104 A TREATISE ON NUT CULTURE. 



it is a fact. And, lastly, trees planted out in the open field will not be bitten 

 by stock ( in inclosures they will be ruined. ) 



Prospects of Pecan Culture. 



I have now about a thousand trees in all. In an open, cultivated field they 

 make a beautiful oval growth, and when not too close together no tree can sur- 

 pass them in symmetry. The price for fine Pecans has not declined in the last 

 nine years; if anything, it has advanced, for it is impossible to get the finer 

 grades for less than $1.00 a pound, while some men charge as high as $3.00 a 

 pound for them. Of course, when large quantities are placed upon the market 

 the price will fall, but even at ten cents a pound they will pay much better than 

 anything else that can be grown on the land. For many years after my grove 

 comes into bearing there will be a large demand for the finest grade of Louisiana 

 soft-shell Pecans for planting, and these will bring very high prices. When I 

 begin selling them for eating purposes I shall have to be satisfied with much 

 lower prices. 



A few years ago I wrote an article on Pecan culture in which my name and 

 address were given, and which was copied by the agricultural press. I received 

 hundreds of letters in regard to the matter from all over the country (one 

 coming from far-off Australia), and I might have sold $500 worth of Pecans 

 from this article alone. Let me say here that I have neither trees nor nuts to 

 sell just now, nor am I an agent for any one, so it will be needless to write to 

 me. I shall not have the time to answer the letters. 



A Pecan grove in bearing has several advantages over an ordinary crop. 

 The product will sell for a great deal more than any other crop on the given 

 land. The trees will not be injured by an overflow from the Mississippi River, 

 the great curse of our land. They will not require any cultivation after the 

 land is sown to clover. 



I wish to draw the attention of the reader to the great superiority of the 

 Louisiana soft-shell Pecan over the largest nuts grown in Texas. Any one 

 who will buy a few of each kind and compare them will find that the 

 Louisiana nuts are larger, the shells are thinner, the meat is richer, and the 

 Pecans are of a more regular, even shape. The average Texan will be disposed 

 to deny this fact, but it is a fact that can be proved by comparison. I have 

 had Pecans sent me from all portions of Texas (their brag nuts), and they did 

 not compare with the best grade of Louisiana soft -shell Pecans. 



4, 9, '94- 



