﻿62 
  

  

  THE 
  INDIANA 
  PECAN. 
  

   T. 
  P. 
  LiTTLEPAGE, 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C. 
  

  

  The 
  subjec 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  pecan 
  is 
  one 
  that 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  interested 
  in 
  

   for 
  more 
  than 
  thirty 
  years. 
  Away 
  down 
  in 
  Spencer 
  County, 
  Indiana, 
  on 
  

   the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Ohio 
  River, 
  stand 
  many 
  large 
  native 
  pecan 
  trees, 
  and 
  

   some 
  of 
  my 
  earliest 
  recollections 
  and 
  most 
  pleasant 
  experiences 
  are 
  con- 
  

   nected 
  with 
  gathering 
  the 
  nuts 
  from 
  under 
  these 
  large 
  trees 
  ; 
  and, 
  with- 
  

   out 
  realizing 
  it, 
  I 
  acquired 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  information 
  in 
  those 
  early 
  days 
  

   that 
  has 
  of 
  late 
  enabled 
  me 
  to 
  carefully 
  discriminate 
  between 
  the 
  desira- 
  

   ble 
  and 
  undesirable 
  varieties 
  of 
  pecans, 
  viewed 
  from 
  the 
  standpoint 
  of 
  

   one 
  who 
  propagates 
  them 
  for 
  orchard 
  purposes. 
  My 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  vari- 
  

   ous 
  points 
  connected 
  with 
  pecan 
  growing 
  was 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  a 
  very 
  direct 
  

   interest, 
  and 
  the 
  only 
  motive 
  I 
  had 
  for 
  determining 
  various 
  facts 
  was 
  

   the 
  fundamental 
  motive 
  which 
  largely 
  dominates 
  the 
  world 
  today, 
  and 
  

   that 
  is 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  securing 
  the 
  thing 
  we 
  desire 
  for 
  our 
  imme- 
  

   diate 
  use. 
  

  

  The 
  large, 
  magnificent 
  pecan 
  trees 
  growing 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  

   beautiful 
  Ohio 
  year 
  after 
  year 
  became 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  the 
  deepest 
  interest 
  

   to 
  me. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  Ohio 
  surging 
  swiftly 
  through 
  their 
  branches 
  in 
  

   the 
  winter, 
  have 
  seen 
  them 
  withstand 
  the 
  storms 
  and 
  vicissitudes 
  of 
  

   snow 
  and 
  ice 
  and 
  raging 
  floods 
  ; 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  spring 
  came 
  on 
  I 
  have 
  beheld 
  

   them, 
  with 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  surprise 
  and 
  pleasure, 
  laden 
  with 
  blossoms. 
  As 
  

   summer 
  advanced, 
  I 
  watched 
  the 
  growing 
  clusters 
  of 
  delicious 
  nuts 
  ; 
  and 
  

   as 
  the 
  nuts 
  began 
  to 
  ripen 
  in 
  the 
  fall. 
  I 
  soon 
  learned 
  to 
  pick 
  out 
  the 
  best 
  

   bearing 
  trees. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  science 
  or 
  unselfish 
  research 
  that 
  

   enabled 
  me 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  some 
  trees 
  rarely 
  ever 
  missed 
  a 
  

   crop, 
  while 
  others 
  were 
  very 
  uncertain; 
  that 
  some 
  nuts 
  were 
  large, 
  thin- 
  

   shelled, 
  and 
  of 
  fine 
  flavor, 
  while 
  others 
  were 
  small 
  and 
  hard 
  to 
  crack, 
  and 
  

   otherwise 
  undesirable 
  ; 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  trees 
  ripened 
  their 
  nuts 
  early, 
  

   long 
  before 
  frost, 
  while 
  others 
  seemed 
  to 
  hang 
  on 
  and 
  resent 
  the 
  coming 
  

   of 
  autumn 
  with 
  all 
  their 
  might. 
  At 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  nine, 
  I 
  could 
  take 
  many 
  

   different 
  varieties 
  of 
  Indiana 
  seedling 
  pecans, 
  separate 
  them, 
  and 
  locate 
  

   the 
  trees 
  from 
  whence 
  they 
  came, 
  and 
  give 
  the 
  essential 
  points 
  of 
  their 
  

   bearing 
  record. 
  I 
  could 
  also 
  tell 
  whether 
  the 
  respective 
  owners 
  watched 
  

   them 
  very 
  carefully, 
  kept 
  a 
  dog, 
  or 
  lived 
  at 
  a 
  safe 
  distance 
  away, 
  all 
  of 
  

   Avhich 
  points 
  were 
  just 
  as 
  essential 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  was 
  concerned 
  as 
  the 
  size 
  

   of 
  the 
  nut 
  and 
  its 
  quality. 
  The 
  pecan 
  captured 
  me 
  early 
  in 
  life, 
  and 
  I 
  

   have 
  been 
  a 
  willing 
  victim 
  ever 
  since. 
  My 
  interest 
  in 
  this 
  nut 
  of 
  late 
  

   years 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  more 
  scientific 
  principles, 
  but 
  I 
  doubt 
  if 
  the 
  facts 
  

   arrived 
  at 
  are 
  any 
  more 
  reliable 
  than 
  the 
  facts 
  which 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  

   siiiijile 
  desire 
  to 
  appease 
  a 
  boyish 
  appetite 
  with 
  the 
  best 
  nut 
  that 
  nature 
  

   has 
  ever 
  produced. 
  

  

  