The Bi'LLKTi-x. 



31 



trees "was sold out so early in the season that I found it quite impos- 

 sible to ]nirohase any of the newer varieties for testing. Most of the 

 oommercial ])ecan orchards set a decade ago are now coming into 

 bearing, yet one never sees on the general market the products of these 

 orchards. T have never yet found it possible to purchase Stuart 

 pecans in th(^ open market, yet this is a precocious and productive 

 variety and one that is very widely planted. The pecan nuts of 

 named varieties produced up to the ])resent time have all gone to 



Pig. 14. A cart-load of Stuart pecans; 700 pounds that sold for $350. 

 (Photo hji Mr. C. A. Reeil, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.) 



special customers at generally fancy prices. From the way in which 

 the products of budded trees are snapped up early in the season it 

 looks as if it would be some time before there would be sufficient to 

 satisfy the fancy trade, let alone the general nut market. The pecan 

 nuts of the general trade come most largely from wild seedling trees 

 in Texas and Louisiana. This natural product will doubtless dimin- 

 ish rather than increase as it meets the competition of the higher- 

 class product from nut orchards of budded and grafted trees being 

 planted every year. 



It is interesting further to note that in spite of the increase of 

 nut plantings and the increased production of nuts of all kinds in 

 the United States, that our imports of nuts and nut products have 

 been steadily increasing year after year. For the present year 



