10 BUDDING THE PECAN. 



WHY THE PECAN SHOULD BE BUDDED. 



In the pecan region of the Southern States there are at least fifty 

 named varieties, nearly all of which are well worthy of perpetuation 

 on account of the large size and fine flavor of the nuts. These choice 

 varieties of the pecan are as yet but little known, owing to the very 

 small number of trees in cultivation. In the course of time, however, 

 as they are more widely grown, they will become the most prized of 

 all the nuts for domestic use, and it is probable that when the supply 

 is large enough they will be preferred abroad to the best Persian wal- 

 nuts. The nuts of the choicer varieties of pecan, owing to the sup- 

 posed difliculty of bud pi'opagation, are nmch in demand at fancy 

 prices for the purpose of raising young plants. It has been ascertained, 

 however, that seedlings from nuts of the choice varieties do not come 

 true, resembling in this particular many of our popular fruit trees. 

 Many of these seedling pecans bear nuts not much superior to the 

 common wild forms. With the knowledge now acquired as to the 

 liability of varieties to vary in their seedlings through the agency of 

 cross fertilization, it would indeed be remarkable were the seedlings 

 to produce nuts equal in size and flavor to those of the mother tree. 

 The chance trees which bear large nuts are found wild in widely" difl'er- 

 ent parts of the South. The nuts from these trees are much above the 

 average not onl}^ in point of size, but also on account of other desirable 

 qualities. Being peculiarly situated, and as they can not depend 

 Avholly upon their own pollen to aid in the reproduction from seed, 

 there is nothing to prevent pollen from undesirable forms gaining 

 access to the pistillate flowers, thus securing a reduction of the size or 

 a decrease in the flavor of the nuts borne by the seedlings. After 

 waiting several years for the seedling trees to bear, this naturally 

 causes the grower a good deal of disappointment. So, necessarily, as 

 with apples, peaches, and other fruits, the only wa}^ in which the 

 choice varieties of the pecan can with certainty be perpetuated in 

 a manner to permit of being handled by dealers, is by budding or 

 grafting on seedling stocks. 



RAISING SEEDLING STOCKS. 



Up to the present time it has not been demonstrated that there is a 

 better stock for the reception of buds or grafts of the pecan than 

 seedling stocks of the same species. In raising pecan seedlings for 

 stocks it is advisable to select seeds from trees at the northern limit 

 of the pecan belt, because, while seedlings from that section will 

 thrive throughout the belt, those from the extreme south can Tiot be 

 expected to prove as hardy and thrifty at the northern limit as those 

 trees which are growing wild in that section. 



The seed nuts should be secured as early as possible after they are 

 ripe, so as to make certain of preventing loss through drying out. 



