﻿32 
  

  

  Professor 
  Collins 
  : 
  Dr. 
  Van 
  Fleet 
  is 
  doing 
  a 
  fine 
  work. 
  I 
  have 
  

   seen 
  some 
  of 
  it 
  and 
  gone 
  over 
  the 
  work 
  with 
  him. 
  

  

  Professor 
  Van 
  Deman 
  : 
  He 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  government 
  people 
  

   and 
  he 
  is 
  carrying 
  on 
  his 
  experiments 
  Iiere 
  at 
  the 
  Arlington 
  planta- 
  

   tion, 
  right 
  across 
  the 
  river. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Metcalf 
  : 
  Speaking 
  of 
  breeding 
  material, 
  we 
  have 
  six 
  sorts 
  

   for 
  breeding 
  purposes 
  in 
  the 
  shape 
  of 
  seeds 
  of 
  this 
  very 
  species 
  of 
  

   Chinese 
  chestnut 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  disease 
  occurs 
  in 
  China. 
  The 
  nut 
  

   of 
  that 
  tree 
  is 
  of 
  very 
  high 
  quality 
  and 
  good 
  size, 
  and, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  1 
  

   can 
  tell, 
  quite 
  as 
  sweet 
  as 
  the 
  American 
  chestnut. 
  If 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  

   more 
  disease 
  on 
  the 
  trees 
  in 
  this 
  climate 
  than 
  there 
  is 
  in 
  China 
  it 
  

   would 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  practical 
  tree 
  to 
  grow, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  know. 
  

  

  TOP-WORKING 
  SEEDLING 
  PECAN 
  TREES 
  

   W. 
  N. 
  HuTT, 
  North 
  Carolina 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  a 
  census 
  we 
  have 
  just 
  completed 
  there 
  are 
  in 
  North 
  

   Carolina 
  upwards 
  of 
  50,000 
  seedling 
  pecan 
  trees. 
  These 
  trees 
  range 
  

   in 
  age 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  thirty 
  years. 
  Seventy-five 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   of 
  bearing 
  age, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  probably 
  not 
  one 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  that 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  that 
  are 
  profitable 
  bearing 
  trees. 
  In 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  pecan 
  

   country 
  experience 
  has 
  shown 
  that 
  seedling 
  pecans 
  are 
  notably 
  

   slow 
  in 
  coming 
  into 
  bearing 
  and 
  some 
  trees 
  never 
  bear 
  at 
  all. 
  Those 
  

   that 
  do 
  bear 
  have 
  nuts 
  that 
  are 
  almost 
  invariably, 
  small, 
  thick- 
  

   shelled 
  and 
  of 
  indifferent 
  quality. 
  In 
  this 
  respect, 
  however, 
  the 
  

   pecan 
  tree 
  differs 
  in 
  no 
  way 
  from 
  any 
  of 
  our 
  other 
  classes 
  of 
  fruits. 
  

   No 
  one 
  would 
  today 
  be 
  so 
  foolish 
  as 
  to 
  try 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  good 
  peach 
  or 
  

   apple 
  orchard 
  by 
  planting 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  these 
  fruits 
  ; 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  just 
  

   what 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  people 
  have 
  been 
  trying 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  pecans. 
  

  

  This 
  attempt 
  to 
  produce 
  pecan 
  orchards 
  from 
  seed 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  

   origin 
  of 
  the 
  50,000 
  trees 
  noted 
  in 
  the 
  census 
  above. 
  Now 
  that 
  we 
  

   have 
  these 
  seedling 
  pecan 
  trees, 
  are 
  they 
  of 
  any 
  value 
  at 
  all 
  ? 
  Can 
  

   we 
  make 
  anything 
  out 
  of 
  them 
  whatever 
  or 
  must 
  we 
  cut 
  them 
  do\%Ti 
  

   and 
  charge 
  up 
  the 
  expenses 
  to 
  the 
  account 
  of 
  experience, 
  and 
  start 
  

   over 
  again 
  with 
  standard 
  varieties 
  of 
  budded 
  and 
  grafted 
  trees? 
  

   Years 
  of 
  time 
  and 
  quantities 
  of 
  money 
  have 
  been 
  spent 
  in 
  producing 
  

   these 
  beautiful 
  but 
  comparatively 
  valueless 
  seedling 
  trees. 
  How- 
  

   ever, 
  they 
  are 
  far 
  from 
  being 
  a 
  total 
  loss, 
  for 
  in 
  those 
  deep 
  roots 
  and 
  

   stalwart 
  trunks 
  and 
  spreading 
  branches, 
  there 
  are 
  latent 
  possibil- 
  

   ities 
  in 
  abundance. 
  If 
  by 
  some 
  magic 
  power 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  Aladdin 
  's 
  

   wonderful 
  lamp 
  told 
  of 
  in 
  the 
  "Tales 
  of 
  the 
  Arabian 
  Nights," 
  we 
  

   could 
  transform 
  these 
  seedling 
  trees 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  night 
  to 
  standard 
  

  

  