKETT. Named for our U. S. Pomologist. It is a very fine
market pecan, unexcelled in richness of flavor, and has a thin
shell. Trees are fine growers, heavy bearers, and with proper
care and attention come into bearing at six years old. (Bacon's
Cat., 1900).
BRADLEY. Large, oblong, ovoid, shell thin, kernel plump, best.
(J. V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
BRIDEX. Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States," U. S.
Dept. Agr., Div. Pomology, 64, 1896.
BULLETS. A decided novelty in pecans. As its name indicates, it
is of bullet shape, being almost perfectly round. It has a fine
flavor, shell is very thin. (Bacon's Cat., 1900).
CAPITAL. Size medium to large, 1-7/8 x 7/8 x 3/4 inches; ovate
oblong, compressed with well-marked sutures; color light-brown
streaked and splashed with purplish-brown markings from center
to apex; base rounded, blunt-tipped; apex abruptly
short-pointed, nippled; shell brittle, of medium thickness, 1.3
mm.; partitions of medium thickness; cracking quality very
good; kernel plump, filling the shell, brownish-yellow in
color, primary sutures broad and fairly deep, secondary ones
well defined, running almost the length of the kernel; texture
rather open; flavor good; quality good.
Described from specimens received from Mr. Theo. Bechtel, Ocean
Springs, Miss.
CARMAN. Size medium, 1-7/8 x 3/4 inches; oblong, compressed;
color light yellowish-brown marked with splashes and blotches
of brownish-black about the apex; base rounded, blunt-tipped;
apex abruptly-pointed, shouldered and four-angled; shell
brittle of medium thickness, 1.2 mm.; partitions thin; cracking
quality very good; kernel long, slender, plump, straw-colored,
sutures straight, narrow, shallow; texture firm, compact;
flavor sweet, pleasant; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette,
Baton Rouge, La. Originated and introduced by Mr. S. H. James,
Mound, La.
CENTENNIAL. Size large, 2 x 7/8 x 3/4 inches; oblong,
compressed, constricted in the middle, with well marked
sutures; color grayish-brown, bright, marked with a few
purplish markings in the grooves at the apex; base tapering to
a blunt point; apex tapering, pointed, wedge-shaped, sometimes
curved; shell medium thick, 1.5 mm.; partitions thin; cracking
quality medium; kernel plump, full, brownish-yellow, bright,
sutures rather small, straight, secondary ones marked by a
line, surface rather wrinkled; flavor sweet, delicate; quality
very good.
Described from specimens received from Mr. J. F. Jones,
Monticello, Fla. "The original tree stood on the Anita
plantation of Mr. Amant Bourgeois, on the east bank of the
Mississippi river in St. James Parish, La."[C] It was destroyed
March 14, 1890, by the Anita Crevasse. Sixteen trees were
grafted in 1846 and 1847 by the slave gardener, Antoine, of Mr.
Telesphore J. Roman, owner of Oak Alley plantation. Two of
these earlier trees are still standing. Nuts were exhibited at
the Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, in 1876, by Hubert
Bonzano. Under the name Centennial, it was probably first
catalogued by the late Richard Frotscher, of New Orleans, in
1885.
CHIQUITA. Small, ovate, shell medium, best, long keeper. (T. V.
Munson, Farm and Ranch, December 3, 1904, p. 2.)
CLARK. Size medium to large, 1-3/4 x 7/8 inches; ovate oblong;
color dull gray, with a few purplish spots about the apex; base
rounded; apex blunt; shell brittle of medium thickness, 1.3
mm.; cracking quality medium; partitions thick, corky; kernel
full and plump with narrow sutures of medium depth, light
yellow in color and marked here and there with black dots;
texture rather open; flavor good; quality good.
Obtained of J. H. Girardeau, Monticello, Fla.
COLORADO. Mentioned by Andrew Fuller in "The Nut-Culturist,"
1896, p. 169.
CURTIS. (Syn.: _Curtis No. 2_). Medium, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches;
ovate, conical, compressed; color brownish-gray, marked
throughout with dark specks and a few purplish specks about the
apex; base rounded; apex sloping, pointed; shell thin, .7 mm.;
cracking quality excellent; partitions thin, smooth; kernel
bright straw-colored, plump, full, with narrow sutures of
medium depth; texture compact, firm; flavor sweet, rich, nutty;
quality excellent.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. Curtis Pecan.]
The original tree of this variety is to be found in the grove
of Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange Heights, Fla. It was raised from
seed secured from Arthur Brown, Bagdad, Fla., and planted in
1886. It is a meritorious variety, being prolific, of good
appearance and excellent quality.
DAISY. Medium to large, 1-7/8 x 13/16 x 3/4 inches; oblong
cylindrical; color reddish-brown marked with a few
purplish-brown spots about the apex; base rounded; apex
abruptly tapering, rather short; shell brittle, thin .93 mm.;
cracking quality fairly good; partitions thick; kernel light
brownish-yellow, full, plump, with broad and very shallow
sutures; texture firm and compact; flavor sweet, good; quality
good.
Obtained of S. W. Peek, Hartwell, Ga.
DALZELL. Large, 2 x 7/8 x 3/4 inches; cylindrical flattened;
dull grayish-brown, pebbled, marked with narrow splashes of
purplish-brown from center to apex; base rounded; apex abruptly
sharp-pointed, four-angled and shouldered; shell rather thick,
brittle, 1.4 mm.; cracking quality medium; partitions thin;
kernel long, narrow with deep sutures, yellowish-brown in
color, texture firm and compact; flavor sweet, good; quality
good.
Obtained of S. H. Graves, Gainesville, Fla. The original
tree[D] stands in a 14-acre grove, four miles south of
Gainesville. The grove was planted in 1888, by Mr. J. R.
Zetrour, now of Rochelle, Fla.
DELMAS. Size large, 1-7/8 x 1 inches; ovate, marked with four
distinct ridges; color dull dark gray marked with dark specks
and blotches with purplish-black from center to apex; base
sloping, rounded, blunt; apex abruptly short-pointed,
four-angled; shell thick, brittle, 1.4 mm.; partitions thick,
corky; cracking quality good; kernel bright light yellow,
sutures broad, open, shallow, secondary ones almost lacking,
sometimes slack at bottom end; texture rather open; flavor
sweet; quality good.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. Mammoth. Dalzell. Kennedy.]
Described from specimens received from Mr. Theo. Bechtel, Ocean
Springs, Miss. A large nut of fairly good quality, said in some
cases to have been substituted for Schley, from which it is
very distinct.
DEWEY. Medium to large, 1-7/8 x 3/4 inches; ovate pointed;
color dull gray, marked with splashes of purplish-brown; base
rounded; apex sharp; shell brittle and thin, .88 mm.; cracking
quality very good; partitions thin; kernel full, plump, smooth,
bright light straw-colored, with narrow sutures of medium
depth; texture firm and solid; flavor sweet, rich, good;
quality very good.
Specimens for description obtained of H. K. Miller, Monticello,
Fla. Originated in Jefferson county, Fla.
DEWITT. An oddity, having the shape of a spinning top. Shell is
thin, and its rich meat is easily extracted on account of its
peculiar shape. (Bacon's Cat. 1900.)
DOMESTIC. Large, 2 x 3/4 inches; oblong ovate, compressed
toward the base; color light reddish-brown, with splotches of
purplish-brown throughout; base sloping, pointed; apex
four-angled, abruptly blunt-pointed; shell brittle, thin, .95
mm.; cracking quality good; partitions thick, red, corky;
kernel brownish-yellow, plump, full, wrinkled on the sides with
straight, narrow, deep sutures and secondary ones fairly well
developed; texture compact and fine grained; flavor sweet,
good; quality very good.
Specimens for description obtained from Frank H. Lewis,
Scranton, Miss.
EARLY TEXAN. (Louis Biediger, Idlewild, Tex.) Size above
medium, short, cylindrical, with rounded base and blunt conical
crown; shell quite thick, shell lining thick, astringent;
cracking quality medium; kernel not very plump, of mild nutty
flavor; quality good. (Report Sec'y Agr., 1893: 295, 1894.)
EGG. (Syn.: _Eggshell_.) Medium; ovate; shell thin; partitions
thin; kernel plump; quality good. D. L. Pierson, Monticello,
Fla. Grown from seed procured from Louisiana in 1889. (Hume,
Bul. 54, Florida Exp. Station, 203, 1900.)
EXCELSIOR. A variety reported by Ladd Bros., Stonewall, Miss.
(Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States," U. S. Dept.
Agr., Div. Pomology, 64, 1896.)
EXTRA EARLY. Size medium to large, 1-3/8 x 1 inch; oblong ovoid
abruptly-pointed; color grayish-yellow with small purplish
blotches more or less over the whole surface; base rounded;
apex abruptly-pointed, blunt; shell of medium thickness, 1.15
mm.; partitions of medium thickness; cracking quality good;
kernel filling the shell, plump, smooth, sutures broad, open,
deep, not clasping the shell, color brownish-yellow, texture
open; flavor very good, quality fair.
Described from specimens received from E. E. Risien, San Saba,
Texas; not catalogued, so far as we are aware.
FAUST. (O. D. Faust, Bamberg, S. C.) A pecan of large size;
very long in shape; quite thin shell; kernel separating readily
from shell; quality best. (Report Sec'y Agr., 1891, p. 395:
1892.)
FAVORITA. A variety named and grown at one time by Arthur
Brown, Bagdad, Fla. (Listed in "Nut Culture in the United
States," U. S. Dept, Agr., Div. Pomology, 64, 1896.)
[Illustration: FIG. 5. Frotscher Pecan.]
FRANKLIN. Size medium large, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches; ovate; color
dull grayish-brown splashed about the apex with purplish-black;
base rounded, blunt-tipped; apex blunt-pointed, four-angled;
shell brittle, of medium thickness, 1.32 mm.; partitions thick;
cracking quality good; kernel full, plump, bright
brownish-yellow, primary sutures of medium width, deep,
secondary ones almost lacking; texture rather coarse, fairly
firm and compact; flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from S. W. Peek, Hartwell,
Ga.
FROTSCHER. (Syn.: _Frotscher's Eggshell_, _Eggshell_,
_Olivier_, _Majestic_.) Large, 1-5/8 x 1-7/8 inches;
cylindrical, ovate; color bright yellowish-brown, with a few
black splashes about the apex; base broad, rounded; .9 mm.;
partitions thin; cracking quality excellent; kernel
brownish-yellow, dark veined, frequently slack at one end;
sutures of medium depth, rather narrow, secondary sutures well
marked; texture dry, rather coarse; flavor good; quality fair
to medium.
The above description was made from specimens received from the
J. Steckler Seed Co., New Orleans, La. The original tree stands
in the garden of H. J. Pharr, Olivier, La.; the place was
formerly owned by Oscar Olivier. The variety was first
propagated by William Nelson, and catalogued as Frotscher's
Eggshell, by Richard Frotscher, in 1885. The variety is
precocious, productive, and succeeds over a wide range of
country.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Georgia Pecan.]
GEORGIA. (Syn.: _Georgia Giant_.) Size large, 1-1/2 x 1/8 x 1
inches; rounded ovate; color brownish-gray marked with splashes
and dots of dark brown covering a good part of the surface;
base rounded; apex tapering, blunt; shell brittle, medium in
thickness, 1.3 mm.; cracking quality medium; partitions thick,
corky, red; kernel bright reddish-brown, plump, full, rather
deeply sutured, two secondary sutures fairly well developed;
texture compact, fine grained; flavor sweet, good; quality very
good.
Originated and introduced by G. M. Bacon, DeWitt, Ga. Said to
be a precocious and prolific bearer.
GEORGIA MELON. Size above medium, short, rather blunt at apex;
cracking quality medium, shell thick; kernel plump, brown;
meat yellow, moderately tender, pleasant, good. (Report Sec.
Agr., 1893, 295: 1894.)
GIANT. Named, and at cue time propagated, by Louis Biediger,
Idlewild, Tex. (Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States,"
64, 1896.)
GONZALES. (T. V. Munson, Denison, Tex.) Above medium size, with
firm, clean shell; quality excellent. Originated in Gonzales
county, Tex. (Report Sec. Agr. 1893, 295: 1894.)
GRAFF. Named, and at one time propagated, by Louis Biediger,
Idlewild, Tex. (Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States,"
64, 1896.)
HALBERT. Very large, oval, shell thick, fair quality. (T. V.
Munson, Farm and Ranch, p. 2, Dec. 3rd, 1904.)
HAMILTON. (Syn.: _R. Hamilton_.) Illustrated in Farm and Ranch,
Vol. 23, No. 49, p. 1, Dec. 3rd, 1904.
HARCOURT. (Syn.: _Helen Harcourt_?) Size medium, short,
slightly acorn-shaped; cracking qualities medium; Shell rather
thick, but very smooth inside; kernel short, very plump; meat
yellow; very tender; rich; very good. (Report Sec. Agr., 1893,
295: 1894.)
HAVENS. Large. 1-7/8 x 1 x 7/8 inches; ovate, compressed; color
dull gray specked and splashed with purplish-brown; base
rounded, blunt-tipped; apex abruptly short-pointed,
four-angled; shell brittle, thin, .85 mm.; partitions of medium
thickness; cracking quality excellent; kernel very plump, full,
brownish-yellow marked with dark specks, primary sutures
narrow, deep, secondary ones very slightly marked, bottom ends
of halves of kernel divided; texture solid, compact, fine
grained; flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Frank H. Lewis,
Scranton, Miss.
HOLLIS. (Syn.: _Post's Select in part._) Size medium, 1-3/8 x 1
inches; form roundish ovate, marked with four more or less
prominent longitudinal ridges; color dull brownish-yellow,
slightly splashed with purplish-brown about the apex; base
rounded; apex roundish, blunt; shell thick, 1.6 mm.;
partitions thick; cracking quality medium; kernel plump,
filling the shell, quite smooth, broadly and deeply grooved,
oval in outline, light brownish-yellow in color; texture fine
grained; flavor delicate, good; quality good.
Described from specimens received from Herbert Post, Fort
Worth, Tex. The seed nuts of this variety have been sold under
the name, "Post's Select." It originated at Bend, San Saba
county, Texas.
HUME. (Syn.: _Curtis No. 5._) Size medium, 1-1/2 x 7/8 inches;
short, oblong cylindrical, marked with two longitudinal ridges;
color grayish-brown marked with a number of short, narrow
purplish-brown splashes; base rounded, very blunt-tipped; apex
abruptly-pointed, flattened on two sides; shell thin, .8 mm.;
partitions medium, corky; cracking quality very good; kernel
full, plump, light yellowish-brown, marked and dotted with dark
spots, sutures straight, narrow, of medium depth; texture firm,
compact; flavor sweet, pleasant, quality very good.
The original tree of this variety stands in the grove of Dr. J.
B. Curtis, Orange Heights, Fla. It was grown from seed secured
from Arthur Brown, Bagdad, Fla., in 1886. It is a shy bearer.
IDEAL. Medium, 1-7/8 x 3/4 x 5/8 inches; oblong, somewhat
compressed, slightly constricted in the middle; color bright
grayish-brown marked with narrow strips of purplish-brown at
the apex; base sloping, pointed; apex sloping, pointed; shell
thin, brittle, .9 mm.; partitions medium thick; cracking
quality good; kernel full, plump, smooth, bright straw-colored,
sutures very narrow, shallow; texture compact, firm; flavor
sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from S. W. Peek, Hartwell,
Ga.
IDLEWILD. Medium size, thick shell, kernel good. Louis
Biediger, Idlewild, Tex. (Thomas' American Fruit Culturist,
21st ed. 452, 1903.)
JACOCKS. (Syn.: _Jacocks' Mammoth._) Size large or very large,
1-7/8 x 1 inches; ovate, long; color bright yellowish-brown;
base rounded, abruptly blunt-pointed; apex blunt, four-angled,
slightly wedged; shell brittle, of medium thickness, 1.3 mm.;
partitions very thick, corky, red; cracking quality medium;
kernel light yellowish-brown, full or sometimes shrunken,
sutures broad, of medium depth, secondary sutures well
developed and fairly deep; texture open, rather coarse; flavor
sweet, rather dry; quality fairly good.
Introduced by Mrs. C. W. Jacocks, Formosa, Fla., from whom
specimens were received.
JAMES GIANT. Medium to large, 2 x 7/8 inches; ovate
cylindrical; color brownish-gray, marked with a few purplish
splashes about the apex; base rounded; apex abruptly
sharp-pointed with four rather prominent ridges; shell thin, 1.
mm.; cracking quality good; partitions medium thickness; kernel
bright light yellow, with narrow deep sutures and well defined
secondary sutures; texture firm, compact; flavor sweet, good;
quality very good.
Obtained of Prof. F. H. Burnette, Baton Rouge, La.
JAMES NO. 1. Size large, 2 x 13/16 x 3/4 inches; oblong, ovate,
compressed; brownish-yellow in color with a few brownish
streaks about the apex; base rounded, blunt-tipped; apex
abruptly blunt-pointed, four-angled, nippled; shell thin, .8
mm.; partitions thin; cracking quality very good; kernel
straw-colored, usually full and plump, though sometimes
shrunken at one end, primary sutures broad, shallow, secondary
ones well defined; texture solid, fine grained; flavor very
good, sweet; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette,
Baton Rouge, La. Originated and introduced by S. H. James,
Mound, La.
JAMES PAPER-SHELL. Medium to large, 1-7/8 x 3/4 inches;
cylindrical or slightly quadrangular, slender; color
yellowish-brown marked with purplish splashes from center to
apex; base rounded; apex abruptly-pointed, four-angled; shell
thin, .96 mm.; partitions thin; cracking quality very good;
kernel sometimes slack at one end, usually plump, smooth,
bright brownish-yellow; sutures narrow, shallow; texture firm,
compact; flavor very good, sweet; quality very good.
Originated by S. H. James, Mound, La., and described from
specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette, Baton Rouge, La.
JEWETT. Large, 1-7/8 x 7/8 inches; obovate, flattened, angular,
frequently constricted at the middle; color dull reddish-brown,
marked with large purplish splashes; base rounded; apex blunt
four-angled, frequently curved; shell brittle, thick; cracking
quality very good; partitions of medium thickness; kernel
bright straw-colored, plump, smooth, somewhat triangular, with
broad, open, shallow sutures; texture firm, compact; flavor
fair; quality medium.
Obtained of Chas. E. Pabst, Ocean Springs, Miss.
JUMBO. Size large, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches; ovate, slightly
tapering; color grayish-brown marked with a few narrow streaks
about the apex; base rounded; apex four-angled, wedged,
blunt-pointed; shell brittle, of medium thickness, 1.3 mm.;
partitions thick, corky; cracking quality medium; kernel full,
plump, straw-yellow in color, primary sutures broad, deep,
secondary sutures almost lacking; texture fairly solid, fine
grained; flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Summit Nurseries,
Monticello, Fla.
KENNEDY. Large, 1-3/4 x 7/8 inches; ovate-conical, flattened;
color dull brownish-gray, marked with a few narrow streaks of
purplish-black about the apex; base rounded; apex
sharp-pointed, flattened on two sides; shell of medium
thickness, .98 mm.; cracking quality very good; partitions
thin; kernel bright, plump, full, smooth with narrow sutures of
medium depth and secondary ones marked by a line; texture firm
and compact, flavor rich, sweet; quality excellent.
Described from specimens received from Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange
Heights, Fla. Origin similar to Curtis.
KENTUCKY GEM. Listed. (Burnette, F. H., Bul. La. Exp. Station,
sec. ser. No. 69, 1902, p. 875.)
KIDD. Illustrated in Farm and Ranch, Vol. 23, No. 49, Dec. 3,
1904, p. 1.
KINCAID. Size medium to large, 1-5/8 x 1 inches; ovate
compressed with well defined sutures; color light
brownish-yellow, bright, marked with narrow splashes of
purplish-black at the apex; base almost flattened,
blunt-tipped; apex blunt-pointed, slightly wedged, four-angled;
shell brittle, compact, thin, .98 mm.; partitions thick, corky;
cracking quality very good; kernel very full and plump, smooth,
bright, light straw-colored, primary sutures broad and deep,
secondary sutures creased and very shallow; texture fine
grained, solid, compact; flavor sweet, rich, good; quality
excellent; a good keeper.
Described from specimens received from E. E. Rislen, San Saba,
Texas. This apparently is a very good variety of pecan.
[Illustration: FIG. 7. Shaifer. Ideal. Ladyfinger. Kernel of Atlanta.]
KRACK-EZY. Medium, ovoid, very thin shell, full of meat, best
(T. V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
LADYFINGER. Size small, 1-1/2 x 5/8 inches; ovate pointed at
both ends; color grayish-brown marked with a very few small
narrow streaks about the apex; base pointed; apex pointed;
shell thin, 1. mm.; partitions of medium thickness; cracking
quality excellent; kernel small and narrow, plump full, smooth,
sutures narrow and shallow; flavor sweet, good; quality very
good.
Described from specimens received from the Summit Nurseries,
Monticello, Fla. Originated on the grounds of this nursery
company in Jackson county, Fla. A small nut of very fine
quality, but too small to be recommended for extensive
planting.
LAMAR. Large, oblong, pointed, medium shell, full, best. (T. V.
Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 8, 1904, p. 2).
LEWIS. Large, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches; ovate, compressed; color
bright yellowish-brown marked with purplish-brown blotches
three-quarters of the distance back from apex; base rounded,
blunt-tipped; apex blunt-pointed, slightly wedged; shell thin,
.98 mm.; cracking quality good; partitions thick; kernel plump
or sometimes shrunken at lower end, wrinkled on the sides,
bright, light yellow in color, primary sutures broad, of medium
depth, secondary ones very shallow, wrinkled; texture fine
grained, solid; flavor sweet, pleasant; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Frank H. Lewis,
Scranton, Miss.
LONGFELLOW. Large, 1-7/8 x 7/8 inches; obovate, angular,
sutured; color light yellowish-brown strongly marked with
purplish-black splashes throughout; base sloping, rounded; apex
shouldered, abruptly-pointed, flattened and quadrangular; shell
of medium thickness, 1.15 mm.; partitions very thin; cracking
quality good; kernel full, plump, somewhat wrinkled; light
straw-colored, sutures narrow of medium depth; texture fine
grained, compact; flavor sweet, rich, nutty; quality excellent.
Described from specimens received from E. E. Risien, San Saba,
Texas. A pecan of good quality and an excellent keeper.
LOUISIANA. Size medium, 1-7/8 x 7/8 x 3/4 inches; oblong
cylindrical; color grayish-brown, marked with splashes of
purplish-black towards the apex; base rounded, sloping; apex
sloping, pointed; shell rather thick, 1.4 mm.; partitions of
medium thickness; cracking quality very good; kernel full,
plump, dark yellow, sutures broad, shallow; texture firm,
compact; flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Summit Nurseries,
Monticello, Fla.
MAGNUM BONUM. Medium, ovate; shell thin; partitions thin;
kernel plump, sweet; quality very good. (Hume, Bul. 54, Fla.
Exp. Station, 1900, 207).
MAMMOTH. (Syn.: _Steckler's Mammoth._) Large to very large, 2 x
1 inches; form ovate; color dull gray, pebbled, with a very few
dark lines at the apex; base rounded; apex flattened,
four-angled, blunt; shell thick, 1.4 mm.; cracking quality very
poor; partitions corky, very thick; kernel bright
yellowish-brown with broad, deep sutures and fuzzy lining
adhering to kernel; texture coarse; flavor sweet and good;
quality quite good.
Obtained of J. Steckler Seed Company.
[Illustration: Fig. 7a. The Mantura Pecan.]
MANTURA. Size large, 2 x 13/16, 1-7/8 x 7/8 inches; oblong,
oval; color dull reddish-brown liberally marked with large,
irregular black splashes; base taper-pointed, blunt; apex
sharp-pointed, nippled; shell very thin, .78 mm.; brittle,
dense; cracking quality very good; partitions thin; kernel dark
straw-colored, plump, smooth, oval, with open sutures of medium
depth; texture firm, solid; flavor sweet, nutty; quality very
good indeed.
Described from specimens received from Wm. N. Roper,
Petersburg, Va., by whom it was named and introduced in 1906.
The original tree of this variety stands on the Mantura
homestead, in Surry county, Va., two miles south of the James
river, now owned by W. P. Wilson. Mr. Wilson's mother planted
four trees from nuts secured from a tree at Surry Courthouse,
Va., the Mantura being one of the four, The parent tree
measures about fourteen feet around the body, and bears crops
of good sized nuts. It stands about ten miles from the site of
the Mantura tree.
The Mantura tree is a large, symmetrical specimen with
wide-spreading branches. It is about eighty feet high and
measures about eleven feet around the trunk. It has been
bearing for the past fifteen years, and in 1905 yielded 275
pounds of nuts.
This variety will doubtless prove a valuable acquisition for
planters on the northern limits of the pecan area, as the
particular strain from which it comes has been growing in
Virginia for more than sixty years.
MEXICAN PAPER-SHELL. Reported by Ladd Bros., Stonewall, Miss.
Listed in "Nut Culture in the United States," 1906, p. 64. (See
Biloxi.)
MEYERS. The fruit of a variety of this name was distributed by
Judge Samuel Miller, Bluffton, Mo. (Andrew Fuller, in The Nut
Culturist, p. 170, 1896.)
MONARCH. (Syn.: _De Witt Mammoth._) Large, 2 x 7/8 inches;
ovate, sloping to base and apex; color dull gray strongly
marked with purplish-black splashes; base pointed; apex
pointed, wedged; shell medium thick, 1.1 mm.; partitions thick,
corky; cracking quality poor; kernel frequently badly filled at
base, sutures of medium width and depth, color yellowish-brown;
texture firm; flavor good, rather dry; quality good.
Originated by G. M. Bacon, DeWitt, Ga. (of the G. M. Bacon
Pecan Co.), and introduced about the year 1900. Owing to the
preemption of the name Mammoth, by another variety introduced
by the late Richard Frotscher, of New Orleans, La., the name
DeWitt Mammoth was changed to Monarch.[E]
MONEY. (Syn.: _Senator Money._) Size large, 1 x 7/8 x 7/8
inches; ovate, somewhat four-angled, color light brown marked
with blotches of purplish-brown sometimes throughout; base
abruptly blunt-pointed; apex wedged, pointed; shell brittle,
medium to thick, 1.3 mm.; partitions medium; kernel plump,
full, bright light yellow, sutures broad, shallow, secondary
ones indistinct; texture rather open, of medium grain; flavor
sweet, good; quality very good.
A large, plump-meated pecan of very good quality, described
from specimens received from Frank H. Lewis, Scranton, Miss.
MONEY-MAKER. Size medium, 1-5/16 x 1 inches; ovate, oblong;
color light yellowish-brown with a few purplish-brown marks
about the apex; base rounded; apex abruptly rounded, slightly
wedged; small nipples; shell of medium thickness, 1.1 mm.;
partitions medium thick, corky; cracking quality very good;
kernel full, plump, broadly oval, sutures straight, broad,
shallow, secondary ones small; texture firm, solid; flavor
sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette,
Baton Rouge, La. This pecan was originated and introduced by S.
H. James, Mound, La.; the quality is very good and the variety
is precocious, prolific and hardy.
MOORE. Size small, 1-3/8 x 3/4 inches; ovate; color light
yellowish-brown marked with a few small purplish spots about
the apex; base rounded; apex abruptly nippled, short; shell
brittle, thin, 1.1 mm.; partitions rather thin; cracking
quality very good; kernel dark yellow, plump, full, sutures
narrow, shallow; texture firm, compact, solid; flavor sweet and
good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from J. H. Girardeau,
Monticello, Fla. The variety is so small that we deem it
scarcely worthy of propagation.
MORRIS. Size medium, 1-5/8 x 3/4 inches; ovate; color light
brown, bright, clean, base sloping, rounded; apex tapering
abruptly to a blunt point; shell brittle, of medium thickness,
1.45 mm.; partitions thick; cracking quality very good; kernel
plump, filling the shell, straw-colored, primary sutures broad
and deep, secondary ones shallow; texture firm, compact;
flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Summit Nurseries,
Monticello, Fla.
NELSON. Nut the largest of all known; some specimens weighing
nearly one ounce; elliptical-oblong in shape; medium thin
shell, clean, bright in color; kernel plump, sweet and rich;
quality very best, a quick grower; early bearer, very prolific;
habit of growth like the Frotscher, forming a round-headed
tree. (Catalogue J. Steckler Seed Co., 1905, p. 172.)
NIGGER. Medium, short oval, thin shell, full, excellent. (T. V.
Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
[Illustration: FIG. 8. Pabst Pecan.]
PABST. Size large, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches; oblong cylindrical;
color dull gray marked with broad splashes of purplish-black;
base rounded; apex blunt, four-angled, grooved; shell of medium
thickness, 1.22 mm.; partitions rather thick; cracking quality
fair; kernel plump, large, thick with broad, shallow sutures,
secondary sutures short, shallow, bright yellow in color;
texture fine; flavor good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Wm. A. Taylor, United
States Department of Agriculture. The original tree, according
to Mr. Taylor, is one of a number of seedlings on the grounds
of the late William E. Schmidt at Ocean Springs, Miss. The
original tree is now about thirty years old. Quite productive
and recommended for planting by those who know it.
PAN-AMERICAN. Large, oblong, thick shell, full, best. (T. V.
Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
PEARL. (E. E. Risien, San Saba, Tex.) Medium size, thin shell,
sweet kernel; no corky growth inside. A choice nut for family
use, but said to be too small for market. (Thomas' Am. Fruit
Culturist, 21st Ed., 1903.)
PEARL. This is a very productive pecan, originated by Mr.
James. It is distinct from the Pearl which originated in Texas.
(Burnette, Bul. Sec. Series, 69, La. Exp. Station, 874, 1902.)
PEGRAM. Size medium, 1-1/2 x 7/8 inches; oblong; color light
grayish-brown marked with a few purplish-brown markings at the
apex; base rounded; apex blunt, quadrangular; shell creased,
roughened, brittle, of medium thickness, 1.15 mm.; partitions
medium thick, corky; cracking quality medium; kernel plump,
full, quite smooth, sutures narrow and of medium depth; texture
firm, compact, solid; flavor sweet and good; quality good.
Described from specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette,
Baton Rouge, La. Originated by S. H. James, Mound, La.
PERFECTION. (Syn.: _James' Perfection._) Size medium, 1-3/8 x
7/8 inches; oblong; color grayish-brown marked well down the
sides from the apex with purplish-black splashes; base
flattened, rounded; apex abrupt, blunt; shell slightly ridged,
of medium thickness, 1.3 mm.; partitions rather thick, corky;
cracking quality medium; kernel full, plump, brownish-yellow,
narrow and moderately deep, sutures narrow, of moderate depth,
secondary ones well defined; texture fairly solid; flavor
sweet, good; quality very good.
Originated by S. H. James, Mound, La.
PETITE. Small and plump; white hull; very desirable. (Helen
Harcourt, Florida.)
PRESIDENT. Large, oblong, pointed, thin shell, full, best. (T.
V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2).
PRIMATE. (W. R. Stuart, Ocean Springs, Miss.) Of medium size,
slender, rather long; shell thin; quality good; ripens in
September, thirty days before the other nuts. (Report Sec.
Agr., 1893, 295: 1894.)
POST. (Syn.: _Port's Select in part_.) Size medium, 1-3/4 x 1
inches; short, obovate, compressed on the upper half color
light brownish-yellow, marked with a few purplish splashes
about the apex; base rounded; apex blunt, abruptly shouldered;
shell of medium thickness, 1.35 mm.; partitions thick; cracking
quality medium; kernel plump, bright straw-colored, deeply
grooved and wrinkled, texture firm, solid; flavor sweet,
delicate; quality good.
Described from specimens from the original tree, received from
Wm. A. Taylor, U. S. Department of Agriculture. The original
seedling tree stands on H. B. Freeman's farm on the Colorado
river bottom, San Saba county, Texas. It took its name from Mr.
Post, a former owner of the place.[F]
RANDALL. (Syn.: _Curtis No. 3._) Small, 1-3/8 x 1 inches;
ovate-oblong; color grayish-brown splashed with broad marks of
purplish-brown, and covered with small dots throughout; base
rounded; apex abruptly blunt-pointed; shell rough, of medium
thickness; cracking quality very good; partitions corky, of
medium thickness, 1.25 mm.; kernel medium size, smooth,
roundish sutures, reddish-yellow in color; texture firm and
compact; flavor sweet and good; quality very good.
Specimens for description obtained of Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange
Heights, Fla. Origin similar to Curtis.
REPTON. Large, shell rather whitish one end round, the other
decidedly pointed; black points; meat sweet and tender; tree
remarkably beautiful. From one Repton tree, said to be forty
years old, over five hundred pounds of nuts were gathered the
season of 1904. (Helen Harcourt, "Florida Fruits and How to
Grow Them," 1886, p. 212.)
RIBERA. Size above medium; oblong-ovate; cracking quality good;
shell thin; kernel plump, light brown, free from the bitter,
red, corky growth which adheres to the shell; meat yellow;
tender, with rich, delicate, pleasant flavor, (Report Sec.
Agr., 1893, 295: 1894.)
RISIEN. Large ovate; quality excellent. E. K. Risien, San Saba,
Texas. (Thomas' American Fruit Culturist, 21st Ed., 453, 1903.)
ROBSON. A medium-sized, very thin-shelled nut, oblong ovoid in
shape. A comparatively new variety, but of considerable merit.
(Bacon's Cat., 1904, p. 28.)
ROME. (Syn.: _Century_, _Columbia_, _Columbian_, _Mammoth_,
_Pride of the Coast_, _Southern Giant_, _Twentieth Century_.)
Size large to very large, 1-7/8 x 1 to 2 x 1 inches; oblong
cylindrical or cylindrical ovate; color grayish, dirty, much
splashed and spotted with dirty, black marks sometimes
throughout; base rounded; apex abruptly-pointed, flattened on
two sides; shell hard, brittle, thick, 1.6 mm.; cracking
quality poor; partitions thick, corky; kernel frequently
shrunken, bright yellowish in color, sutures of medium depth,
secondary ones well marked, fuzzy material often adhering to
lower end; texture coarse, rather dry; flavor dry, lacking in
character; quality fair.
[Illustration: FIG. 9 Russell. Franklin. Kincaid.]
Described from specimens received from J. Steckler Seed Co.,
New Orleans, La. This much-named variety, according to Taylor,
was originated by the late Sebastian Rome, at Convent, St.
James Parish, La., about 1840. Catalogued by the late Richard
Frotscher, under the name "Rome," in 1885. It cannot be
recommended for planting.
RUSSELL. Size medium to large, 1-5/8 x 7/8 inches; form ovate,
slightly compressed; color grayish-brown with small specks and
splashes of purplish-black; base rounded, blunt-pointed; apex
abruptly sloping; shell very thin, brittle, .74 mm.; partitions
very thin: cracking quality excellent; kernel usually plump
though sometimes shrunken at the base, sutures broad and
shallow; texture fairly compact; flavor dry, sweet; quality
good.
Described from specimens received from Chas. E. Pabst, Ocean
Springs, Miss. The original tree stands in the yard of Mrs. H.
F. Russell, at Ocean Springs, and is one of a lot of seedlings
raised by the late Col. W. R. Stuart, about 1875. The tree was
planted where it now stands by Peter Madsen. It was named by
Mr. Pabst, and propagated by him in 1894.
RUSSELL NO. 1. Large, long-ovoid, shell thin, plump, good. (T.
V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904, p. 2.)
RUSSELL NO. 2. Very large, ovoid, shell rather thick, very
good. (T. V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3rd, 1904, p. 2.)
SAN SABA. Size small, 1-3/8 x 7/8 inches; ovate, slightly
compressed toward the apex; color bright reddish-yellow, marked
with purplish-brown splashes extending from about the middle of
the apex; shell very thin and brittle; partitions thin;
cracking quality excellent; kernel very plump, smooth, deeply
and broadly grooved, bright straw-colored, oval in outline;
texture solid, fine grained; flavor rich, sweet, delicate;
quality excellent.
The San Saba may be regarded as a standard of quality among
pecans, as the Seckel is among pears. Described from specimens
received from E. E. Risien, San Saba, Texas. The variety was
introduced by Mr. Risien about 1893. The original tree stands
on the San Saba river near its intersection with the Colorado
river in Texas.
SCHAIFER. (Syn.: _Kate Schaifer._) Size medium, 1-3/4 x 3/4
inches; cylindrical, slender; color light yellowish-brown,
marked with a few narrow, purplish splashes at the apex; base
sloping, pointed; apex sloping, sharp-pointed; shell rather
thick, 1.35 mm.; partitions thick, corky; cracking quality
quite good; kernel bright yellowish, plump, filling the shell,
smooth, sutures shallow of medium width; texture fine grained;
flavor sweet, good; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from Prof. F. H. Burnette,
Baton Rouge, La. Originated by S. H. James, Mound, La. Said to
be prolific.
[Illustration: FIG. 10. The Schley Pecan.]
SCHLEY. Size large, 1-7/8 x 7/8 x 3/8 inches; oblong, oval,
flattened; color light reddish-brown, marked with small specks
about the base and small splashes of purplish-brown about the
apex; base rounded, abruptly short nippled; apex abrupt,
flattened on two sides and rather sharp pointed; shell brittle,
dense, thin, .75 mm.; cracking quality excellent, shell
breaking easily and readily separating from the kernel; kernel
very full and plump, smooth, with shallow sutures and almost
entirely free from wrinkles, bright light yellowish-brown in
color; texture very firm; flavor rich, sweet, nutty; quality
best; season early.
Obtained from Summit Nurseries, Monticello, Fla. Not as
prolific as some varieties, but, in point of quality,
unsurpassed.
SENATOR. Medium; ovate; shell and partitions thin; kernel full
and plump; quality excellent. G. M. Bacon, DeWitt, Ga. (Hume,
Bul. 54, Fla. Exp. Station, 204, 1900.)
SOVEREIGN. Origin, San Saba, Texas. A seedling of San Saba,
grown and introduced by E. E. Risien, of San Saba, Tex.
Cylindrical, medium to large, with very thin shell and full
kernel of fine quality. A new variety of very much promise.
(Taylor, Wm. A., Cyclopedia Am. Hort., 1256, 1901.)
STEVENS. Named for Hon. O. B. Stevens. Commissioner of
Agriculture. Not very Large, but bright, pretty and neatly
shaped. Very thin shell and always full of nice, rich meat,
whether the seasons are wet or dry. Trees medium bloomers, and
full bearers of nuts uniform in shape and size. (Bacon's Cat.,
1900.)
[Illustration: FIG. 11. The Stuart Pecan.]
STUART. (Syn.: _Castanera._) Size large to very large, 1-7/8 x
1 inches; ovate cylindrical; color grayish-brown splashed and
dotted with purplish-black; base rounded, tipped; apex blunt,
abrupt, somewhat four-angled; shell medium in thickness, 1.1
mm.; partitions thin; cracking quality very good; kernel plump,
full, bright straw-colored, sutures moderately broad and deep,
secondary sutures not well defined; texture solid, fine
grained; flavor rich, sweet; quality very good.
Described from specimens received from the Stuart Pecan Co.,
Ocean Springs, Miss. This variety has been tested and found to
succeed over a wide range of country. The original tree,[G]
grown from a nut planted by John R. Lassabe, about 1874, stood
in the garden now owned by Capt. E. Castanera, Pascagoula,
Miss. It was blown down in October, 1893, but a new shoot, now
in bearing, has sprung up from the roots.
[Illustration: FIG. 12. Success Pecan.]
SUCCESS. Size large, 1-9/16 x 1 inches; oblong-ovate tapering
from near base to apex; color light yellowish-brown strongly
marked with purplish-brown splashes about the apex; base
flattened, roundish; apex blunt, four-angled; shell thin, .93
mm.; cracking quality very good; partitions thin; kernel large,
full, plump, filling the shell, light yellow in color, sutures
broad of medium depth, inner surface wrinkled, oval in outline;
texture firm, solid, compact; flavor sweet, rich; quality very
good.
The original tree was found "growing in a crowded row of
seedlings planted at Ocean Springs, Miss., by the late W. B.
Schmidt, about ten years previously. The original Success tree
first attracted attention in the fall of 1901." Described from
specimens received from Theo. Bechtel, Ocean Springs, Miss.
SWEETMEAT. Size medium, 1-1/4 x 7/8 inches; color bright
grayish-brown marked with small streaks of purplish-brown about
the apex; abruptly blunt; shell thin, .8 mm.; partitions of
medium thickness, corky; cracking quality good; kernel plump,
full, light yellow, sutures broad, shallow; texture fine
grained, compact; flavor sweet; quality good.
Described from specimens received from Summit Nurseries,
Monticello, Fla.
TEXAS. Quite large, some very long; white hull; black points.
(Helen Harcourt, "Florida Fruits and How to Grow Them," 1886,
p. 212.)
TEXAS PROLIFIC. Large, oblong, shell thin, cream, clean, plump,
best. (T. V. Munson, Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3rd, 1904, p. 2.)
THOMAS. Size small, 1-1/8 x 1 inches; short, roundish oblong;
color brownish-gray dotted with small specks throughout, marked
with dark purplish splashes from middle to apex; base rounded;
apex abruptly short, pointed, nippled; shell of medium
thickness, 1.2 mm.; partitions thick, corky, reddish; cracking
quality quite good; kernel plump, filling the shell, sutures of
medium depth, narrow, texture compact, fine grained, solid;
flavor good; quality good.
Described from specimens received from Walter Thomas, Palatka,
Fla.
TURKEY EGG, JR. Smaller and shorter than the above; cracking
quality medium; shell of medium thickness; kernel plump, light
colored; tender, oily, rich; good. (Report Sec. Agr., 1893,
296: 1894.)
TURKEY EGG, SR. Large, long, pointed; cracking quality very
good; shell of medium thickness; kernel long, plump;
brownish-yellow; separates readily from the shell; meat yellow,
a little tough; not of highest quality. (Report Sec. Agr.,
1893, 296: 1894.)
TURNER. Medium; elliptical oblong; shell thin; partitions
slightly corky; kernel plump, sweet; quality excellent. G. L.
Taber, Glen St. Mary, Fla. (Hume, Bul. 54, Fla. Exp. Station,
203, 1900.)
VAN DEMAN. (Syn.: _Bourgeois, Duminie Mire, Southern Beauty,
Paragon in part_.) Large to very large, 2-1/8 x 1 x 7/8 inches;
oblong cylindrical; color reddish-brown with splashes and
streaks of purplish-brown; base sloping, blunt-pointed; apex
tapering, sharp-pointed; shell of medium thickness; cracking
quality fine; partitions thick; kernel light brownish-yellow,
sutures rather deeply and narrowly grooved with secondary
sutures forming a mere line; kernel fine grained and compact,
sometimes slack at the end; flavor sweet and delicate; quality
very good.
[Illustration: FIG. 13. Van Deman Pecan.]
Specimens for description obtained of Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange
Heights, Fla. The original tree of this variety was grown from
a nut planted by the late Duminie Mire, of Union, St. James
Parish, La., in 1836. The tree still stands, thrifty and
vigorous, bearing 200 to 300 pounds of nuts yearly. It was
first widely distributed by the late Col. W. R. Stuart, Ocean
Springs, Miss., who gave it the name Van Deman. Previously, it
had been propagated and distributed locally by the late Emil
Bourgeois.[H]
VALSIES. Reported by Ladd Bros., Stonewall, Miss., and listed
in "Nut Culture in the United States," U. S. Dept. Agr., Div.
Pomology, 1896, 64.
WILLINGHAM. Illustrated in Farm and Ranch, Vol. 23, No. 49,
Dec. 3rd, 1904, p. 1.
YOUNG. Medium to large, 1-5/8 x 1 inches; ovate cylindrical,
rounded at the base; color grayish-brown, splashed with
purplish-brown markings from center to apex; base rounded; apex
sloping rather abruptly, nippled; shell brittle, thin, .76 mm.;
cracking quality very good; partitions thin; kernel full,
plump, slightly wrinkled with broad and shallow sutures;
texture fairly solid; flavor sweet, rich, nutty; quality very
good.
Obtained from Chas. E. Pabst, Ocean Springs, Miss. Originated
by and named for B. M. Young, Morgan City, Louisiana.
HYBRID PECANS.
The pecan appears to inter-pollinate freely with some of the other
species of hickory, particularly _H. minima_, _H. laciniosa_ and _H.
alba_. A number of what are believed to be well-marked hybrids of the
pecan with these different species have been found, the most noteworthy
of which, perhaps, are given below:
MCCALLISTER. (Syn.: _Floyd_.) Received from O. L. McCallister,
Mount Vernon, Ind. This is probably a hybrid. It is the largest
nut among all the hickories received at this office. The hull
is about one-fourth of an inch thick when dry, and opens
readily to the base with four valves. Nut 2-1/8 inches long,
1-5/16 inches wide, and 1-1/16 inches thick; base broad,
rounded; apex broad, blunt, angular. In compressed form, in
color of nut, also in the angularity and thickness of shell, it
is quite similar to shellbark hickory. The kernel of a
well-filled specimen is in color, consistency and flavor more
like a shellbark of high quality than a pecan. The tree is
reported to be "so similar to pecan in bark and leaf that it
would be impossible to detect the difference," yet the buds and
young wood more closely resemble shellbark. The tree was found
many years ago on a farm now owned by Mr. McCallister. The nuts
have little pomological value, as grown on the original tree
some years, the kernel being shriveled and not filling more
than one-third of the space within the shell; yet nuts from the
crop of 1893 have been received at the Division of Pomology
which were well filled with a kernel of very pleasant flavor.
Possibly it may become more uniform in maturing fruit in
Mississippi or Texas, where the season is longer than in
Indiana. It is well worth a trial by experimenters in those
States. Sargent gives a short description of this nut under the
name Floyd, and accredits the points of his description to A.
S. Fuller in New York Tribune, weekly edition, July 9th, 1892,
and says it is perhaps a hybrid. (Nut Culture in the United
States, 1896, p. 63-4.)
[Illustration: (_Photo by Dr. Wm. Trelease._)
FIG. 14.
The Nussbaumer Hybrid.]
NUSSBAUMER. In the American Agriculturist for 1884, p. 546,
fol., A. S. Fuller published an account of a supposed hybrid
between this species and the pecan, which has been called the
Nussbaumer hybrid, after J. J. Nussbaumer, of Okawville, Ill.,
who first brought it to the attention of Judge Samuel Miller,
of Bluffton, Mo. Mr. Nussbaumer writes me that the original
tree, which stands in the bottom between Mascoutah and
Fayetteville, Ill., in general appearance resembles laciniosa,
though the bark is intermediate between that of the Pecan and
Mockernut. Prof. Sargent states (Silva, vii, 158) that a small
tree grown from this in New Jersey, by Mr. Fuller, cannot be
distinguished from laciniosa of the same age; and I should
hardly be able to distinguish an imperfect twig from a small
tree, cultivated by Judge Miller, from laciniosa. The nut,
however, is very peculiar, being more elongated than is usual
in that species, and widened upwardly, less acutely angled "as
if the ridges had been sandpapered down," and so thin-shelled
that it can be crushed easily by pressing two together in the
palm of the hand. A somewhat similar nut, originally from
Indiana, was described by Mr. Fuller In the New York Weekly
Tribune, July 9, 1892 (Sargent's Silva, l.c.), as cultivated by
R. M. Floyd, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And in the autumn of 1895,
Dr. J. Schneck sent me ample fruit, twig and leaf specimens of
a similar hickory from Posey county, Indiana. The nut of this
last is almost identical with a specimen of the Nussbaumer nut
in the Englemann herbarium, while its twigs closely resemble
those of laciniosa, and the leaves are decidedly of the pecan
type. I am led to the conclusion, therefore, that these several
forms really represent hybrids between H. pecan and H.
laciniosa. In size, quality, and thinness of shell they appear
to be the most valuable of American nuts. (Trelease, Wm., 7th
Report Mo. Bot. Garden, 1896, pp. 40-41.)
POOSHEE. Size small, 1-1/4 x 7/8 x 3/4 inches; ovate, flattened
wedged, sutures prominent; color dull brown with a very few
dark lines at the apex; base rounded; apex flattened abruptly,
short pointed; shell medium in thickness, 1.5 mm.; partitions
thin, 4-celled at base; kernel rounded in outline, light yellow
in color, sutures broad, shallow, halves indented at base;
surface much wrinkled and corrugated; flavor sweetish.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. H. Minima and two of its hybrids, Westbrook and
Pooshee.]
Specimens of this nut were secured from Dr. J. F. Wilson,
Poulan, Ga., who received them from Prof. Burgess, Clemson
College, S. C. The nut presents exactly the same
characteristics as the Westbrook, except in flavor and color of
kernel. It, too, is doubtless a hybrid, _H. minima_ x _H.
pecan_. The original tree of this variety stands by or in the
old Ravenel cemetery, near Pinopolis, Berkely county, S. C.
[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. Wm. Trelease._
FIG. 16. The Schneck Hybrid.]
SCHNECK. In the autumn of 1894, Dr. J. Schneck, of Mt. Carmel,
Ill., and F. Reppert, of Muscatine, Iowa, sent to the
herbarium twigs and fruit of bottom-land trees that appear to
be hybrids of this species with the pecan. The bark of the Iowa
tree is described as being much like that of the Mockernut,
while the tree of Dr. Schneck is smooth-barked, resembling the
pecan. So far as I have seen them, the twigs of both might pass
for those of alba, except that the outer scales of the
terminal buds are persistent, while the foliage, though
intermediate, is strongly suggestive of that of the pecan. The
fruit is oblong, almost 2 inches long, the husk 6 mm. thick,
parted nearly to the base, with strongly elevated margins to
the segments, and rather persistent on the tree. The nuts are
nearly as pale as in the Shagbark, conspicuously brown striped,
slightly 4-celled at the very base, and with a wall only 1 mm.
thick. As is usual in ALBA, they are upwardly attenuate, and
frequently the kernel is abortive. (Trelease, Wm., 7th Report
Mo. Bot. Garden, 1896, pp. 44-45.)
WESTBROOK. Size small, 1-3/8 x 7/8 inches; ovate, flattened,
prominently sutured; color brown with a few indistinct brownish
streaks close to the apex; base rounded; apex wedge-shaped,
ridge, abruptly-pointed; shell rough and irregular, thin, 8.5
mm.; partitions rather thin, 4-celled at base; kernel
reddish-brown, much wrinkled, sutures of moderate width and
depth, halves divided at the base, much corrugated in cross
section; flavor decidedly bitter and puckery.
The parent tree is one standing in the yard of J. H. Westbrook,
Mt. Olive, N. C., and grew from what, to all appearances, was a
pecan nut. The foliage and general aspect of the tree closely
resembles the pecan, though the serrations on the leaves are
coarser and larger. The fruit resembles, in many respects, that
of _Hicoria minima_, and, in short, it appears to be a
well-marked hybrid between that species and _Hicoria pecan_.
FOOTNOTES:
[C] Taylor, Wm. A., Yearbook, 1904.
[D] Letter from Mr. S. H. Graves, dated June 19th, 1903.
[E] The Nut Grower, p. 119, March, 1904.
[F] Taylor, Wm. A., Yearbook, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, 1904.
[G] Taylor, Wm. A., Yearbook, 1904.
[H] Wm. A. Taylor, Yearbook, 1904.
CHAPTER V.
PECAN JUDGING.
Every grower of the pecan should be a judge of pecan nuts, and the ideas
of growers, while they may differ on certain minor points, should agree
on the more important characters of the nut. To enable growers,
nurserymen and judges to work on a common standard of merit, a scale of
points, in which each individual characteristic of the nut may receive a
certain fixed number of credits, is indispensable.
At the second annual meeting of the National Nut Growers' Association,
held in New Orleans, the following scale of points for judging pecans
was adopted:
PECAN NUTS.
_External characters._ _Points._
Size, 20
Form, 5
Color, 5
_Shell characters._
Thinness, 10
Cracking quality, 20
_Kernel characters._
Plumpness, 20
Color, 5
Quality, 15
-----
Total, 100
_Tree._ _Points._
Vigor, 10
Habit, 10
Toughness, 10
Resistance to disease, insects, 10
Precocity, 10
Uniformity of ripening, 10
Productiveness, 40
-----
Total, 100
The rating of a variety to be determined by averaging the rating of nut
and tree.
EXPLANATORY NOTES, CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF SAMPLES.
All samples submitted for judging shall be fair average samples of the
crop and not selected specimens. They should he tree-ripened, and should
be thoroughly cured before judging. Polishing, coloring or other
manipulation to disqualify:
_Size_--The nuts should be large and reasonably uniform in
size; nuts running smaller than 100 per pound, to be
disqualified.
_Form_--The nuts should be symmetrical in form and reasonably
smooth of surface.
_Color_--The shell should be bright and clear in color without
excess of surface markings.
_Thinness_--the shell should be sufficiently thin in proportion
to size of nut to crush readily.
_Cracking Quality_--The shell should be brittle and should
separate readily from the kernel leaving it clean and in
perfect halves.
_Plumpness_--The kernel should fill the shell and must be
smooth, externally, with solid meat of fine and uniform
texture, free from internal cavities and with high relative
weight of kernel to shell.
_Color_--The kernel should be uniformly bright and attractive
in color.
_Quality_--The flavor should be sweet and rich, free from
bitterness or astringence of either meat or skin.
PART III.
Cultural.
CHAPTER VI.
PROPAGATION OF THE PECAN.
The pecan tree is difficult of propagation by budding or grafting.
Skillful propagators are satisfied with seventy-five per cent. of living
buds or grafts, while very many have to be content with less. The
difficulty is due, in part, to lack of skill; in part to lack of
judgment in selecting good material with which to work; but in some
regions it is due to the attacks of the bud-worm, _Proteopteryx
deludana_, more than to anything else. The buds are eaten out and
destroyed by this insect at the time they start into growth. In certain
sections spring working of pecans has been abandoned entirely owing to
the destruction wrought by this pest. But notwithstanding all the
drawbacks, pecan trees can be, should be and are propagated in large
numbers by budding and grafting, and the seedling is becoming more and
more a thing of the past.
SEEDLING VS. GRAFTED TREES.
It is a fact worthy of note that the beginning of every tree-fruit
industry is marked by the use of seedling trees. In the later stages of
the development of the industry the seedling, owing to a more intimate
knowledge of its failings and shortcomings, gives way to the grafted[I]
tree. This stage has already been reached in pecan orcharding.
It has been stated that a certain percentage of pecans would produce
nuts identical with those of the parent tree. The author has yet to find
the first instance in which this was the case. This truth is borne out
by the observations of others.
In view of the fact just stated, if a planter desires to secure a
certain definite fixed variety of pecan, it can only be done by planting
grafted trees. Even though all the seedlings were of good size, yet the
variation in time of ripening, quality, prolificness, form and size
would be against them. Take a certain quantity of each of a number of
our largest pecans--Stuart, Van Deman, Centennial and Frotscher for
instance--mix them together, and under average circumstances the mixed
lot will sell for less money in the open market than the same varieties
and the same nuts would if marketed separately. Mixed nuts, no matter
how good the quality, cannot compete successfully in the market with a
single uniform sample of the same or nearly the same quality.
Grafted trees will come into bearing at an earlier age than seedlings.
In the case of seedlings it is very difficult to say when they will
begin to bear, while grafted trees of the more precocious varieties may
be expected to bear quite a little fruit in six or eight years from the
time of planting.
The great objection to grafted trees is the first cost, and yet, in the
face of that objection, it is best to plant grafted trees even if fewer
of them are planted. If grafted trees are out of the question, then
plant seedlings and top-work them. Grow the seedlings from nuts if
necessary; but to those who live in sections where pecans can be grown,
let me say, _plant pecan trees_; plant budded or grafted trees if you
can--but plant pecan trees.
PECAN STOCKS.
Nursery trees are propagated entirely on pecan stocks, and in the
present state of our knowledge, it is the best stock to use. It may be
that the pecan will grow and thrive as well on a number of different
species of hickory, but definite information bearing on this point is
lacking. _Hicoria tomentosa_, _H. alba_, and _H. aquatica_ have been
used for stocks in North Carolina, Florida, and other States, the pecan
being top-worked upon them. But for the present, at least, until our
experimental knowledge is farther advanced, the safest advice is to use
pecan stock only.
Too little attention on the part of propagators has been given to the
kind, source and quality of the seed used to raise stocks for
propagation work. The main object held in view in making a selection for
seed purposes is to get just as many nuts as possible in the pound. The
result of this policy is, that, without question, inferior seedlings are
often used for stock; they lack stamina and vigor. Frequently in a
nursery of budded or grafted stocks, or in a young pecan orchard, a wide
variation in the size and vigor of the trees can be noticed. No
satisfactory explanation has ever been offered, but there seems little
reason to doubt that it is due to the use of heterogenous lots of seed
for stock purposes. _The point must be emphasized, that greater care
should be exercised in the selection of the seed used in nursery work._
Nuts from rapid-growing, vigorous, healthy trees only should be used. It
is best to plant in spring only nuts which matured the previous autumn.
Preferably these nuts should be of fair or medium size for the variety
to give the young seedling a fair start in life.
As already pointed out in regard to pecan shade trees for more
northerly regions, so in the case of pecan nuts for use in raising
stocks in northern sections. It is best to secure nuts from trees near
the northern limits of nut production.
STORING AND PLANTING SEED NUTS.
If pecan nuts, intended for seed purposes, are stored and kept as nuts
ordinarily are kept, they become dried out. Before they will germinate
the following spring they must absorb all the moisture lost and
considerably more; in consequence of which they are slow in starting. If
too thoroughly dried out, many may fail to germinate.
To obviate this, and to insure better and more prompt germination, it is
best to keep the seed nuts in moist sand or clay during the winter
months. Procure a sufficient number of shallow boxes or trays; three
feet by one and a half feet by six or eight inches will answer nicely.
These are to be used in stratifying the nuts. The earth to be used
should preferably be good clean sand, free from organic matter, or, if
this cannot be secured, clay will answer. Place a layer of the earth
about one inch deep in the bottom of the boxes, then a single layer of
nuts, then a two-inch layer of earth, and so on in alternating layers
until the boxes are filled. These should then be slightly moistened and
set aside in a sheltered place and covered with pine straw, leaves or
straw.
In spring, when germination has just begun in the nuts and the tiny
sprouts are beginning to appear, they should be planted in rows. The
ground should be deeply plowed, well broken up, pulverized, and made
moderately rich. Ground which produced a heavy crop of cowpeas, velvet
beans or beggarweed the previous season is excellent for the purpose.
Farm-yard manure, well decomposed and plowed in the autumn previous, is
one of the best manures to use. The ground should be lined off in
perfectly straight rows four feet apart, running east and west, that,
the buds may be inserted on the north side. The nuts should be planted
four or five inches deep, depending upon their size and the character of
the soil. Large nuts should be planted deeper than small ones, and in
heavy soils nuts may be planted somewhat nearer the surface than in
light sandy ones. The rows may be opened with a small turning plow, or,
for lesser areas, with a shovel. Place the nuts, a foot apart, carefully
in the bottom of the furrow, cover with a hoe, roll the ground if the
weather is dry, and then scarify the surface with a weeder or a light
harrow to prevent evaporation of the soil moisture. Or the ground may be
mulched with pine-straw, grass, leaves or other suitable material. If no
mulch is applied, then the surface of the ground Should be cultivated
shallow from time to time.
Some propagators have adopted the plan, with good results, of planting
the nuts in the nursery rows, in late fall.
CULTIVATION OF NURSERY SEEDLINGS.
From the time the young shoots begin to appear above the surface
frequent shallow cultivation should be given. Once every ten days or two
weeks is not too often, and the ground should be broken to a depth of
one inch or so after every shower of rain. During dry weather more
frequent cultivation, once every week, will be well repaid in the
additional growth and vigor of the seedlings. A good commercial
fertilizer, analyzing 5 per cent. phosphoric acid, 6 per cent. potash
and 4 per cent. nitrogen, may be applied to advantage at the rate of
fifteen hundred or two thousand pounds per acre. By the following
autumn, the better seedlings will have ten or twelve inches of top, and
two and a half or three feet of taproot. The following spring some may
he whip-grafted at the crown, and by June, July and August of the same
year many of them should have attained sufficient size for budding.
Those which are not of sufficient size at this time can be worked the
following spring and summer.
[Illustration: PLATE IV. A Pecan Nursery.
_Photo by J. F. Jones._]
THE NECESSARY MATERIALS AND TOOLS.
The materials and tools used in grafting and budding are: a grafting
iron, a mallet, budding knives, grafting wax, strips of waxed cloth and
twine.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. Grafting Iron.]
Of grafting irons there are a number of different kinds, but one after
the general type shown in Fig. 17, works very well. It will be noticed
that the blade is curved at the corners, and the edge instead of being
straight is curved downward in the center. This type of blade in some
measure prevents the bruising of the bark when splitting the branch in
cleft-grafting. Such a grafting iron may be made by almost any
blacksmith. However, a good stout knife may be used instead.
[Illustration: FIG. 18. Common Budding Knife.]
For use in grafting, an ordinary budding knife, one of which is
illustrated in Fig. 18, is well nigh indispensable. No other knife is so
well adapted to making the smooth, sloping cuts on the scions.
[Illustration: White's Budding Tool.
Galbreath's Budding Tool.
Nelson's Budding Tool.
PLATE V.]
Some persons can insert annular and veneer shield buds rapidly and well
with nothing but an ordinary budding knife. In general, however, a
budding knife having two blades, placed parallel with a space of
three-quarters of an inch or an inch apart, is best. A very satisfactory
knife may be made by fastening the blades of two ordinary budding knives
on the sides of a piece of wood seven-eighths of an inch square and four
inches in length. The blades can be firmly held in place by means of
rivets and a piece of wire wound about the whole.
Three special budding knives, for use in pecan budding, have been
introduced, one by Mr. Herbert C. White, of DeWitt, Ga., one by Mr. D.
Galbreath, of New Orleans, La., and the other by Mr. Wm. Nelson, of New
Orleans, La. In these knives the blades are fixed seven-eighths of an
inch, one and one-eighth inch, and three-fourths of an inch apart,
respectively. These make it possible to cut the buds and the place where
they are to be inserted on the stock exactly the same size, an essential
point in pecan budding. They have not yet come into general use,
although well recommended by some who have used them. The White budding
tool is particularly well adapted for use in top-working trees.
A good grafting wax may be made according to a number of different
formulas. Either of the following will be found satisfactory:
{Resin 6 pounds.
I. {Beeswax 2 pounds.
{Linseed Oil 1 pound.
{Resin 4 pounds.
II.{Beeswax 1 pound.
{Linseed Oil 1 pint.
Break the resin and cut the beeswax into small pieces. Place in an iron
vessel, pour the oil over them and melt over a slow fire. Stir slightly
to insure their being well mixed together, pour out into a bucket of
cold water, grease the hands, and as soon as the mass is cool enough to
handle, pull until it becomes light yellow in color. The wax may be made
up in quantity and stored in greased tin or wooden boxes for future use.
To prepare waxed cloth, cut the cotton cloth into pieces of convenient
size, say eighteen inches square, dip them down into the melted wax,
remove them with a couple of sticks and stretch them out until cooled.
For use, the cloth may be torn into strips of desired width and wound
about a stick eighteen inches or so in length. Use a little grease to
prevent the grafting wax and grafting cloth from sticking to the hands.
For waxed twine, procure No. 18 knitting cotton and drop the balls into
the melted wax for a minute or two or until the wax penetrates them.
SELECTION OF SCIONS.
Great care should be exercised in the selection of scions for use in
budding and grafting. Much of the immediate success of the work depends
upon the character of the scions, while the health and longevity of the
future tree may be materially influenced by the kind of wood used in
propagating work.
The practice of taking scions and buds from young trees which have never
borne, or from nursery stuck, must be strongly condemned. They should be
cut only from thrifty, vigorous, prolific trees. Even trees of the same
variety differ in these things, and a thorough knowledge of what a tree
will do and has done is the only true guide in the selection of scions.
It is a well-known fact that desirable qualities can be reproduced and
perpetuated by grafting.
[Illustration: _From Bul. 57, Florida Exp. Sta._
FIG. 19. Scions: 1-3, Curtis; 4-6, Van Deman; 7-8, Stuart. 1. Poor
Scions--long, slender, pithy. 2,4,5,7,8. Scions from one year's growth.
3. Scion, partly one, partly two years old. 6. Scion with cut, back of
tip. 8. Scion which bore fruit at a.]
Grafts should be selected from well-matured branches of one year's
growth. Fig. 19, No. 1, shows an undesirable scion. The wood is angular,
small, the internodes long, and the pith large in proportion to the
diameter. Either terminal portions of twigs may be used or portions back
of the tip, but the buds should always be well developed, full and
plump--Fig. 19, Nos. 2 to 6. For this reason grafts should not be cut
from wood far back from the tip of the branch. As stated, twigs of the
previous season's growth are generally used, but scions composed partly
of two-year-old wood may be used, provided the growth is not too large.
Fig. 19, No. 3, shows one of these. Grafts are generally cut about five
or six inches long, and should be from one-quarter to three-eighths of
an inch in thickness.
It is best that the grafts be cut while still in a dormant state, and
inserted in the stock just before the growth starts. The scions may be
kept for a considerable length of time by placing them, loosely packed,
in damp moss or sawdust, in a box. The box should be covered over with
earth and the scions kept sufficiently moist to prevent drying out.
For bud sticks, well developed one-year-old branches, one-half to
seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and on which the buds are well
formed, may be used. Such sticks frequently show three buds at a node,
and if some misfortune should overtake one or two of these, there is
still a chance of success, though the upper one being the strongest is
generally the one which starts, provided it is uninjured and the bud
takes. The degree of maturity of the bud is important, and care should
be exercised that only those which are plump, full and well developed,
are used. As soon as removed from the tree all bud sticks and grafts
should be wrapped in damp newspapers to prevent drying out.
TIME.
Grafts should be inserted in spring just before or at the time growth
starts. Buds may be inserted any time during the period when the bark
will slip readily. Last year's dormant buds may be inserted early in the
season, or buds of the current season's growth may be used during the
latter part of July and the month of August, at which time they have
become fully matured in the southernmost parts of the Gulf States. The
time may even be extended into September. Very many of these
late-inserted buds remain dormant during winter and begin growth in
spring.
BUDDING.
_Annular Budding._--A ring of bark about one inch in length is removed
from the stock. A bud stick of the same size is selected, and from it a
similar ring with a good bud on it is removed by cutting around the bud
stick and slitting down the back or side opposite the bud. This bud is
then placed in position on the stock. After the buds are in place, a
piece of stiff wrapping paper should be tied around the stock just above
the bud and allowed to flare out over the bud to protect it from the sun
and wind. Preferably all buds should be inserted on the north side.
[Illustration: _From Bul. 57, Florida Exp. Sta._
FIG. 20. Annular Budding. 1. Stock prepared for bud. 2. Bud. 3. Bud in
place and tied.]
Stocks from three-eighths to three-quarters of an inch may be worked by
this method.
_Veneer Shield-Budding. (Patch Budding)._ This method differs from the
last only in that the piece of bark removed from the stock and the piece
with the bud attached are not complete rings, but only parts. A
rectangular or even a triangular piece of bark is taken out of the
stock, a similar piece with a bud in its center taken from the bud
stick is fitted in its place and wrapped in the usual way.
[Illustration: From Bul. 57, Florida Exp. Sta.
FIG. 21. Veneer Shield-Budding.]
Mr. George W. Oliver, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D.
C., has described[J] a modified method of veneer shield-budding, which
has given good satisfaction in his hands. Instead of removing the patch
from the stock, it is slit down the center from top to bottom and the
edges are lifted back, the buds inserted beneath and the side flaps are
then tied down over it. He has also found that dormant buds of last
year's growth give better results than buds of the current season.
The use of these buds has not, however, come into general use; first,
because of the large amount of wood which must be destroyed to secure
them; and second, because in those sections where bud-worms are
prevalent, their larvæ are to be found clustered about the buds until
quite late in the season and make their attack as soon as the bud starts
to grow.
Mr. E. W. Kirkpatrick,[K] McKinney, Texas, described a method
successfully used by him, as follows:
"We prepare the stock to receive the bud by cutting out a
section of bark and wood as shown in Fig. 22. The bud is cut
from the scion in the same way the cut on the stock is made. It
should be about the same length, width, thickness and shape of
the bark removed from the stock (see Fig. 22), so that the bud
will fit the stock. * * * * The bud should be firmly tied until
growth begins, usually about twenty-five days, when the string
should be cut and the stock also cut just above the bud. * * *
All shoots must be kept rubbed off so as to give the buds the
right of way. The small buds about the base of the scions or
those on the two-year-old wood are preferred. Where the buds
are small and in a cluster, several may be included in one set
and the thinning done after the growth starts."
[Illustration: FIG. 22. Chip Budding. Bud cut; Incision made; Bud in
place.]
GRAFTING.
_Cleft Grafting._ Having selected the branch for cleft grafting and the
point at which the scions are to be inserted, the branch should be
carefully and smoothly cut off. The limb is then split by using the
grafting iron. If rapid work is to be done, grafts should be prepared
beforehand and carried to the field, wrapped in damp paper. In preparing
the scion, a sloping cut should be made about one and one-half inches
long, cutting into the pith from a point one-half way up the cut down to
the lower end. On the opposite side, the cut should not be made to touch
the pith, but should be confined to woody tissue throughout its whole
length. The knife should have a keen, sharp edge. The cut should be
clean, smooth and straight, and the scion should be left wider on the
outer side. Start the cuts on each side of, and just at a bud, as shown
in Fig. 23. Having made the cleft, it is opened with the wedge on the
end of the grafting iron and the scion is placed in position. The
cambium layers should be in contact. Slip the scion well down until the
whole of the cut surface is within the cleft. If the stock is large
enough insert two scions. After inserting the scion it should be firmly
held in place by binding the stocks with strips of waxed cloth, after
which a covering of wax may be placed over the cloth. The cut end of the
stock should be covered, and if the scion be other than a terminal
shoot, its distal end should be waxed also.
[Illustration: Bul. 57, Fla. Exp. Sta.
FIG. 23. Cleft Grafting. 1. Scion. 2. Scion inserted ready for tying. 3.
Stock showing cleft.]
[Illustration: Bul. 57, Fla. Exp. Sta.
FIG. 24. Whip Grafting. 1. Stock showing cut. 2. Scion. 3. Stock and
Scion ready for bandage.]
_Whip Grafting._ Branches, which are to be worked by whip grafting,
should be less than one inch in diameter. The method is illustrated in
Fig. 24. A sloping cut, an inch and a half long, is made diagonally
across the stock. A corresponding cut is made on the scion, a tongue is
raised about the center of each cut by making another cut with the
budding knife held almost parallel to the sides of the wood. The tongue
is raised a little on both stock and scion and the two are shoved
together. They should be securely bound with a strip of waxed cloth, and
a layer of wax should be spread over the whole, covering up all the cut
surfaces to the exclusion of water, air and the germs of decay.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. F. Jones._
FIG. 25. One year Pecan in fruit. Unusual; due to bearing wood being
used as a scion.]
The scion and stock are preferably chosen of nearly the same size, but
a scion somewhat smaller than the stock may be used, in which case the
cambium layers along one side of the surfaces in contact should be
placed opposite each other, and the projecting portion of the stock
trimmed off.
AFTER-CARE.
In from ten days to three weeks, the buds should unite. They should be
examined, and if union--indicated by the full, plump condition of the
buds or the commencement of growth--has taken place, the wrappings
should be removed. If growth has started, the stock should be cut off or
lopped just above the insertion of the bud, in the case of budded trees.
From time to time the trees should be examined, and all sprouts which
might rob the bud of sap, thereby preventing its growth, should be
rubbed off.
FOOTNOTES:
[I] The term grafted, as here used, embraces budded trees as well.
[J] Bulletin 30, Bureau Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1902.
[K] Farm and Ranch, Dec. 3, 1904.
CHAPTER VII.
TOP-WORKING PECANS.
Many of the pecan trees planted in groves have not fulfilled the hopes
of their planters. These trees, raised from large selected nuts, for
which the planters paid a dollar or more per pound, have not come true
to seed. Some are irregular, shy bearers; others, when they do
condescend to produce a few nuts, bear small-sized, inferior nuts, not
larger than ordinary playing marbles, while some produce a large crop of
good marketable nuts. Some are unhealthy, subject to the attacks of scab
and rosette. It goes without saying that such pecan plantings are
unprofitable. What is to be done with them? Briefly, this: Cut out and
destroy, root and branch, those affected by rosette, those which are
unhealthy, and top-work the remainder of those which do not produce a
sufficient quantity of marketable nuts of good quality.
Top-working may be profitably applied to another class of trees--pecan
trees in their native woods and thickets, and in some cases hickories,
viz.: Hicoria tomentosa, H. alba, and H. aquatica, may be top-worked.
Our knowledge is not sufficiently advanced in regard to top-working on
hickory to warrant us in making any very strong recommendations, but the
author has seen a large number of pecans worked on hickory, a few of
which were in bearing, and all appeared healthy and vigorous. There is
no good reason why hickories cannot be top-worked to advantage, and the
delights of amateur efforts along this line will amply repay the
attempt.
[Illustration: PLATE VI. A two year top-worked Pecan tree. Variety, Van
Deman.]
Again, seedling trees may be grown or purchased and set out in orchard
form. When these have grown to an inch or so in diameter and have
developed several branches, they may be top-worked. This method of
securing a pecan orchard is somewhat slow, and is open to the objection
that the buds or grafts frequently fail to take, and in consequence the
task of top-working extends over a number of years, resulting in trees
of irregular size and shape. But by this plan a planting of desirable
varieties can be secured at little expense, and provided time is not a
consideration, the plan will prove quite satisfactory indeed.
METHODS OF OPERATION.
It is best to insert both buds and grafts in parts having smooth bark,
though grafts can be placed in rough barked parts as well. Frequently
trees are in a very undesirable condition for top-working, and it should
be borne in mind that those branches nearest the center of the tree will
give the most satisfactory result in the rapid growth of buds inserted
in them. If the tree is not in good shape for working--i. e., if no
branches of desirable size and age are found in convenient places--the
tree should be partially trimmed to a pollard, cutting some of the main
branches back to stubs, and when shoots have started from these they may
be grafted or budded. In from six to twelve months from the time buds
have started from the branches thus cut back, under average conditions
the new shoots will have grown to sufficient size to permit of their
being budded or grafted. The best time to prune back trees to start new
shoots for top-working is early in the month of March. In removing large
branches there is always danger of splitting, because of the weight of
the heavy branches. This may be entirely obviated by sawing upward from
the under side of the branch as far as possible, then cutting from the
upper side downward. A branch will split off and drop without injury to
the remaining parts. All cut surfaces should be well covered with white
lead paint to prevent decay.
The method of procedure depends upon the size and age of the tree and
whether the tree is to be budded or grafted.
In top-working old trees, only a portion of the branches should be
worked at one time. If the whole top be removed at once, the tree
suffers a severe shock. Two or three years are necessary to top-work a
large tree, a half or a third of the top being worked each year. If the
trees are of small size, the whole top may be removed at one time.
CARE OF TOP-WORKED TREES.
For several months after the new top has commenced to grow, the scions
have but a slight hold upon the stock. The leaf surface is often so
large that a slight wind may twist them off. To prevent this, a number
of branches may be tied together, or they may be fastened to stubs of
branches left temporarily. Posts may be driven into the ground close to
the growing scions, to which they may be tied. Use soft bandages and
burlaps.
[Illustration: PLATE VII. An old Pecan tree Top-worked in the
branches.]
CHAPTER VIII.
SOILS AND THEIR PREPARATION.
The pecan succeeds on such a wide range of soils, that it is really
easier to list those on which it should not be set than it is to
enumerate those on which it may be planted. Of the soils not adapted to
it, deep sandy lands, soils underlaid with quicksand close to the
surface, soils with hardpan subsoil, wet, sour, poorly-drained lands,
and stiff, pasty clays, may be mentioned particularly.
If pecans are planted on land with a quicksand subsoil, the roots are
unable to make their way downward through the quicksand. So far as being
able to take a downward direction is concerned, they might as well be
planted on top of a plate of metal. The writer once planted a few nuts
on such a soil, to see what they would do. At the end of three years the
tops were about two feet in height; the taproot, while thick and stocky,
was not more than six inches long. It stopped abruptly after numerous
efforts to penetrate the quicksand. In normally developed trees of the
same age, the taproot would have been three or four feet long. The same
objections hold against soils underlaid with a hard, impervious layer.
While the pecan is at home on rich, alluvial river bottoms subject to
overflow, yet it will not grow successfully on damp, soggy lands. It
should not be planted on such soils unless they can be well drained,
and not then until they have been limed and cultivated for some time to
counteract the acidity of the land. We can definitely say that the pecan
will do well on alluvial river bottoms, on sandy, loamy soils with a
clay or sandy-clay foundation, on sandy-clay lands with clay
predominating, on the flat woods sandy lands so common in the
southeastern Gulf States, and on the higher uplands where hickory,
dogwood, holly and oak abound.
[Illustration: FIG. 26. Pecan Tree grown on quicksand. Note the
taproot.]
It is a fact worthy of note, however, that on extremely rich soils, the
pecan will make wood growth at the expense of fruit, while on lands
containing less fertility, less growth is developed with a
proportionately large amount of fruit.
Choose not the poorest soil by any means, but a good, sandy loam in
which there is a considerable amount of humus. A subsoil containing a
very considerable amount of clay is to be preferred, by all means, for
such a soil, with intelligent management, will gain rapidly in
fertility.
PREPARATION.
The preparation of the soil should be complete and thorough. It may be
stated, as an axiomatic truth, that the soil cannot be prepared for
trees as well after they are planted as it can before, and nothing is to
be gained by planting the trees in poorly prepared land. Better by all
means to spend a year or more in getting the land in shape.
If the land is covered with a growth of timber, this should be cleared
away and the ground cultivated for a year at least before the trees are
set. Corn is probably the best crop to grow on new land, and at the last
working cowpeas should be sowed. On fairly good land this will be
sufficient, but on poorer ground the land should be continued in
cultivation another year, sowing it down in beggarweed, cowpeas, soja
beans, or velvet beans. These crops should be plowed into the soil in
autumn or early winter, after they are dead and dry.
On lands which have been cultivated for some time, these same crops
should be sowed for one season previous to planting, at least. Every
effort should be made to insure a good stand and a good growth.
Inoculation of the seed with nitrogen-gathering germs will help, and a
good fertilizer, such as the one recommended for these crops elsewhere,
should be applied. Nothing will insure a good growth in the young trees
so well as the nitrogen and humus added to the soil by leguminous crops.
Stable manure may also be used to advantage.
The ground should be deeply and thoroughly broken with a two-horse plow.
In many cases the soil conditions will be greatly improved by the use of
a subsoil plow, running it after the ordinary plow so as to break and
loosen the soil to a depth of twelve or fifteen inches, or even more.
CHAPTER IX.
WHAT VARIETIES TO PLANT.
What varieties shall I plant? An easy question to ask--a difficult one
to answer; for, though the one attempting a reply may know something of
varieties, their size, quality and prolificness, there is always an
unknown personal equation entering into the problem.
Every variety of importance has its advocates. If a man has a preference
for a certain variety, and is interested in it, let him plant that
variety largely. He will be likely to give it better care and attention
than he will a variety for which he has no particular liking or for one
which he may regard even with disfavor.
The question of adaptation of varieties to certain localities is an
extremely important one. A variety which may do well in a certain state
or region, may not succeed in another; and on the other hand, some
varieties may be grown almost anywhere. To answer questions of this
sort, one must have an intimate knowledge of varieties in their local
adaptations.
Two of the worst faults which a variety may have are partial barrenness
or shy bearing and poor filling quality. In this last respect the worst
sinners are the larger varieties, and in point of filling quality,
medium and small-sized varieties will, in nearly all cases, be found to
have the greatest range of adaptability. The larger varieties are more
likely to succeed on rich lands where the rainfall, particularly during
the summer months, is great.
Again, all varieties are not equally hardy, and some may not ripen their
wood and fruit early enough in autumn to avoid late killing frosts. Such
varieties should not be selected for planting in sections where there is
danger of such injury, viz: principally along the more northerly
outskirts of the pecan area. In such regions, early varieties should be
planted, for early ripening of fruit and wood usually go together in the
pecan.
Many varieties are late in coming into bearing; others begin to bear
while quite young. This difference in precocity is worthy of
consideration. Other things being equal, those varieties which begin to
bear early and are prolific, should by all means be given the
preference.
In addition to setting out an orchard of what he believes to be the best
varieties for his section, or which experience has taught to be the
best, the grower should, if he is thoroughly interested in his work,
plant a tree or two of a number of other different kinds to test their
merits and to learn something of their characteristics.
VARIETIES RECOMMENDED FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
The following recommendations have been made by growers and others in
different parts of the South. These may be changed with the knowledge
which time alone will bring; but they represent the best, most accurate
and up-to-date knowledge which can be given at this time:
VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA.--In these States the
different named varieties have not been grown and fruited long
enough to warrant any very strong recommendations, Pabst,
Stuart and Jewett have been planted in southeastern North
Carolina and have succeeded, but on the whole, for the entire
region of these three States, the most satisfactory and staple
progress in pecan culture will probably come from the
introduction of local varieties of merit.
GEORGIA.--Dr. J. F. Wilson, Secretary National Nut Growers'
Association, Poulan, Ga., has selected his varieties for that
section as follows: Stuart, Schley, Van Deman, Georgia and
Frotscher.
Herbert C. White, horticulturist, G. M. Bacon Pecan Co.,
DeWitt, Ga., says that Georgia and Stuart are the best of the
varieties thus far tested.
J. B. Wight, Cairo, Ga., believes in planting Frotscher
principally in his section.
FLORIDA.--Prof. H. K. Miller, Monticello, Fla., believes in
planting Schley, Dewey, Louisiana, Frotscher, Stuart, Russell,
Pabst, Van Deman and Sweetmeat.
James A. Bear, Palatka, Fla., reports that Frotscher, Stuart,
Van Deman, Curtis and Money-maker are doing well for young
trees, while Rome and Centennial have not proved satisfactory.
Dr. J. B. Curtis, Orange Heights, Fla., recommends Curtis,
Frotscher and Van Deman, these having proved most fruitful in
his orchard.
J. H. Girardeau, Monticello, Fla., regards Van Deman,
Frotscher, Pabst, Clarke and Schley as good varieties.
S. H. Graves, Gainesville, Fla., says: "Curtis, Stuart, Van
Deman, Dalzell, Louisiana, Bolton and Frotscher are adapted
here, and have proven good fruiters. From study and observation
I would supplement this list with James, Money-maker, Success,
Russell, Robson and Schley."
J. F. Jones, Monticello, Fla., recommends Stuart, Van Deman,
Frotscher and Schley, emphasizing the first as a commercial
variety, and the last-named as an excellent variety for the
"Fancy" trade.
ALABAMA.--Prof. R. S. McIntosh, Auburn, Ala., believes Stuart,
Van Deman, Pabst, Centennial and Schley to be good varieties
for Alabama.
MISSISSIPPI.--Theo. Bechtel, Ocean Springs, Miss., says: "My
selection at present for this section would be in the order
named--Success, Stuart, Pabst, Frotscher, Russell and Van
Deman."
Chas. E. Pabst, Ocean Springs, Miss., recommends Stuart, Pabst,
Russell, Success, Van Deman and Rome.
Stuart Pecan Co., Ocean Springs, Miss., recommends Stuart, Van
Deman and Russell.
Prof. H. E. Van Deman recommends Stuart, Van Deman, Money-maker
and Pabst for the Lower Mississippi Valley.
LOUISIANA.--S. H. James, Mound, La., has found Money-maker,
Stuart, Van Deman and Pabst, in the order named, best for his
section. He says that Money-maker is extremely hardy, having
withstood 20° below zero in Illinois, without injury.
Wm. Nelson, New Orleans, La., strongly recommends Frotscher and
Centennial for his section.
B. M. Young, Morgan City, La., is planting Stuart, Russell and
Young for commercial orchard.
TEXAS.--E. E. Risien, San Saba, Tex., says that San Saba is
more in demand than any other variety he has. It succeeds well
in his section. He recommends as well, Texas Prolific,
Colorado, Kincaid, Atwater, Concho and others.
E. W. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, Tex., President National
Nurserymen's Association, regards Stuart, Russell, Pabst and
Money-maker as valuable for his section. Good results have been
secured with Hollis and Wolford.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
From careful observations, we believe that a list of varieties
comprising Stuart, Georgia, Money-maker, Pabst, Success, Frotscher, Van
Deman and Russell of the larger sorts will be found to contain varieties
which will prove satisfactory in most locations. To these we must add
Schley, San Saba, Curtis and a number of other medium-sized or small
varieties of unsurpassed quality.
When about to plant in a given region, study the local conditions, visit
the local trees or orchards, and upon these a conclusion may be based
which is not likely to lead the prospective planter into very great
error.
CHAPTER X.
PURCHASING AND PLANTING PECANS.
Since, in most cases, the trees are to be set in late autumn and early
winter, the trees should be purchased in late summer and early autumn.
Do not leave the purchasing of the trees until the last week, or the
last minute, before planting, but buy in good season, i. e., several
months before planting time. Too many forget about the trees until the
time for setting them out has come, and not infrequently the matter is
forgotten until after the season for planting is long since past.
The number of varieties in the commercial orchard should not be large.
No greater mistake can be made than that of planting a few trees each of
a large number of different varieties. Four or five, at most, are
sufficient; got fewer varieties, rather than more.
Trees can be purchased in two ways: They can be secured direct from the
nurserymen (usually by catalogue), or they can be purchased from agents.
By far most of the pecan trees are bought from the nursery, and by many
this method is preferred. If trees are secured from agents, be certain
that they are responsible persons, representing responsible firms; be
certain that they are properly accredited, i. e., have certificates to
show whom they represent, and if they have not these, then send them
off down the road, and the dog with them for company, if necessary. This
may seem to be harsh advice, but had it been followed by many purchasing
pecan trees in recent years, it would have been much to their advantage.
Plenty of seedling trees have been bought and planted in the belief that
they were good grafted or budded stock.
But agents, with all sorts of credits, have represented firms which were
not honest. Budded and grafted trees of certain well-known varieties of
pecans have been sold, which were not those varieties.
There is every reason to believe that scions have been taken from
ordinary seedling trees of any kind, inserted in stocks and sold for the
best varieties, and that a large number of trees have been substituted
and sold for what they were not. The prospective planter must depend
upon the honesty and integrity of the nurseryman, and should inform
himself on this point.
The National Nut Growers' Association has done no greater service to the
pecan industry than that which they have rendered in protecting the
public from fraudulent agents and nurserymen. Happy is the nurseryman
whose reputation for square dealing merits the trust and confidence of
tree-planters throughout the country.
COST OF NURSERY STOCK.
At present, the prices quoted for one and two year old stock of standard
varieties varies from 75 cents to $2.50 per tree, in small numbers, with
considerable reduction for trees in lots of one hundred or one thousand.
It is not improbable that these prices may be somewhat reduced within
the next decade, as greater efficiency is gained in propagating.
DETECTING BOGUS TREES.
How may budded or grafted trees be distinguished from ordinary seedlings
or from "doctored" seedling trees? Many people have purchased seedling
trees at a dollar or so per tree, under the supposition that they were
budded or grafted stock. It is well to know something of the
distinctions between them.
[Illustration: FIG. 27. External and Longitudinal Interior View of Bud
Union.]
If the trunks are straight and smooth, with bark uniform in appearance
throughout, the trees have not been budded or grafted, unless the point
of union is at the ground, and the trees having been grafted, and a
terminal bud on graft has grown. If the young trees have been budded,
the trunks will not be straight; a bend will be seen at the point where
the bud was inserted (see Fig. 27), and the scars of the union of the
veneer-shield or annular bud and the point at which the stock was cut
off will be distinctly noticeable. The bark above the point of union on
the grafted or budded stocks will be different from that below. There is
something characteristic about the color and appearance and the number,
size and shape of the lenticles of each variety of pecan, and while it
is impossible to describe this difference in appearance (it can only be
learned after a large amount of experience and observation), yet the
very striking difference between the seedling stock and the wood of the
variety worked upon, will serve as a useful index to the genuineness of
the trees in question.
If the trees have been grafted instead of budded, the same statement
will be true of the appearance of the bark. But the tree will be more
nearly or quite straight, and the marks and scars at the point of union
will be different. If the trees have been propagated by whip-grafting,
the scar will be shaped like the letter N, the scar on young trees
coming nearly or quite the whole distance across the stock. If the trunk
of a whip-grafted tree is split through the point of union, the N-shaped
mark in the form of a dark line may be distinctly made out, as shown in
the illustration. In trees propagated by cleft-grafting, the union scar
will be long, slim and V-shaped.
[Illustration: FIG. 28. External and Longitudinal Interior View of
Whip-graft Union.]
But to make the similarity between the bogus and genuine trees more
striking, the practice has been resorted to of scarring the stocks so as
to make them resemble the genuine article. This we have known to be
done, more particularly in the case of budded trees. Incisions were
made in the trunks of seedling trees to resemble those made in inserting
a veneer-shield or an annular bud. The incisions were made so as to
include a bud, and the top of the seedling tree was then cut off just
above the bud. A tree doctored in this way makes a very close imitation
of the real article, and the buyer needs to be on his guard. But the
appearance of the bark, as already noted, will serve as a guide. If in
doubt, it may be well to sacrifice a few trees and cut them carefully
open down to the pith just through the point of union. _If the trees
have been doctored, the tissues of the wood and the pith will be
continuous; but, if the trees are genuinely budded or grafted, the
tissues and pith will not be continuous._
[Illustration: FIG. 29. Annular bud growing (left). Split through same
union (center). A normal branch union (right). Pith non-continuous
(center); continuous (right).]
Finally, if still in doubt, send two or three trees to the botanist or
horticulturist of the Experiment Station of your State, and ask his
opinion.
PLANTING PECAN TREES.
Too often but slight attention is given to this important piece of work.
There is too frequently a disposition on the part of the person setting
trees of any kind to do the work as rapidly as possible without
consideration for the future welfare of the trees. Few realize that time
spent in careful, intelligent preparation of the soil and in setting the
trees is time well spent, and well paid for in the after development of
trunk and branch. Better a month spent in preparing the future home of
the young tree, than years of its life spent in an unequal struggle for
existence. More than that, the tree may die outright, and a year must
elapse before it can be replaced. It is generally stated that the pecan
is a slow grower, and yet I have seen trees from twelve to fourteen
years old which measured from thirty-five to fifty-seven inches in
circumference at the base, while under less favorable circumstances
others stood still for a period of six or seven years, or until they had
accumulated sufficient energy to overcome the untoward conditions of
their environments.
_Time._ The best time to plant pecan trees is during the months
of December, January and February. Planting should not be
delayed until late in spring, as the percentage of loss will be
very materially increased. Preference must be given to the
earlier portion of the planting season, as the wounds on the
roots will have had time to callous over, and the ground will
be firmly packed about the roots by the winter rains. Then,
with the opening of the growing season in spring, the trees
will be ready to make a good, vigorous start.
_Distance Apart._ The distance apart at which the pecan trees
should be set must depend upon the character of the soil and
the amount of fertility and moisture it contains. If planted
too close, the trees may become their own worst enemies. Too
close planting will not prove satisfactory. It is doubtful
whether the trees should ever be planted closer than forty feet
apart even on light lands, while on heavier soils this distance
should be increased to sixty, seventy-five or eighty feet.
TABLE OF DISTANCES
DISTANCE. NO. OF TREES NO. OF TREES
Rectangular System. Hexagonal System.
40 x 40 feet. 27 31
40 x 50 " 21
40 x 60 " 18
50 x 50 " 17 19
50 x 60 " 14
60 x 60 " 12 13
60 x 70 " 10
70 x 70 " 8 9
80 x 80 " 6
100 x 100 " 4
To find the number of trees that can be set on an acre for any
distance, not given in the above table, multiply the distance
apart in feet together and divide the product into 43,560, the
number of square feet in an acre. The result will be the number
of trees which can be put on an acre of ground.
PLANTING SYSTEMS.
For setting orchards a number of different systems may be used, but the
two best adapted to the pecan orchard, are the square or rectangular and
the hexagonal or septuple. If mixed plantings, such as pecans and
peaches, are to be made, then the quincunx system should be used and a
peach tree set in the center of the square or rectangle formed by every
four pecan trees.
_Square or Rectangular System._ In this system is included only
the methods of setting trees in rectangles, either square or
oblong. It is by far the most commonly used of all the systems,
and the ease with which a field can be laid off in rectangles,
is greatly in its favor.
The rows of trees intersect each other at right angles, and
cultivation may be carried on conveniently either crosswise or
lengthwise of the orchard. The planter has the choice of
placing the trees the same distance apart both ways, or of
planting them closer together in the rows than the distance
between the rows.
[Illustration: FIG. 30. Rectangular Planting System.]
It has been argued that space is not equally divided among the
trees, and while this is apparently true, yet, on the other
hand, the roots of pecan trees, in most cases, penetrate and
permeate all the space allowed in ordinary distances. The roots
will certainly secure all the food and moisture in the top two
or three feet of soil.
When trees are to be planted by this system, the stakes must be
set so as to be exactly in line, whether viewed from the end or
from the side of the field.
_Hexagonal, Septuple or Equilateral Triangle System._ By this
system, six trees are set equidistant from a seventh placed in
the center. The basis of the system is not the square, but the
circle, since the radius of the circle is approximately equal
to one-sixth of the circumference of the circle. The name
septuple, sometimes applied to this system, refers to the fact
that the number of trees in each group-unit is seven.
Equilateral triangle system refers to the planting of the trees
in equilateral triangles, but is identical with the hexagonal
or septuple.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. Hexagonal Planting System.]
It is the only system whereby each tree is placed equally
distant from each of its adjoining neighbors, and the only
system which equally divides the space among the trees. By this
method about fifteen per cent. more trees can be set per acre
than by the rectangular.
For permanent plantings, at regular distances, this system and
the rectangular should be recommended before other systems.
LAYING OUT BEFORE PLANTING.
Level and smooth the ground, harrow and pulverize thoroughly, then
proceed to stake the ground off, placing a stake for every tree.
_Laying Out Squares or Rectangles with the Plow._ If a good
plowman can be secured, very satisfactory work can be done with
the plow. In some cases a man can be found who needs nothing in
the way of a guide, except two or three stakes. But with a
sufficient number of stakes and a marker attached to the plow,
good results can be secured by almost any plowman.
Furrows should be run both lengthwise and crosswise of the
field, their intersections marking the place where the trees
are to stand. At each one set a stake.
It is essential that a true, square corner should be secured.
This may be done by sighting with an ordinary carpenter's
square set upon three posts.
_Laying Out in Rectangles with a Wire._ A wire, long enough to
reach down one side of the field, should be provided. Stretch
this straight out between two posts and mark off the distance
which the trees are to stand apart, upon it. At each point
marked, firmly twist a piece of small wire about the larger
one. These should then be soldered in place. It will not do to
have them shift. This wire may be rolled upon a roller when not
in use.
Measure off along both ends of the field and set small stakes
on the tree rows, at the marked places on the wire. Tightly
stretch the wire down the first tree row, attaching it firmly
at the ground level to a pair of good, stout posts. Then plant
a lath stake at each mark on the wire. Set all of them on the
outside of the wire, so as not to interfere with moving it.
When this row in completed, lift the end stake with the wire
attached, stretch on the second row, set the stakes as before
and repeat the operations until the work is completed.
_Laying Out in Hexagons._ Stretch the wire down one side of the
field and firmly set the tree stakes, or stake out the base
line by any method, firmly setting a stake for each tree. Then
procure two pieces of wire with rings at each end, the length
of each wire and ring to be exactly the distance between the
stakes as set on the base line. Stretch these wires out toward
the side where the next tree row is to stand. At the point
where the rings overlap set a stake for a tree. Remove wire
number one and set it on the third stake in the base line,
stretch the two tight and set a tree stake. Repeat as often as
necessary. In setting the third row of stakes, use the second
as a base line, and so on.
_Planting the Trees._ After setting a stake for each tree, the
ground is ready for digging the holes and setting the trees. A
planting board, such as is shown in the accompanying
illustration, should be provided. It is made of a piece of inch
board, four or five inches wide and five feet long. The ends
may be notched or holes may be bored in them. In the center of
one side, a notch, one and a half inches deep, should be cut.
Provide a large number of small wooden pins or sticks, about
one foot long and well sharpened.
When ready to dig a hole, place the planting-board so that the
notch in the side fits against the tree stake. Then place one
of the small pins in each of the holes or notches at the ends
of the board. Allow these to remain in the ground. Remove the
board and the tree stake and dig the hole.
[Illustration: FIG. 32. Planting-Board.]
The hole should preferably be dug just before setting the tree.
In some cases, however, it may be necessary to have all the
holes dug in advance. Make them wide and deep, six or eight
inches wider than the extended lateral roots and eight inches
deeper than the length of the taproot.
In setting the tree, place the planting-board back on the pegs
and place the tree at the right depth, against the notch in the
side. It will then stand exactly where a stake stood, and if
the stakes were in line, the trees will be also, if they are
kept perpendicular while the earth is being filled in. The
earth should be packed about the roots by hand, the tree being
set no deeper than it stood in the nursery.
To start the trees off well, one pound to one pound and a half
of a good fertilizer, analyzing about six per cent. potash,
five per cent. phosphoric acid and four per cent. nitrogen,
should be thoroughly mixed with the earth that is used in
filling in the hole. Preferably, only surface soil should be
used to place about the roots.
When the hole is filled in about three-fourths, water may be
applied to advantage, particularly if the weather is dry. A
good application should be given after the work is completed,
so as to establish the capillary movement of the water in the
soil.
The greatest care should be taken to prevent the roots from
becoming dry, if they do, the chances of their living, after
planting, are very greatly reduced.
From the time the trees are lifted from the nursery row until
they are set in the orchard, the sun should never be allowed to
shine on them. Neither should they be exposed to hot or drying
winds. Should it happen that the trees are received before
everything is ready for planting them, they should be unpacked
and healed in, in a shady place.
The roots of the trees must be pruned before planting, but this
should be done under a shed. All broken parts of roots should
be carefully cut off, leaving good, smooth surfaces, and the
taproot cut or pruned back, as described in the chapter on
pruning. When the pruning is finished, _the trees should be
wrapped in a damp blanket or in damp sacks and taken to the
field_. When needed for planting, they should be removed one by
one and set out.
CHAPTER XI.
CULTIVATION AND FERTILIZATION.
Too many of our ideas of fruit culture are borrowed from the woods, from
the trees in the pasture lands and uncultivated places generally. As the
pecan is a forest tree in many sections of the country, the inference
is, that it needs no cultivation, no fertilizer, in short, is amply able
to take care of itself. So it is, but not able to yield, at the same
time, the large crops of nuts that are the object of its being planted.
From the woods, there is one lesson which it would be well for everyone
to learn; a lesson, not of the trees, but of the soil, of the dense mass
of mold, of partially decayed leaves, of vegetable matter, of humus that
covers the forest floor. The soil in the pecan orchard needs humus,
vegetable matter; so does the soil in any other kind of orchard, and to
obtain results it must be provided.
Now, it is a well-known fact that a number of years (ten or twelve) must
elapse before a pecan orchard will begin to give any adequate returns
for the time and care bestowed upon it and the money invested in it.
During this period, if rightly handled, the ground may be made to
produce something else than pecan trees, and that, too, without injury
to them. But in growing a crop in the orchard, bear in mind that the
trees need, and are benefited by, cultivation, and that fertilizer will
make them grow.
But, as already noted, humus is needed, and since this is the case, corn
or cotton or clean-culture crops, which leave little behind them to make
humus after they are removed, should not be grown every year. Some of
the legumes should be brought in. Cowpeas, soja beans, beggarweed,
velvet beans, alfalfa and melilotus can all be grown in the pecan area.
Not all of them in every locality, but some one or more of them in every
section. To keep up the supply of vegetable matter, grow one of these
leguminous crops every two or three years, or oftener, and after they
have died and dried on the surface, plow them into the soil. And when
corn is grown, sow cowpeas at the last working of the crop, to enrich
the soil. These legumes will add nitrogen to the soil and help to reduce
the fertilizer bills, for nitrogen is the costliest of all the
fertilizer materials which we buy.
Sometimes, it will not do to crop the orchard. A condition may have to
be met, in which there is not enough water to supply both the trees and
the growing crops and one or the other will suffer--the trees, usually.
In such a case the advisability of cropping is questionable unless, of
course, water in sufficient quantity can be supplied by irrigation.
Small grains, oats, wheat, etc., should be rigidly excluded. When corn
or cotton is planted, leave out a row or two of the crops where the tree
row is. Let the trees have feeding space, but cultivate all the ground.
If the season is dry, then give cultivation just as often as can be
done. Every week or ten days, between the first of April and the first
or middle of July, the ground should be stirred in young orchards.
Shallow cultivation is all that is necessary after the first plowing. A
weeder or light harrow will do the work. This shallow cultivation will
preserve a dust mulch, a couple of inches or so in depth, and the loss
of soil moisture by capillary action and evaporation will thereby be
prevented; more moisture will be retained in the soil and the trees will
be benefited accordingly.
Whether the orchard is planted in a crop or not, cultivation should
begin about the time growth starts in spring. The ground should be
plowed and leveled with a cultivator. After that, frequent shallow
cultivation should be given with a light harrow or weeder. Once every
week or ten days, if the weather is dry, will result in much good to the
trees. If a shower should fall during one of these dry periods, the
ground should be cultivated just as soon as it can be worked. A light
harrow, which will break up the surface crust formed by the rain and
leave instead a shallow mulch of pulverized soil, will go a long way
toward conserving and holding the water which has been added by the
recent rainfall.
The cultivation of old orchards may vary somewhat from that given
younger ones. Some recommend that the old orchard be seeded to grass
(Bermuda or Johnson grass) and used as a pasture. This may answer in
some cases, particularly on very rich, alluvial soils, but, in general,
it will not do as a definite policy year in and year out. Those orchards
planted in grass which the author has had an opportunity to examine,
have usually shown a large percentage of trees with branches dead at the
tips, "stagheaded," with yellow leaves and a general appearance of
unthriftiness. It may have been that these orchards were planted in
grass while the trees were too young. The better treatment, and the
safer one to follow in old orchards, is to cultivate the ground in
spring and sow down in cowpeas or some other legume. Beggarweed, velvet
beans or soja beans will answer well in many localities. Allow these to
make what growth they will, and, when dead and dry, plow them back into
the soil. It may seem strange to cultivate a forest tree, but it is the
plan to follow to get results. Good results could doubtless be secured
by seeding the pecan orchard in alfalfa and using it for a hog pasture
up to the ripening season.
Cultivation should not be prolonged too late. If it be, the trees will
continue to grow later than they should. Enough time will not be left in
many sections before the coming of the first frosts. If the immature,
sappy wood is caught by an early frost, severe injury may result. In the
more southern extension of the pecan area cultivation can be carried on
later than toward the northern limits of the region. Ordinarily, it is
safest to cease cultivation not later than July the first to July the
fifteenth.
FERTILIZATION.
On deep rich, alluvial soils the trees may not need to be fertilized,
but many of the soils on which pecans have been set in orchard form,
require to be fertilized to secure the best results. The three important
plant foods required by plants and most frequently deficient in soils
are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. One or two or all three of these
substances may have to be supplied.
Nitrogen, which is used by the trees largely in making growth of leaf
and wood, may be supplied from a number of different sources, viz:
stable manure, cotton seed, cotton-seed meal, dried blood, fish scrap,
sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda. These substances are the
principal commercial sources of nitrogen. Large amounts of nitrogen are
gathered by leguminous crops; cowpeas, vetch, beggarweed, velvet beans,
alfalfa and others may be planted to advantage, resulting in a great
saving in fertilizer bills, and besides, adding the necessary vegetable
matter and humus.
The most common source of phosphorus, usually referred to as phosphoric
acid, is acid phosphate. Some is obtained from bone, and bone meal is a
good fertilizer to use among pecan trees. The results obtained from its
use are not immediate, but since the bone does not decay rapidly, they
extend over a considerable period. On the whole, acid phosphate is as
satisfactory as any material as a source of phosphoric acid, and the
goods with the highest percentage are usually the most economical in the
end. A good grade is that analyzing fourteen per cent.
Potash may be purchased, as kainit, the raw salt, or as muriate of
potash, low grade sulphate of potash and high grade sulphate of potash.
Of these the sulphates are usually given the preference in fruit
growing. Of the domestic sources of potash, woodashes are important.
The amount of fertilizer which it is best to apply is difficult to
decide upon; much depends on the character of the soil, what crops are
cultivated and whether a crop of legumes is grown or not.
If legumes are grown for the benefit of the orchard, they should be
fertilized, and if the crop is turned back into the soil, this may be
sufficient for the trees, particularly while they are young. For the
legumes, a good fertilizer to use per acre is:
Kainit, 100 lbs.; Acid Phosphate, 200 lbs.
or, High-Grade Sulphate of Potash, 50 lbs.
Acid Phosphate, 200 lbs.
In any case some allowance should be made for the amount of nitrogen
collected by the legumes. When corn, cotton or some other crops are
grown in the orchard, fertilizing may simply consist in distributing an
additional amount of the crop fertilizer for the benefit of the trees.
For the growth of the young trees, a larger amount of nitrogen and a
relatively smaller amount of phosphoric acid and potash are required,
while for older trees, the reverse is true. Phosphoric acid and potash
are required by bearing trees for the formation of fruit. Consequently,
when the pecan orchard comes into bearing, these materials should be
increased in the fertilizer applied. If the soil is not very rich at the
time of planting, good results will follow the use of a pound of good
commercial fertilizer at the time of planting.
A good fertilizer for young trees should analyze five per cent.
phosphoric acid, six per cent. potash and four per cent. nitrogen. For
bearing trees, one analyzing eight per cent. phosphoric acid, ten per
cent. potash and four per cent. nitrogen will give good results. If so
desired, well-known brands of commercial fertilizers, having
approximately the above analysis, can be purchased in the markets, but
if preferred, the several materials may be purchased separately, then
mixed and applied.
APPLYING THE FERTILIZER.
The roots of young trees do not extend to any great distance away from
the trunk. In distributing the fertilizer this fact should be
remembered. A safe rule for all small-sized trees is to commence just
outside an imaginary circle of two feet radius and apply the fertilizer
in a circular band extending out some distance beyond the spread of the
branches. Old trees, or those having a considerable spread of top, when
planted in orchard form, should be fertilized by broadcasting the
fertilizer over the ground. In the northerly pecan sections, all the
fertilizer should be given in one application, about the time growth
starts in spring, and plowed in, while farther south, two applications
may be made, one at the time mentioned above, the other from the first
to the middle of June.
CHAPTER XII.
PRUNING.
The pruning of the pecan is neither difficult nor complicated. In short,
after the top of the tree is well started, little need be done except to
cut back a branch here and there that the trees may develop
well-rounded, symmetrical tops. A splendid type of tree is shown in
Plate VI.
HIGH VS. LOW-HEADED TREES.
Frequently trees are so pruned that their first branches are eight or
ten feet from the ground. Even young trees are pruned to slim stems,
surmounted by a small umbrella-like top. Such trees frequently have to
be tied to a post to keep them upright until such time as they attain
sufficient size to support themselves. Such pruning should not be
countenanced. The trees will make a much more rapid and satisfactory
growth, and their trunks will be less affected by the hot sun, if the
branches are allowed to develop lower down. Sometimes the system of
pruning pecans with tall, bare trunks is adopted to allow of crops being
grown under the trees, or because it is desired to use the ground as a
cattle pasture. These considerations should not weigh against the
welfare of the trees. As much ground can be cropped around low-headed
trees as is good for them, and, in brief, the cows should be pastured
elsewhere.
Ordinarily the top of the tree should be so shaped that the lower
branches will be about four feet from the ground. The trunk will be
shaded and protected, the crop will be nearer the ground, and the low
tops will be less subject to the destructive force of heavy winds, so
injurious to both fruit and branches.
To start the trees at four feet, the tops must be cut back to that
height at the time the trees are set, or, if smaller, when they have
grown to that height. Three or four buds nearest the top should then be
allowed to develop and form the main framework of the tree. After this
the trees will need little or no pruning, except the cutting back of
straggling branches, and the removal of dead or broken ones.
Some writers have advised the persistent and severe cutting back of the
tops, from time to time, so as to keep them small, compact and low, but
such a system of pruning must be put into practice on a considerable
scale for a number of years before it can be recommended. Such a plan
might prove valuable where the trees are subject to the force of strong
winds, but otherwise it is of doubtful value.
TIME TO PRUNE.
Pruning may be done at any convenient time, but the best period is
probably either just before the flow of sap in spring, or just after the
trees have fully developed their leaves in spring. Following the removal
of branches of any considerable size--three-quarters of an inch and
upward--the wounds should be carefully painted over with white lead
paint to prevent decay.
CARE OF BROKEN TREES.
When trees are broken or injured by wind-storms, the broken branches
should be cut off and the resulting wounds carefully trimmed and
painted. If the branches are only partly split off, the injury may be
repaired, in many cases, by pressing the branch back into place and
bolting it there, so as to hold it firmly in place. Trees with forked
trunks should be protected by passing a bolt through the two branches
some distance above where they divide to prevent splitting.
NURSERY ROOT-PRUNING.
Too frequently the root system of pecan trees, intended for planting, is
but poorly developed. The root consists almost entirely of one large
taproot destitute of laterals. Such trees are slow in starting and are
hard to transplant. Figure 33 shows an excellent root system on a
nursery tree. Such a tree should be almost as easily transplanted as an
apple tree. A little more care on the part of nurserymen would insure
good root systems.
In a former publication it was suggested that the young seedlings
intended for stocks be root-pruned "in the fall, after the trees are one
year old. It could easily be accomplished by running the tree-digger
down the row at a depth of nine or ten inches. The taproots could thus
be severed, and the following spring, or summer, the trees could be
worked (budded or grafted). This course of treatment would insure
greater success in transplanting, as it would have a tendency to develop
the lateral roots; and in addition to that, it would, in all
probability, induce earlier fruiting."
ROOT TRIMMING BEFORE PLANTING.
Two year old taproots should be cut to eighteen or twenty-four inches;
larger ones, in proportion. The old idea that transplanted pecan trees,
the taproots of which have been cut back, will not live and bear, is not
borne out by experience. They are in no-wise injured by its partial
removal, and it might all be removed were it not that so many would die
in transplanting.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. A nursery tree with a good root system.]
Figure 34 shows two pecan trees at two years. The one on the right was
carefully lifted so as to preserve as much as possible of the taproot,
while the one on the left had the taproot cut when it was transplanted
at one year. In the latter, six small roots from four and one-half to
eight inches in length had grown out to replace the taproot, these
doubtless having supplied the tree with as much nourishment as would
have been given by its single taproot. Furthermore, without doubt, one
of these roots would have grown so as to replace the taproot.
The advice has been given to cut the taproots back to five or six
inches, but under general average climatic conditions throughout the
pecan region anyone who follows this advice will have reason to regret
it. Our experience in transplanting pecan trees has been such as to
indicate the necessity of having a well-branched, well-developed root
system, and a taproot, when present, should be left at least as long as
indicated above.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. a. Taproot cut at 1 yr. b. Taproot not cut.]
A long taproot is objectionable on account of the additional cost and
labor entailed in digging holes of sufficient depth for planting. To
shorten the length of the taproot, Mr. E. E. Risien, of San Saba, Tex.,
has patented a method which has given satisfactory results. The nuts
from which the stocks are grown are planted over strips of mosquito
netting, the netting being some distance below the level of the nuts.
When the taproots have penetrated to the netting, their growth is
stopped, and the lateral roots develop better in consequence.
PART IV.
Harvesting. Marketing.
CHAPTER XIII.
GATHERING, STORING AND MARKETING PECANS.
While, in preparing a crop of pecan nuts for market, such extreme care
need not be exercised as in handling a crop of peaches, plums or
oranges, still there are a number of details which require careful
attention to secure the best results. Careful attention to these few
points is quite as necessary as in handling any other fruit crop, though
it might appear otherwise.
_Time to Gather._ As a rule the bulk of the nut crop must be disposed of
before Thanksgiving, and there is in consequence a strong disposition to
gather the crop anyway, whether ready or not. Much might be said on both
sides of the question, but in general it must be granted that gathering
the crop while still somewhat immature, and beating the trees to cause
the nuts to drop, cannot be commended.
When the great majority of nut husks are open, the crop of the tree is
ready to be harvested. It will not do to wait until every burr is open
(some varieties never open, but such are extremely undesirable), for it
will usually be found that by far the most of those which do not open,
on trees which open their burrs uniformly, are faulty, and it will not
pay to wait for them. Neither should such be left on the tree, but the
whole tree should be stripped at the time already indicated. It will be
necessary to use light bamboo poles to remove the nuts with closed
burrs.
_Picking._ The nuts must either be picked by hand or knocked off the
trees onto the ground with sticks. From whatever standpoint we may
regard the gathering of the crops, in orchards of good varieties, the
best plan for the removal of the nuts is to take them off, in so far as
possible, by hand. Men should climb the trees and collect the nuts in
sacks. Men provided with sacks can, with the help of a good extension
ladder, reach the most of the nuts on ordinary trees, up to forty or
fifty feet in height. A good man will pick one hundred pounds of the
shelled nuts in a day, at a cost of one dollar--or one cent per pound.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. After the Harvest.]
In gathering the crop, the product of each individual tree, in the case
of heavy-bearing seedlings, or of each group of trees of a single
variety of grafted trees, should be kept in a single pile or lot. It
will not do to mix nuts of different sizes, shapes and colors, if the
best price is to be hoped for.
_Curing._ As soon as removed from the trees the nuts should be carried
to the curing house. This house should be absolutely rat-proof. Here
they are to be picked from the hulls, the unopened burrs being placed
apart by themselves. If they open later, well and good; some good nuts
may be found among them, but usually they are inferior and should be
kept strictly apart from the other portion of the crop. The cost of
removing a hundred pounds of nuts from the hulls is about fifty cents.
As soon as the nuts have been separated from the hulls, they should be
spread out in shallow trays for curing. These trays should be two and
one-half or three feet wide and four or five inches deep. The bottoms
are best covered with wire netting with meshes about one-half inch
square. They may be arranged around the walls of the curing room, one
tier above another. The room should be provided with good ventilation so
as to give a free circulation of air. In the trays the nuts may be
placed two or three layers deep; if placed too deep there is danger of
their moulding. They should be turned over from time to time, and, under
average conditions, two weeks will be sufficient to cure them
thoroughly.
_Grading._ Before packing for market, the nuts should be carefully
graded. Too much attention cannot be given to this detail. Rigid grading
pays--it pays handsomely, and the more abundant the supply, the better
it pays.
It will not do to mix together nuts of all sizes, shapes, and
colors--some small, some large, some pointed, some blunt, some dark,
some light, some streaked, and then expect to get the full value of the
crop. It cannot be done with a good grade of pecans.
Perhaps in no kind of fruit which is placed on the market can a more
nearly absolutely uniform grade be made (see Frontispiece). The variety
should be the basis of the grade. In gathering the crop, each variety
should be put by itself as it is gathered. In most varieties the size is
quite uniform, and little else need be done; but if there is any
considerable variation in size, the small ones should be removed from
the first grade of nuts.
Polishing and staining should not be done. It is always best to let each
variety retain its own individual marks and characteristics. These are a
part of the market quality of the variety and should, by all means, be
retained. Mixed lots of seedling nuts may be polished to render them
more uniform, but the staining is an abomination, though some people
would rather have it, not knowing, perhaps, what a pecan looks like
without it.
_Shipping Packages._ The package should be strong and light, and should
afford ample protection to the product. We have known pecans to be
shipped by mail, freight or express, in bags, and losses have occurred.
Barrels for larger shipments, and wooden boxes for smaller ones are
best, and afford the necessary protection. Gift packages, holding ten or
twenty pounds or even more, should be made of half inch stuff at least,
with ends three-quarters or one inch thick. Grocery boxes may be cut up,
planed off, and made over. In all cases the packages should be neat and
clean, and in perfect keeping with the contents. The name and address of
the grower, the name of the variety, and the number of pounds should be
neatly stamped on the outside.
_Marketing._ As it is at present, so will it be for many years to come,
strictly first-class pecans will be handled almost entirely by or
through a private trade. We know of several growers who dispose of their
crops of several thousand pounds annually to private customers who have
learned the value of good nuts. So greatly has the demand increased that
in no single instance is anyone of these men able to supply the demand
of the natural outgrowth of his own work, and orders are usually booked
a year or more in advance. This is the ideal method of handling the
crop, and the one method which enables the grower to secure the best
price for his product.
In building up such a private trade, advertising must be resorted to,
either through the newspapers, magazines and other channels, or by
distributing samples of nuts. "Once a customer, always a customer"
should be the motto for the grower to hold in mind, and every effort
should be made and every precaution taken to _see that the nuts, from
year to year, are absolutely uniform in size, shape, and quality_. Do
not send a customer one size, shape, or quality one year, at a certain
price, and the next year vary it. Such treatment will tend to make
customers dissatisfied, and the grower may lose them entirely. This
point cannot be too strongly emphasized.
Strictly first-class nuts may be disposed of to advantage to the
first-class grocery or fruit trade in the larger cities. In cities of
any considerable size, there will always be found a grocer or fruiter
who is willing to take a first-class article at a price considerably
above the usual market price of ordinary nuts. The writer once submitted
samples of nuts of medium, but uniform size and good quality, to a
grocery firm in New York. They replied that they would take nuts like
the samples at twelve and a half to fifteen cents a pound in carload
lots, when the common run of pecans could be purchased at four or five
cents per pound.
As the output of high-grade pecans is increased, they may be disposed of
through the usual nut trade channels--the commission men. The bulk of
the product in the country to-day is handled by commission men, either
being purchased direct or sold on consignment. If sold for cash in the
home market, well and good, but if sold on consignment, choose one
reliable commission house in each city in which the product is to be
marketed--never two in the same city--and ship to it right along.
_Storing._ During the cold weather following the gathering of the crop,
little or no change takes place in the flavor of the kernels. During the
heat of summer, however, they deteriorate. The natural amount of
moisture in them is reduced, the air enters, oxidation takes place and
the flavor becomes rancid.
These changes can be prevented if the nuts are kept in cold storage, say
at a temperature of from thirty-five to forty degrees. When nuts are
kept in the house, they should be stored in the coolest possible place,
in sealed jars or tight boxes.
PART V.
Diseases. Insects.
CHAPTER XIV.
FUNGOUS AND OTHER DISEASES OF THE PECAN.
The fungous diseases attacking the pecan have not been thoroughly
investigated. They have not, however, become so numerous or common as to
cause serious damage except in a few instances. The true fungous
diseases are usually propagated and disseminated by means of spores, and
the most effectual method of control usually consists in spraying with
Bordeaux mixture or some other fungicide. For all fungous diseases of
the pecan which may be controlled by spraying no substance will give
better results than Bordeaux mixture, and directions for preparing it
are given at the end of this chapter. Paris green, at the rate of four
ounces to each fifty gallons of liquid, may be added to the mixture for
the destruction of biting insects. For effectual work in spraying large
trees, a platform should be erected on the wagon-bed to make it possible
to reach the tops with the spray.
PECAN LEAF BLIGHT (_Cercospora Halstedii_): This disease of
pecan leaves causes them to turn brown, wither up and drop
prematurely. At first, small brown spots are noted. These
become larger, and at length the whole leaf is destroyed. When
attacked by this disease the tree makes no progress. An
examination of the discolored areas, under a microscope, shows
the presence of tuft-like growths of spores upon short
conidiophores. As they become matured the spores are scattered
by the rain or wind and so the disease is spread. It probably
lives over from one season to another on the diseased leaves.
The most effective remedy is to spray thoroughly three times
with Bordeaux mixture. The first application should be given
just when the young leaves are expanding, followed by two
others at intervals of two or three weeks. The fallen leaves
should, if feasible, be gathered and burned.
Pecan Scab (_Fusicladium effusum_): This disease attacks the
fruit, leaves and twigs. The husks of the diseased nuts become
covered with dark spots or specks. They become hardened and
crack open in places. As a result of the attack, growth is
stopped, the fruit does not fill out and mature, but drops
prematurely or, in some cases, remains attached to the trees
long after the leaves have fallen. Round, black spots form on
the leaves when attacked by the fungous. These become dead and
brown and in most cases the whole leaf is destroyed. When
attacked, the trees are usually so badly injured that they make
little progress. Not all varieties are subject to the disease
in the same degree and some appear to be entirely exempt.
[Illustration: _Photo by H. A. Gossard._
FIG. 36. Spraying Pecan Trees.]
Those varieties which are not attacked should be given
preference in propagating work. The disease may be further
controlled by spraying with Bordeaux mixture, as directed under
leaf-blight.
PECAN ROSETTE: [L]"The earliest symptoms are a peculiar
crimping of the leaves at the ends of the branches. These
leaves are smaller with crimped margin, and when held to the
light show light green or yellow streaks between the veins. The
leaf tissue in these light-colored areas is thin and
undeveloped and often breaks away leaving angular holes in the
leaves. A tree usually shows the disease over the whole top at
once, though sometimes only a single branch is affected at
first. As the disease progresses, the foliage assumes a bunched
appearance, due to the formation of tufts of leaves at the ends
of the branches. This characteristic has led us to use the term
"Rosette" as a name for the malady.
"The next stage of the disease which is observed the second
year or later, is a dying-back of the branches from the tips.
This is followed by the development of numerous small, lateral
branches from adventitious buds. These are short, producing
thick clusters of small, unhealthy leaves, sometimes reduced to
mere skeletons, so that the rosetted appearance of the tree is
intensified. This goes on from year to year. The growth of the
tree is checked and these abnormal branches are formed only to
die back each year. Trees in the earliest stages of rosette
have been observed to have light crops of nuts, but, when badly
diseased, are barren and unsightly or worse. Rosette has been
found in all ages, from nursery stock to trees forty feet high.
"The cause of the disease remains a mystery. No fungous or
other parasite can be detected in the earliest stages. The
appearance of the trees leads us to infer that the trouble is
internal, due to some derangement of the nutritive or
assimilative functions of the plant, but we are unable to
correlate this with any corresponding external conditions. That
is to say, that so many cases have been observed on fertile
soil, when cultivation, drainage and plant food had all been
provided, that it is impossible to conclude that the disease
could be due to starvation or to the lack of any single element
in the soil, nor can it be due to over-feeding, since it occurs
in light soils and in neglected orchards.
"It seems probable that it will be classed by the plant
pathologist with peach rosette, peach yellows, and related
diseases, the causes of which still remain unknown after years
of investigation. The indications are that it is contagious,
though a complete demonstration of this point remains to be
made; at any rate, it must be regarded with concern until more
knowledge is available."
The best recommendation that can be made in regard to pecans
affected by this disease is to dig them up and burn them.
BORDEAUX MIXTURE.
Copper sulphate, 5 pounds.
Lime (unslacked), 5 pounds.
Water, 50 gallons.
Dissolve the copper sulphate in two gallons of water, place it
in barrel No. 1 and add water to make twenty-five gallons.
Slack the lime, reduce it to a very thin paste, place it in
barrel No. 2 and add water to make twenty-five gallons. To mix
the solutions of lime and copper sulphate, dip a bucketful from
each barrel, and pour together into the barrel of the spray
pump. _The two mixtures should flow together as they are poured
into the barrel._ This is one of the secrets of making a
first-class mixture. The best arrangement is to have the
barrels, Nos. 1 and 2, elevated, and use a piece of rubber hose
to run the liquids into the pump barrel.
If a large amount of spraying is to be done, a somewhat
different policy should be pursued. Too much time would be
taken up in preparing the ingredients in small quantities.
Instead, large amounts of copper sulphate should be dissolved
and large quantities of lime slacked beforehand. This may be
done as follows:
In a fifty-gallon barrel place about forty gallons of water.
Put one hundred pounds of copper sulphate in a sack and suspend
it in the water. As soon as dissolved, fill up to the
fifty-gallon mark. When well stirred, each gallon will contain
two pounds of copper sulphate. Each time some of the solution
is dipped out, the height of the remaining portion should be
marked on the inside of the barrel. Before taking more of the
solution out of the barrel, any amount of water lost by
evaporation should be made good by filling up to the mark last
made.
As soon as procured the lime should be slacked, placed in a
barrel and kept covered with an inch or two of water. In this
way it can be kept indefinitely.
To prepare Bordeaux mixture from these stock solutions, dip out
two and a half gallons of the copper sulphate solution, place
it in barrel No. 1 and dilute to twenty-five gallons. From the
slacked lime take fifteen pounds, or thereabouts, to allow for
the water it contains, reduce to a thin paste, place it in
barrel No. 2 and add water to make twenty-five gallons. Pour
the contents of barrels Nos. 1 and 2 together, as already
directed.
_Tests_: If free copper be present, severe injury may be done
to the foliage or other tender parts of the plants. Sufficient
lime should be added to neutralize it.
Dip out a small quantity in a porcelain saucer or shallow bowl,
and holding it on a level with the mouth, blow the breath
gently into it. If a thin pellicle forms on the surface, more
lime must be added. Add and test until it does not form. An
excess of lime will not hurt.
Another test is to dip the blade of a clean knife into the
mixture. If a thin film of copper forms on it after holding it
there a minute or so, more lime must be added.
Use good materials and prepare the mixtures thoroughly.
In making up the various mixtures, never use iron vessels, but
use glass, wood or crockery receptacles instead.
Strain all mixtures thoroughly into the spray pump to prevent
clogging of the pump or nozzles.
Spray thoroughly and in good season. _Be in time._
Do not use mixtures which have been leftover and allowed to
stand for some time.
FOOTNOTES:
[L] Orton, W. A., proceedings second annual convention National Nut
Growers' Association, 1903, p. 82. 1904.
CHAPTER XV.
INSECTS ATTACKING THE PECAN.
Some time ago the statement was occasionally made that the pecan had no
known enemies. This, to thinking and observing persons, was too good to
be true, and fortunately the words, "no known," were inserted, for later
investigations, particularly on the part of Profs. Gossard and Herrick,
have revealed the fact that the pecan, in common with all other fruit
trees, is subject to the attacks of insect and other enemies. But the
outlook is hopeful, for we know of the abandonment of no fruit industry
because of the attacks of insect pests, and the pecan industry is in no
wise in danger of being abandoned because of their inroads.
FEEDING HABITS OF INSECTS.
If an insect is to be successfully controlled, the grower must know
something of its life-history, and particularly of its feeding-habits.
Careful observation of the insect, while at its work of destruction,
will frequently give a clue to the method of control. Many insects, like
the caterpillars of the pecan, bud-moth and case-worm, obtain their food
by biting off pieces of the leaves or other parts of the tree and
swallowing the solid particles. On the other hand, a number of insects,
such as the scales and plant-lice, obtain their food by thrusting their
small, bristle-like sucking tubes into the tissues of the leaves and
sucking out the juices contained in the cells.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII. The Pecan Bud Moth (Proteopteryx deludana).
1. Winter stage on bud, enlarged. 2. Tube made in leaf. 3. Work of bud
destruction. 4. Caterpillar, enlarged about twice. 5. Cocoon, enlarged.
6. Chrysalis, reduced. 7. Moth, enlarged. 8. Moth, about natural size.]
It is quite obvious that these two classes of insects cannot be
controlled or destroyed in the same way. Those which eat solid particles
of food may, in most cases, be destroyed by applying some poisonous
substance, such as arsenate of lead or Paris green, to the food which
they eat. But those which obtain their food by sucking cannot be killed
in this way. They can be destroyed, however, by spraying over their
bodies some substance, such as kerosene emulsion, which will penetrate
their bodies and so kill them. Or, they may be killed by suffocating
them with a gas or by stopping up their breathing pores with some
powdered substance, such as pyrethrum. Some insecticides, such as resin
wash, act both as a caustic application and a suffocating covering.
For convenience in referring to insects which attack the pecan, we have
grouped them as follows: (1) Insects attacking buds and leaves; (2)
Insects attacking the trunk and branches; (3) Insects attacking the
fruit.
INSECTS ATTACKING BUDS AND LEAVES.
THE BUD WORMS: At least two species of caterpillars are known
by this name. The moth of one has been called the bud-moth. The
caterpillar of the other has been called the case-worm. Prof.
Gossard writes, that he unexpectedly found adult moths of
_Proteopteryx deludana_, November 28th, 1905, and therefore
believes, from this observation and other circumstantial
evidence, that he was "mixed" regarding the autumn life-history
of these insects, as set forth in Bulletin 79 of the Florida
Experiment Station. He furnishes the following paragraph as a
summary of what he can say of the bud worms:
"The Bud Moth, _Proteopteryx deludana_, is a serious pest,
especially in young orchards. Sometimes, in such orchards, even
when large, scarcely a tree can be found during the month of
May that does not contain one or several nests. The
caterpillars are usually found singly, each with one side of a
leaf folded over it and fastened to form a tube, or sometimes
two leaves are fastened together with silken bonds and the
caterpillar feeds between them. As fast as the leaves it has
attached become brown and die, it draws fresh leaves to the
dead ones and fastens them there, thus gradually making a very
conspicuous nest. The caterpillar is full grown during the last
of May and the first of June when they transform into moths.
Their pupæ cases are formed of silk and excrement, smoothly
lined with silk and snugly hidden away in a nest of leaves. In
about two weeks from the time of pupation, the moths appear.
Early specimens have sometimes been hatched from buds, only
partially expanded. They are small, about five-sixteenths of an
inch in length and five-eighths of an inch across the expanded
wings. In general color they are grayish, streaked and dotted
with blackish-brown. A characteristic habit is to alight and
rest on the tree trunk, head downward. The moths have again
been observed in November, suggesting that there are two broods
a year. Thorough, persistent spraying with arsenate of lead or
Paris green, in April and May, ought to control this species."
THE CASE WORM (_Acrobasis nebulella_): This insect, often found
associated with the bud moth, probably does more damage than any other
pecan insect. The caterpillars are about five-eighths of an inch in
length, a dirty brownish-green in color, and live in silk-lined cases or
tubes attached to the petioles of the leaves. From these they protrude
themselves to feed. Frequently a pair of leaflets are tied together
(Plate IX, Fig. 6), and between these the caterpillars live and feed
upon the tips of the protecting leaflets. Opening buds, partially
developed and full-grown leaves alike are destroyed. Earlier in the
season, characteristic nests of partially eaten leaves, petioles and
excrement are formed by several caterpillars tying the mass together
with silk. In this nest they live and develop. The caterpillars pupate
within their silken tubes, and the small gray moths (five-eighths to
three-fourths of an inch in length) emerge about two weeks after
pupation, chiefly in June. The small, hibernating "cocoons" found on and
around the buds in winter and the tortuous tubes observed on the leaves
in summer and fall, which have been referred to (_Proteopteryx
deludana_), probably belong to this species. At least, caterpillars
one-fourth grown and contained in cocoons apparently not essentially
different from the smaller ones, contain worms having the characteristic
appearance of the grown _acrobasis_. Spraying with arsenicals in April,
May and June should destroy this pest. Spraying in late July and August
would also promise results of value.
[Illustration: PLATE IX. The Case Worm.
1. Supposed winter stage. 2. Caterpillar, enlarged. 3-4. Moth, nearly
natural size. 5. Cases. 6. Work on leaves.]
THE CATOTOCALAS (_Catocala piatrix_ and _C. viduata_): The caterpillars
of these insects are frequently found during April, May and June feeding
upon the leaves of the pecan. They are ravenous feeders, and if present
in sufficient numbers, considerable damage is done. The caterpillars are
from two to two and a half or three inches in length when fully
extended, gray and striped, leathery in appearance, very closely
resembling the back of the tree upon which they rest when not feeding.
Having attained its full growth as a caterpillar, it ties together two
or three leaves with strands of silk, thus making a loose cocoon within
which it pupates. The pupa is dark brown, covered with a whitish or
bluish-white bloom. In about one month the moths emerge. They are large
in size, the body being one to one and one-fourth inches long and the
expanded wings two and one-half to three inches across. When at rest
they are dull gray in color, more or less marked with irregular waving
lines. The hind or under-wings are strikingly different from the
fore-wings. In C. piatrix they are deep orange-yellow marked from side
to side with two black bands. The hind-wings of C. viduata are dark
brown and edged with a narrow white band.
The caterpillars may be destroyed by spraying with some one of the
arsenical poisons, or they may be removed by hand and destroyed. Prof.
Gossard recommends the tying of a piece of burlap around the trees.
Beneath this the caterpillars hide during the night and they may then be
destroyed.
[Illustration: PLATE X. A Pecan Catocala. (C. Piatrix.)
Caterpillar, Cocoon, Chrysalis, and Moths about one-half natural size.]
THE FALL WEB-WORM (_Hyphantria cunea_): The caterpillars of this insect
begin work early in spring, shortly after the leaves are full grown.
They work in colonies, and the leaves on which they feed are enclosed in
a web, which is extended as the caterpillars grow or as they require
additional leaves to feed upon. When full grown the caterpillars measure
about one inch in length and are covered with hairs both long and short.
The matured caterpillars leave the webs and crawl down the trees to hunt
for places beneath the bark, under sticks, weeds and trash in which to
pupate. A light, flimsy cocoon, composed of silk and the hairs of the
larva, is made. From this, in due time, a beautiful moth, an inch or an
inch and a quarter across the wings, emerges. The wings are pure white
or white spotted with black or brownish-black. The eggs are laid in
masses of four or five hundred on the leaves. These hatch in about ten
days, and the colonies of young caterpillars begin their work of
destruction. There are two broods in the South each summer; the first
appearing in May and June, the second in August and September. The fall
brood hybernates in the pupa state.
The caterpillars may be destroyed on small trees by removing the webs
and killing the larvæ. On large trees a torch of some sort may be used
to burn the web and the caterpillars within it. They may be also held in
check by applying a spray of Paris green or arsenate of lead at the time
the broods are feeding.
THE PECAN CATERPILLAR (_Datana interrigma_): A buff-colored moth, having
a body about one-half inch long and a wing expanse of one and
three-fourths inches, with four transverse brown stripes on the front
wings, lays its greenish or white eggs in clusters of five to twelve
hundred on the underside of the lower leaves of the pecan trees. These
eggs hatch in less than a week, and the colonies of young caterpillars
at first feed upon the undersides of the leaves. They cast their skins
four times, each time increasing in size and changing their color
somewhat. The last moult, and sometimes the last two, take place on the
trunk of the tree, and the clusters of discarded skins frequently remain
for several months afterwards. After the last moult they ascend the
trees, remain feeding for a short while, then go down to the ground to
pupate. When disturbed, the larvæ raise both ends of their bodies from
the twigs or leaves, on which they rest. They are easily recognized by
this habit. When full grown they are one and one-half to one and
three-quarters of an inch in length, covered with dirty white hair, and
marked with two conspicuous longitudinal white lines, one on each side
of the body. There are two broods, the last one hibernating in the
ground in the pupa state.
The leaves on which the eggs are laid may be gathered and destroyed, or
the colonies of young caterpillars may be gathered and burned. Later,
they may be burned off with a torch, killed when clustered on the trunk
during the last moult, or poisoned with an arsenical spray.
INSECTS ATTACKING THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES.
THE TWIG GIRDLER (_Oneideres cingulatus_ and _O. texana_): These two
insects frequently do considerable damage to pecan trees in late summer
by cutting off the smaller branches. Branches from one-fourth to
three-fourths of an inch are usually the ones attacked. The insect is a
beetle, and the two species closely resemble each other. They are dark
gray in color, one half to five-eighths inch in length, with antennæ
longer than the body and provided with stout, powerful mandibles. The
female insect cuts the branch by working round and round it until it is
almost entirely severed. She then lays a number of eggs in it, usually
one or two being placed near each bud. A small cut is made and the egg
is inserted between the bark and the wood, and the opening is then
sealed up with a gummy substance. As the insect moves along the twig a
series of transverse cuts are made in the bark. The twigs usually drop
to the ground. The eggs hatch as soon as the weather becomes
sufficiently warm in spring, and the larvæ feed in the twigs, making
tunnels through them as they grow. Later, they pupate within the tunnels
and emerge during August and September as fully developed insects,
having spent one year in their growth from egg to mature insect. It is
believed that in some cases the life cycle lasts two years.
The best and most effective treatment is to gather and burn all the
twigs which have been cut from the trees. This should be done,
preferably late in autumn after the leaves have fallen, as there is
greater certainty of getting all the severed twigs than if left until a
later date.
THE OAK PRUNER (_Elaphidion villosum_): Sometimes[M] pecan twigs, when
smartly bent, will snap off with a clean, square cut across the
branches, as if they were hollow-glass tubes, breaking at cracked or
weakened places. An examination of such a broken stem shows "that its
woody part, with the exception of a few fibers and the bark, has been
cut across as if with a saw by a soft, yellowish-white grub, which can
often be found in a burrow in the severed part. Since the uncut bark is
the chief support left for the branch, any stiff wind or even its own
weight will break it off as soon as it has become deadened. * * * * * *
"The adult is a longicorn beetle, of slender, cylindrical form,
over one-half inch in length and about one-eighth of an inch in
width. It is of a dull, black color, tinged with brown on the
wing covers, especially toward their tips. The underside of the
body and legs are chestnut colored. Over all parts of the body
can be found short, grayish hairs. Some small, gray spots on
the wing-covers and a whitish dot on each side of the thorax
are formed by dense collections of gray hairs at these points.
Coarse, round punctures are thickly sprinkled over the upper
surface of the thorax and wing-covers.
"The larva, when grown, is about three-fifths of an inch long,
tapering backwards from the neck. The body is divided by deep
grooves into twelve rings or segments. There are three pairs of
feet. The color is yellowish-white, the front of the head being
blackish. Probably, about midsummer, with a possible variation
of two mouths in each direction from this date, the parent
beetle deposits her eggs, preferably on a small twig of the
preceding year's growth. Upon hatching, the young larva
commences to eat the tender wood just beneath the bark, and
later enters the center of the twig and works toward its base.
In this manner it works its way into the main limb, which may
be of considerable size, and feeds within it for a period of
about three years. The burrow thus becomes several inches in
length, in many cases. Just before transforming to pupæ some,
but not all, of the larvæ, cut the wood for the purpose of
dropping the branches, as before described. Limbs in which the
immature larvæ are working often break off with ragged end when
bent with the hand.
"* * * Pick up and burn all fallen branches. Similar attention
should be given nearby oak and hickory limbs, which have
fallen."
THE PECAN TREE BORER (_Sesia scitula_): The moth of this insect is
clear-winged and closely resembles the moth of the peach tree borer.
Little is known of its life-history.
"It[N] is probable that the eggs are deposited by the female moth on the
bark of a tree near a fresh wound. For example, near newly set buds. The
eggs hatch and the larvæ bore into the bark, and there live for a time,
eating out the soft inner-bark and tender wood. It is certain that the
borers live in these situations the over winter and change to pupæ in
the spring, from which the moths emerge in April. The moths I reared
appeared April 3rd, 4th and 6th. The pupæ are in cocoons, just under the
bark. The cocoons are made from excrement and bits of bark that have
been fastened together with silk similar to the cocoons of the peach
tree borer. Whether these moths, that emerge in the spring, lay eggs and
produce a brood in the summer, that in turn develops a fall brood of
larvæ, I am unable to say."
"The[O] young borer is apt to gain entrance to the sapwood through some
wound in the bark, such as a graft-union, and here it feeds, sometimes
completely girdling the sapwood above and below the wound. It is said to
prefer to attack buds that have been budded on old, large trees. As a
general rule the burrows ascend the tree in a spiral about the trunk, so
complete girdling is unusual, but growth sometime ceases above the
groove, new limbs being shot out from below."
The only satisfactory means of controlling this pest is to go carefully
over the tree and dig out the borers. The trees should be examined from
time to time in order to keep them free from borers.
INSECTS ATTACKING THE FRUIT.
THE PECAN WEEVIL (_Balantinus caryae_): In some localities considerable
damage has been caused by the pecan weevil. The insect is a small,
brownish-black snout beetle, somewhat less than one-half inch in length.
The proboscis or snout is slender and as long as the body. With this
proboscis the beetle bores a very small hole through the husk and shell
of the immature pecan to the kernel, and at the bottom deposits an egg.
This egg hatches into a larva, which feeds upon the kernel of the nut.
In autumn the larvæ, when full grown, bore holes through the shells of
the pecan and enter the ground in which they pass the winter. The next
season they emerge from the earth as fully-matured insects, and about
the month of August deposit their eggs in the nuts.
After the harvesting of the crop the hogs should be allowed to feed
under trees in which the weevil is present, so as to devour any infested
nuts which may have been left on the ground. Poultry may also be of
assistance in destroying the insects after they have entered the ground
to pupate. It is probable that the larvæ in the nuts may be destroyed by
fumigating with carbon bi-sulphide. The nuts should be placed in a tight
box, and one-half pound for each five hundred cubic feet of space used,
allowing them to remain for forty-eight hours.
THE HICKORY SHUCK WORM (_Grapholitha caryana_): Sometimes pecan nuts are
attacked, as they approach maturity, by a small, white caterpillar,
which mines its way through the shucks of the nuts. This caterpillar is
the hickory shuck worm, the larva of a small moth.
But little is known of its life-history, and until more is known of its
habits, the best advice that can be given is to gather and destroy the
infested nuts by burning them.
FOOTNOTES:
[M] Gossard.
[N] Hedrick. (See index of literature).
[O] Gossard. (See index of literature).
PART VI.
Uses. Literature.
CHAPTER XVI.
PECAN KERNELS.
Pecan nuts are used in a variety of ways. Not so very long since they
were used almost entirely for dessert purposes, now they are largely
used in making pastries and confections of different kinds. Based on
these uses, new industries for supplying the kernels have been
developed. The kernels are now put on the market in glass jars of
different kinds and sizes, usually retailing at from 50 cents to 75
cents per pound. This is perhaps the most convenient form in which to
buy them, but unfortunately, they are too frequently old and rancid.
When stock is carried through the heat of summer in the ordinary jar,
this is invariably the case, and some new method of packing them must be
introduced if this way of disposing of the product is to increase in
favor, as it should. Certain experiments now under way give promise that
the kernels can be kept fresh and free from rancidity indefinitely.
For the present, at least, the only certain way of procuring good, fresh
pecan kernels is to procure fresh nuts--those which have been kept over
in cold-storage are good--and crack them at the time when they are
needed. For the household, an ordinary pair of nut-crackers will answer,
but they should be of a particular type. The jaws should be formed with
sharp-cutting edges.
NUT-CRACKERS.
In the accompanying illustration, four kinds of nut-crackers are shown.
The two at the right are reversible. The best pair is represented at the
extreme left of the engraving. The bars are square, the grooves in them
are curved inward leaving the teeth sharp and pointed out flush with the
edge.
[Illustration: _From American Nut Journal, Petersburg, Va._
FIG. 37. Nut Crackers of different types.]
To remove the kernels without breaking, grasp the nut with the crackers
as close to the end as possible, and gently but firmly apply sufficient
pressure to force the sharp teeth of the crackers into the shell.
Revolve the nut and repeat the operation until the end is marked with a
ring of indentations. Then apply a little greater pressure to start a
slight crack, and follow the crack around until the end of the shell
drops off. Treat the opposite end in the same way. Next, place the nut
lengthwise between the crackers, so they will grasp the side, having the
backs of the two halves of the kernel, not the space between the halves,
towards the bars. This must be emphasized, because, if pressure is
applied at right angles to the edges of the halves instead of against
their backs, the chances are that they will be broken when the shell is
broken. Having the crackers in position, apply sufficient pressure to
crack the shell. Shift the crackers a little to one side of the crack,
apply pressure again and a piece of the shell breaks out. A few gentle
squeezes will remove the remainder of the shell and the kernel drops out
intact.
A hand-power cracker, capable of quite efficient work, is manufactured
by Thomas Mills & Bro., Philadelphia, Penn. It has a capacity of one
hundred pounds per day, and is capable of giving ninety per cent. of
perfect halves.
For factory use, two machines, for extracting kernels at a rapid rate,
have been invented, one by Mr. Robert E. Woodson, St. Louis, Mo., and
the other by Mr. Grim, New York city. These make it possible to extract
pecans in large quantities for commercial purposes. The nuts are fed
into a hopper and the machine then takes care of them. In regard to the
Woodson machine shown in the adjoining illustration, the inventor says
that "in cracking one hundred pounds of nuts there were obtained 39-1/2
pounds of perfect halves and 3-1/2 pounds of broken pieces. This test
shows 92 per cent. of perfect halves. I do not claim that this result
may be obtained at all times and under all conditions, for the hardness
of the shell and the dryness of the nuts make a difference in the
results."
Pecans which have become somewhat dry should be soaked in water over
night. This renders them much more easily cracked.
[Illustration: FIG. 38. Woodson's Power Kernel Extractor.]
PECAN OIL.
Oil extracted from almonds, peanuts, cocoanuts and other nuts is now
used for various purposes, and at no distant time it is probable that
pecan oil may also be placed on the market. Only the cheaper, inferior
grades of nuts can be used in oil-making, as the larger and better
quality of nuts are worth too much for dessert purposes.
Ordinary nuts will run about fifty per cent. kernels, and these kernels
analyze about seventy per cent. oil or fat. On this basis one hundred
pounds would give approximately thirty-five pounds of oil. Of course the
better grades of nuts will give sixty per cent. kernels, and would
consequently yield more oil.
Pecan oil might be used as a salad oil. It might be put to other
culinary uses, as well as finding a possible place among medicinal
oils.
CHAPTER XVII.
PECAN LITERATURE.
But little has been written on the culture of the pecan. The following
brief list of bulletins, articles or chapters in general works,
comprises practically all that has appeared from the pens of American
writers:
Budd, J. L. and Hansen, N. E. The Hickory Nut; Pecan Propagation, in
American Horticultural Manual, New York: John Wiley & Sons. Copyright
1902, 1904. Part I, pp. 301-303.
---- The Pecan, in American Horticultural Manual. New York: John Wiley &
Sons. Copyright 1903; Part II, pp. 452-454.
Burnette, F. H., Stubbs, Wm. C, Morgan, H. A. Pecans. Baton Rouge: Truth
Book and Job Printing Office, 1902; Illustrated; pp. 847-884. Bulletin
No. 69, Second Series, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.
Corsa, W. P. Pecan, in Nut Culture in the United States. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1896. Illustrated; pp. 49-64. Bulletin
Division Pomology, United States Department of Agriculture.
Fuller, Andrew S. Hickory Nuts, In the Nut Culturist. New York: Orange
Judd Company. Copyright 1896. Illustrated; pp. 147-202.
Goff, E. S. The Pecan, in Lessons in Commercial Fruit Growing. Madison:
University Co-Operative Association. Copyright 1902; pp. 110-114.
Gossard, H. A. Insects of The Pecan. St. Augustine: The Record Company,
1905, Illustrated; pp. 279-320. Bulletin No. 79, Florida Agricultural
Experiment Station.
Hansen, N. E. See Budd, J. L.
Harcourt, Helen. The Pecan, in Florida Fruits and How to Raise Them.
Revised and Enlarged Edition. Louisville: J. P. Morton & Co. Copyright
1886; pp. 207-214.
Heighes, S. B. See Corsa, W. P.
Herrick, Glenn W. Insects injurious to Pecans. Agricultural College,
Miss.: Tucker Printing House, 1904. Illustrated; p. 42. Bulletin No. 86,
Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station.
Hume, H. Harold. Pecan Culture: a Preliminary Report. Jacksonville: H. &
W. B. Drew Co., 1900. Illustrated; pp. 181-212. Bulletin No. 54, Florida
Agricultural Experiment Station.
---- Top-working Pecans. Gainesville: Hill Printing Co., 1901.
Illustrated; pp. 357-380. Bulletin No. 57, Florida Agricultural
Experiment Station.
---- Pecans, in Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Report,
1900-1901. De Land: E. O. Painter & Co., 1901. Illustrated; pp. 77-84
Merrill, L. H. See Woods, Charles D.
Morgan, H. A. See Burnette, F. H.
Oliver, George W. Budding the Pecan. Washington: Government Printing
Office, 1902. Illustrated; p. 18. Bulletin No. 30, Bureau of Plant
Industry, United States Department of Agriculture.
Parry, John R. Pecan (Hicoria Pecan, etc.), in Nuts for Profit. Parry,
N. J.: John R. Parry. Copyright 1897. Illustrated; pp. 93-118.
Risien, E. E. Pecan Culture for Western Texas. San Saba: E. E. Risien.
Copyright 1903-1904. Illustrated; pp. 6-55.
Stuart Pecan Company. The Pecan and How to Grow It. Chicago: Woman's
Temperance Publishing Co. Copyright 1893. Illustrated; pp. 9-80.
Stubbs, William C. See Burnette, F. H.
Taylor, William A. Pecan, in Report of the Secretary of Agriculture,
1893. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894, pp. 295-296.
---- Pecan, in Bailey's Cyclopedia of American Horticulture. New York:
The Macmillan Company. Vol. III. Copyright 1901. Illustrated; pp.
1252-1256.
---- Pecans, in Yearbook, United States Department of Agriculture, 1904.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. Pls. 2; pp. 405-416.
Van Deman, H. E. Nuts, in Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1891.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1892; p. 395.
---- The Pecan, in Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1890.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1890. Pls. 2; pp. 415-416.
Wood, Wm. H. S. Pecans, in The American Fruit Culturist, by John J.
Thomas. Twenty-first Edition. New York: William Wood & Co., 1903.
Illustrated; pp. 449-453.
Woods, Chas. D. and Merrill, L. H. Pecan (Hicoria pecan) "Food Analysis"
In Nuts as Food. Orono, 1899; pp. 74-75. Bulletin No. 54, Maine
Agricultural Experiment Station.
INDEX.
Acrobasis nebulella, 138
Analysis, 12
Annular budding, 78
Balantinus caryae, 146
Bogus trees, 99
Bordeaux Mixture, 133
Botany, 19
Broken trees, 118
Budd, J. L. publication by, 153
Budding, 78
Budding knives, 72-74
Bud-sticks, 77
Bud worms, 137
Burnette, F. H. publication by, 153
Care of top-worked trees, 87
Caseworms, 138
Catocalas, 140
Classification, 27
Chip-budding, 79-80
Cleft grafting, 80
Corsa, W. P. publication by, 153
Cross pollination, 23
Cultivation, 109
Cultivated range, 16
Curing, 124
Datana interrigma, 142
Diseases, 130
Elaphidion villosum, 144
Exports, 15
Fall webworm, 142
Family--Juglandaceæ, 20
Fertilization, 112
Fertilizers--
applying, 115
bearing trees, 114
nursery trees, 112
young trees, 114
Flowers, 22
Food value, 12
Fuller Andrew S. publication by, 153
Genus--Hicoria, 20
Goff, E. S. publication by, 153
Gossard, H. A. publication by, 153
Grading, 124
Grafting, 80
Grafting iron, 72
time, 77
wax, 74
Grapholitha caryae, 146
Hansen, N. E. publication by, 153
Harcourt, Helen publication by, 153
Heighes, S. B. publication by, 154
Herrick, G. W. publication by, 154
Hexagonal--
planting, 104
Hicoria, 20
Hicoria minima, 61
High-headed trees, 116
Hume, H. Harold publication by, 154
Humus, 109-110
Hybrid pecans, 57
Hyphantria cunea, 142
Imports, 15
Insects, 135
Judging pecans, 62
Kernels, 148
Laying out, 105
Leaf blight, 130
Literature, 153
Low-headed trees, 116
Marketing, 126
Merrill, L. H. publication by, 154
Morgan, H. A. publication by, 154
Native range, 16-21
Number per acre, 103
Nursery cultivation, 70
Nut-crackers, 14
Oak pruner, 144
Oil, 151
Oliver, G. W. publication by, 154
Oneideres, 143
Orchard crops, 110
Packages, 125
Parry, John H.
cultivation by, 154
Patch budding, 78
Pecan botany, 19
caterpillar, 142
diseases, 130
Insects, 135
tree borer, 145
kernels, 148
oil, 151
outlook, 11
stocks, 68
varieties, 26
weevil, 146
Phosphoric acid, 113
Picking, 123
Planting-board, 107
Planting distances, 102
Planting nuts, 69
Planting systems, 103
Planting time, 102
Planting trees, 106
Planting Systems--
square, 104
Hexagonal, 104
Pollination, 22
Potash, 113
Proteopteryx deludana, 137
Pruning, 116
time, 117
Propagation, 66
Purchasing trees, 97
Planting trees, 102
Quicksand, 89
Rectangular planting, 104
Risien, E. E. publication by, 154
Root pruning, 119
Rosette, 132
Scab, 131
Scions, selection of, 75
Seedling trees, 66
Selection of varieties, 93
Sesia scitula, 145
Shuck worm, 146
Soils, 89
preparation, 91
Stocks, 68
Storing, 127
Storing seed nuts, 69
Stuart Pecan Company, publication by, 154
Stubbs, William Co. publication by, 154
Taproot, 120
Taylor, William A. publications by, 154
Top-working, 84
Twig girdler, 143
Van Deman, H. E. publication by, 155
Varieties--
Alba, 28
Alley, 28
Atlanta, 28
Bacon, 28
Bacon's Choice, 28
Bartow, 29
Beauty, 29
Belle, 29
Biediger, 29
Biloxi, 29
Black Jack, 29
Bolton, 29
Bourgeois, 55
Brackett, 30
Bradley, 30
Briden, 30
Bullets, 30
Capital, 30
Carman, 30
Castanera, 52
Centennial, 31
Century, 49
Chiquita, 31
Clark, 31
Colorado, 31
Columbia, 49
Columbian, 49
Curtis, 31
Curtis No. 2, 31
Curtis No. 3, 48
Curtis No. 5, 38
Daisy, 32
Dalzell, 32
Deimas, 33
Dewey, 33
De Witt, 34
De Witt Mammoth, 44
Domestic, 34
Duminie Mire, 55
Early Texan, 34
Egg, 34
Eggshell, 34
Eggshell, 35
Excelsior, 34
Extra Early, 34
Faust, 35
Favorita, 35
Floyd, 57
Franklin, 35
Frotscher, 35
Frotscher's Eggshell, 35
Georgia, 36
Georgia Giant, 36
Georgia Melon, 36
Giant, 37
Gonzales, 37
Graff, 37
Halbert, 37
Hamilton, 37
Harcourt, 37
Havens, 37
Hollis, 37
Hume, 38
Hybrids, 57
Ideal, 38
Idlewild, 38
Jacocks, 38
Jacocks' Mammoth, 38
James' Giant, 39
James No. 1, 39
James' Paper-shell, 39
James' Perfection, 47
Jewett, 40
Jumbo, 40
Kate Schaifer, 50
Kennedy, 40
Kentucky Gem, 40
Kidd, 40
Kincaid, 41
Krack-Ezy, 41
Ladyfinger, 41
Lamar, 42
Lewis, 42
Longfellow, 42
Louisiana, 42
Majestic, 35
Mammoth, 49
McCallister, 57
Magnum Bonum, 43
Mammoth, 43
Mantura, 43
Mexican Paper-shell, 44
Meyers, 44
Monarch, 44
Money, 44
Money-maker, 45
Moore, 45
Morris, 45
Nelson, 46
Nigger, 46
Nussbaumer, 58
Olivier, 35
Pabst, 46
Pan-American, 46
Paragon, 55
Pearl, 47
Pegram, 47
Perfection, 47
Petite, 47
Pooshee, 57
Post, 47
Post's Select, 37-47
President, 47
Primate, 47
Pride of the Coast, 40
Randall, 48
Repton, 48
Ribera, 48
Risien, 48
Robson, 48
Rome, 49
Russell, 49
Russell No. 1, 50
Russell No. 2, 50
San Saba, 50
Schaifer, 50
Schley, 51
Schneck, 59
Senator, 52
Senator Money, 44
Southern Beauty, 55
Southern Giant, 49
Sovereign, 52
Steckler's Mammoth, 43
Stevens, 52
Stuart, 52
Success, 53
Sweetmeat, 54
Texas, 54
Texas Prolific, 54
Thomas, 54
Turkey Egg, Jr., 54
Turkey Egg, Sr., 54
Turner, 54
Twentieth Century, 49
Valsies, 55
Van Deman, 55
Westbrook, 61
Willingham, 56
Young, 56
Varieties recommended, 93
Alabama, 95
Florida, 95
Louisiana, 96
Mississippi, 95
North Carolina, 94
South Carolina, 94
Texas, 96
Virginia, 91
Veneer Shield-budding, 78
Waxed cloth, 75
Weevil, 146
Whip-grafting, 81
Woods. Charles D. publication by, 155
Woods, W. H. S.
publication by, 155
NUT CULTURE
IS THE
Most Profitable Industry
on the Farm....
THE
AMERICAN
FRUIT AND NUT
JOURNAL
IS AUTHORITY ON THE CULTURE
OF ALL VARIETIES OF NUTS....
Write for a sample copy.
American Fruit and Nut Journal,
PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.
TWO
VALUABLE PUBLICATIONS FOR
$1.00.
* * * * *
THE
PECAN AND ITS CULTURE,
AND THE
AMERICAN
FRUIT AND NUT
JOURNAL
FOR ONE YEAR,
WILL BE SENT TO ANY
ADDRESS FOR $1.00.
Sample copy of Journal upon request.
American Fruit and Nut Journal,
PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.
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