372 Slate Horticultural Society. 



out. Wlien done this way they sprout the following spring. It is not 

 necessary to hull them, but, on the contrary, it may be better to leave the 

 b.ulls on. They should be planted two or three inches deep. Ordinarily 

 they will grow from a foot to a foot and a half high the first year. Dur- 

 ing the first year it is easy to transplant thetu, hut after the first year 

 they form such strong tap roots that it is difficult to transplant them. 

 They should be planted 4 by 4 feet apart, or alternated with other trees 

 the same distance, making the walnuts 8 by 8 feet. This is to keep the 

 lateral branches from growing too large, and to cause the tree to grow 

 tall, straight and slen'dcr. When the trees begin to crowd each other they 

 should be thinned. — Colman's Rural World. 



NUT GROWING A BIG INDUSTRY. 



That the growing of nuts in the United States has never been prop- 

 erly appreciated is attested by the fact that our domestic nuts for the 

 most part come from wild trees, and that every year we buy millions of 

 dollars worth of nuts from Europe. 



The three best table nuts are the almond, the English walnut and the 

 pecan, and they can all be grown in tliis country, although the almond 

 would probably be restricted to the Pacific slope. 



The pecan grows wild in river bottoms of Iowa and has been raised 

 in Michigan, but the south is the section where it is produced best in 

 (|uality and greatest in quantity. It matures all of four years earlier 

 there also. Trees will bear in six years, although a paying crop will not 

 be taken under ten years, and it will probably be eighteen years before its 

 full bearing capacity is reached. The age of the trees is remarkable, some 

 trees which arc splendid nut i)roducers with no sign of coming decay, 

 being known to be at least 100 years old. 



Their great length of life and service makes an orchard much easier 

 to be cared for than a fruit orchard. Nor is any cultivation or care neces- 

 sar)^ after they have begun to bear. The lack of enemy insects is an- 

 other, favorable point. 



Pecans will thrive on a variety of soils, but a sandy loam with a 

 clay subsoil is probably best. On clay soil trees bear well and early, but 

 the nuts are small, while on a purely sand soil, trees are longer in coming 

 into bearing, but produce good nuts. 



About eighteen trees may be set out to the acre. An acre will return 

 about $300 a year. lA Mississippi nut grower was offered $1,300 an acre 

 for his orchard, but he positively refused to sell. — Prairie Farmer. 



