WINTER MEETING. 267 



Raising Nut-Bearing Trees. 



In the first place, I advise those who clear land to let the walnut, 

 hickory and pecan trees stand ; and if they bear good fruit, let them 

 remain; if worthless, they can then be cut down. 



There was a hickory tree near here on land owned by the Bluff- 

 ton Wine Co., that was cut down by one of the tenants that I would 

 give fifty dollars for if I had it on my land. 



It was the largest nut I ever saw, and was full of rich meat. There 

 are others in the vicinity as large, but they are nearly all shell. Pecan 

 trees are now left standing where timber is cut off land around here, 

 and in lime will be valuable. One man, six miles from here, has about 

 80 trees on a piece of land of perhaps six acres, from which he got 

 more for the crop of pecans than from the crop of wheat on the same 

 ground with which the trees did not interfere much. 



The common shell-bark hickory nut is the most valuable of its 

 class in these parts. The Meyer pecan is the largest of the northern 

 family that I have met with, and which I distributed all over the coun- 

 try, and some of them may now bearing nuts. 



I also furnished the Agricultural Department at Washington nearly 

 800 one-year trees of the same variety that were sent out to the four 

 winds. 



That the hickory and pecan will cross is an established fact, as I 

 have had the nuts sent me that showed the characteristics of both 

 and now have trees grafted with it in hickory large enough to bear, 

 but as yet have not done so. When I show these trees to strangers, 

 some call it a hickory and others say pecan. I can easily see both in it. 

 Not over a mile from here is, or rather was (as it is now gone into the 

 Missouri river), a tree that bore nuts showing plainly that it originated 

 from a cross, and that from the hog or bitter nut. The nut resembled 

 a pecan more than a hickory, but the meat was so bitter that it was 

 not fit to eat. 



While on the subject, will advise no one to invest in those large 

 "valuable ones from the Gulf coast to any great extent. They have 

 been tried here and failed. Plant of the best you can find here. 



That the pecan and hickory are difficult to grow when transplant- 

 ing is a mistake, as if carefully done its pretty sure to succeed. The 

 idea that the whole tap root must be kept intact is also an error, as 

 they can be cut back several inches and not hurt, as they soon run 

 down new tap roots. 



