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  can 
  be 
  propagated 
  by 
  budding 
  or 
  top-grafting 
  them 
  on 
  seedling 
  

   stocks. 
  

  

  « 
  

  

  I 
  should 
  like 
  to 
  suggest 
  that 
  every 
  farmer 
  in 
  the 
  nut 
  growing 
  

   belt 
  set 
  aside 
  at 
  least 
  ten 
  acres 
  of 
  land 
  for 
  a 
  nut 
  orchard. 
  It 
  will 
  

   give 
  him 
  a 
  new 
  interest 
  in 
  life 
  and 
  afford 
  him 
  more 
  pleasure 
  and 
  

   relief 
  from 
  the 
  ordinary 
  monotony 
  of 
  farm 
  work, 
  I 
  believe, 
  than 
  any 
  

   other 
  line 
  of 
  work 
  he 
  can 
  pursue. 
  If 
  Ponce 
  de 
  Leon 
  had 
  planted 
  a 
  

   nut 
  orchard 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  instead 
  of 
  wasting 
  his 
  time 
  searching 
  

   for 
  the 
  fountain 
  of 
  perpetual 
  youth 
  he 
  could 
  have 
  spent 
  his 
  old 
  days 
  

   in 
  interesting, 
  profitable 
  and 
  fascinating 
  work 
  instead 
  of 
  in 
  despair 
  

   and 
  disappointment. 
  

  

  But 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  practical 
  questions 
  asked 
  are, 
  "What 
  is 
  the 
  cost 
  

   of 
  a 
  nut 
  orchard?" 
  and, 
  "How 
  soon 
  will 
  it 
  bear?" 
  and 
  "What 
  will 
  

   it 
  be 
  worth 
  when 
  it 
  does 
  bear?" 
  No 
  man 
  can 
  answer 
  these 
  ques- 
  

   tions 
  with 
  any 
  degree 
  of 
  certainty, 
  for 
  everything 
  that 
  man 
  attempts 
  

   has 
  its 
  drawbacks 
  and 
  disadvantages. 
  First-class 
  budded 
  nut 
  trees 
  

   cost 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  two 
  dollars 
  apiece. 
  The 
  balance 
  of 
  the 
  cost 
  depends 
  

   largely 
  upon 
  the 
  intelligence 
  and 
  efficiency 
  of 
  the 
  labor 
  applied 
  in 
  

   setting 
  and 
  cultivating. 
  When 
  will 
  they 
  bear? 
  That 
  depends 
  al- 
  

   together 
  upon 
  who 
  owns 
  them. 
  If 
  properly 
  cared 
  for 
  they 
  will 
  

   begin 
  setting 
  some 
  nuts 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  and 
  will 
  increase 
  the 
  crop 
  as 
  

   the 
  years 
  go 
  by. 
  A 
  pecan 
  tree 
  ought 
  to 
  bear 
  successfully 
  for 
  fifty 
  

   years 
  — 
  possibly 
  longer, 
  and 
  ought 
  to 
  be 
  bearing 
  nicely 
  in 
  eight 
  

   years 
  if 
  properly 
  cared 
  for. 
  But, 
  success 
  depends 
  upon 
  the 
  care 
  and 
  

   intelligence 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  original 
  selection 
  of 
  trees 
  and 
  soil 
  is 
  

   made, 
  and 
  upon 
  proper 
  cultivation. 
  I 
  have 
  set 
  an 
  orchard 
  of 
  north- 
  

   ern 
  varieties 
  of 
  pecans 
  budded 
  from 
  the 
  parent 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  Evans- 
  

   ville 
  section 
  on 
  my 
  farm 
  in 
  Maryland 
  this 
  spring. 
  The 
  land 
  cost 
  me 
  

   sixty 
  dollars 
  per 
  acre. 
  When 
  they 
  are 
  ten 
  years 
  old 
  they 
  ought 
  to 
  

   be 
  worth 
  at 
  least 
  five 
  hundred 
  dollars 
  per 
  acre. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  how 
  

   much 
  more 
  this 
  grove 
  of 
  nut 
  trees 
  will 
  be 
  worth 
  in 
  ten 
  years, 
  but 
  

   I 
  would 
  not 
  option 
  them 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  for 
  that 
  price. 
  I 
  have 
  

   about 
  the 
  same 
  confidence 
  in 
  the 
  English 
  walnut. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  conservative 
  on 
  these 
  matters 
  and 
  always 
  

   expect 
  to 
  be 
  because 
  in 
  conservatism 
  lies 
  safety. 
  These 
  figures 
  I 
  

   have 
  given 
  you 
  are 
  merely 
  my 
  personal 
  opinion. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  pecan 
  

   groves 
  ten 
  and 
  fifteen 
  years 
  old 
  for 
  which 
  I 
  would 
  not 
  have 
  given 
  any 
  

   more 
  than 
  the 
  land 
  was 
  worth 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  growing. 
  If 
  

   any 
  one 
  has 
  a 
  notion 
  that 
  he 
  can 
  make 
  money 
  in 
  nut 
  culture, 
  with- 
  

   out 
  intelligent 
  exertion, 
  he 
  had 
  better 
  go 
  into 
  some 
  other 
  line 
  of 
  

   business 
  in 
  which 
  there 
  are 
  men 
  having 
  a 
  fair 
  degree 
  of 
  success 
  with 
  

   unintelligent 
  effort. 
  I 
  know 
  of 
  no 
  nut 
  grove 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  United 
  

  

  