﻿54 
  

  

  too 
  much 
  for 
  the 
  European 
  species. 
  Where 
  once 
  this 
  species 
  was 
  

   well 
  represented 
  up 
  and 
  down 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Coast, 
  few 
  of 
  its 
  repre- 
  

   sentatives 
  are 
  now 
  to 
  be 
  found. 
  

  

  Some 
  early 
  attention 
  in 
  these 
  Eastern 
  States 
  has 
  been 
  paid 
  to 
  the 
  

   almond, 
  another 
  foreign 
  species. 
  It 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  this 
  nut 
  is 
  a 
  

   native 
  of 
  the 
  Mediterranean 
  basin. 
  Just 
  when 
  it 
  was 
  first 
  tried 
  

   on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Coast 
  is 
  not 
  known, 
  but 
  of 
  the 
  nuts 
  thus 
  far 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  it 
  has 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  least 
  promising 
  for 
  the 
  Eastern 
  

   section. 
  Sometimes 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  "as 
  hardy 
  as 
  the 
  peach," 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   found 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  most 
  exacting 
  in 
  its 
  requirements 
  of 
  soil 
  and 
  climate 
  

   of 
  any 
  important 
  nut 
  now 
  grown 
  in 
  this 
  country. 
  Except 
  with 
  cer- 
  

   tain 
  of 
  the 
  hardshell 
  varieties, 
  no 
  almonds 
  are 
  now 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  

   any 
  sense 
  successful 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains. 
  According 
  to 
  

   Wickson 
  (E. 
  J.) 
  in 
  his 
  California 
  Fruits, 
  the 
  almond 
  is 
  known 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  California 
  previous 
  to 
  1853. 
  At 
  that 
  

   time 
  efforts 
  to 
  build 
  up 
  an 
  almond 
  industry 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  

   began 
  to 
  assume 
  a 
  somewhat 
  serious 
  air. 
  After 
  a 
  half 
  century 
  of 
  

   trials 
  and 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  persistent 
  effort 
  by 
  the 
  California 
  planters 
  

   the 
  culture 
  of 
  this 
  nut 
  has 
  developed 
  into 
  the 
  third 
  most 
  important 
  

   nut 
  industry 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  As 
  for 
  the 
  time 
  being, 
  the 
  grow- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  Persian 
  walnuts 
  centered 
  in 
  southern 
  California, 
  so 
  did 
  the 
  

   growing 
  of 
  almonds 
  in 
  the 
  Sacramento 
  Valley 
  of 
  northern 
  Cali- 
  

   fornia. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  this 
  period 
  of 
  early 
  American 
  nut 
  growing 
  

   history, 
  little 
  attention 
  in 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  was 
  paid 
  to 
  the 
  

   native 
  nuts. 
  However, 
  in 
  the 
  southeastern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  

   States 
  there 
  existed 
  a 
  large 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  to 
  which 
  no 
  choice 
  

   species 
  of 
  nut 
  trees 
  were 
  either 
  indigenous 
  or 
  had 
  been 
  introduced. 
  

   Necessity, 
  curious 
  interest, 
  and, 
  more 
  probably 
  intelligent 
  pur- 
  

   pose, 
  prompted 
  sea 
  captains, 
  plying 
  from 
  West 
  to 
  East 
  Gulf 
  Coast 
  

   ports, 
  Easterners 
  returning 
  home 
  from 
  visits 
  in 
  the 
  West, 
  Western- 
  

   ers 
  visiting 
  in 
  the 
  East, 
  and 
  no 
  doubt 
  nomadic 
  bands 
  of 
  Indians, 
  

   to 
  carry 
  pecans 
  from 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  River 
  and 
  beyond, 
  to 
  the 
  

   coast 
  of 
  Mississippi, 
  to 
  Alabama 
  and 
  the 
  South 
  Atlantic 
  States, 
  

   where 
  they 
  were 
  planted 
  as 
  seed. 
  For 
  fully 
  a 
  century 
  the 
  species 
  

   gradually 
  spread 
  over 
  the 
  plains 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  Gulf 
  and 
  

   South 
  Atlantic 
  States. 
  In 
  1846, 
  according 
  to 
  Taylor 
  (WiUiam 
  A.) 
  

   in 
  the 
  Yearbook 
  (Department 
  of 
  Agriculture) 
  of 
  1904, 
  a 
  Louisiana 
  

   slave 
  succeeded 
  in 
  grafting 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  pecan 
  trees. 
  So 
  far 
  as 
  can 
  

   now 
  be 
  learned, 
  really 
  intelligent 
  interest 
  in 
  pecan 
  culture 
  began 
  with 
  

   that 
  date, 
  although 
  history 
  records 
  no 
  further 
  successful 
  propaga- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  until 
  about 
  1882 
  when 
  WilHam 
  Nelson 
  began 
  to 
  

  

  