The Pecan Tree. 239 



settlers planted the tree around their habitations, and avenues of magniii- 

 cence, of the age of many scores of years, are found, bearing testimony to the 

 long duration of the productive stage of its life. 



In the lighter soils of the coast region of the Eastern Gulf States, across to 

 the Atlantic slojie, its cultivation, wherever vmdertaken, with proper care and 

 under proper conditions of soil, has proved a success. In South Carolina 

 Prof. Buckley observed large trees on the plantations of the Santee river,, 

 planted by the Huguenots from seed brought from Louisiana. Mr. Berck- 

 mans states that the tree succeeds well in Georgia, near Augusta. In the coast 

 plain of Alabama and Mississippi the pecan is found to grow well, and by re- 

 peated application of the proper fertilizers, to produce nuts of very fine 

 quality. In that region all the lands of a good surface drainage with a deep 

 clay subsoil retention of moisture, such as is favorable to the growth of the 

 live oak, loblolly pine, Cuba pine, and covered with the inkberry bush 

 {llexglabra), can be considered as vvell adapted to its cultivation. Many thous- 

 ands of acres of land of that description can be obtained at low prices, con- 

 tiguous to rairoad lines, which, covered with pecan trees, can be made to 

 yield a revenue which can not fail to place them among the more valuable 

 lands in these States. In the undertaking of such an enterprise one has only 

 to keep in its extent the resources in sight required to provide his trees with 

 the needed supply of plant food. It can not be too strongly stated that only 

 by the liberal application of fertilizers he can meet with success in a soil 

 naturally deficient in the needed elements of nutrition. Failing in this cus- 

 tom, the trees will remain of stunted growth, and either entirely barren or 

 produce a worthless, thick-shelled and badly filled nut. In soil as indicated, 

 sufficiently manured and under the observation of due care in transplanting, 

 there can be no failure. The success achieved of late years in Mobile county 

 has given great encouragement to the cultivation of the pecan tree; groves of 

 several hundred trees have been started and many are following the same 

 example. The nuts are planted in the fall in drills, well filled with rotten 

 stable manure, the plants thinned out in the course of the following season, 

 during which they grow to the height of eight or ten inches. Between the 

 second and third year the seedlings are transplanted to the grove. After the 

 third year the transfer is connected with great risk to the life of the young 

 tree. The fall season after the first good frost is considered as the best time 

 for transplanting. The trees ai'e placed at a distance from thirty-five to forty 

 feet. Holes are dug about three feet in diameter and one and a half feet 

 deep. The ground is thoroughly mixed with an abundance of a comijost of 

 rotten stable manure, fine bone dust and potash. Many clip the long tap 

 root slightly to induce the production of laterals. The very few rootlets of 

 the tap root must be prevented from drying up, and consequently the trans- 

 fer from the nursery to the grove has to be eflfected with as little delay as 

 possible, and best during damp weather. 



Under these precautions scarcely any loss of plants, in transplanting, will 

 be incurred, and during the winter months the tree has ample time to es- 



