HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



217 



Several varieties are known in a number of States, 

 but the larger and thinner shelled varieties are most 

 in favor for cultivation. Pecan culture has assumed 

 considerable proportions in a number of the Gulf 

 States, as well as in some places along the Pacific 

 coast. Like the hickory, the pecan thrives best in 

 rich, moist land along streams or in fertile valleys. 

 Efforts have lately been made to propagate trees 

 from the largest and finest nuts to be found, and a 

 result is that some very valuable trees have been 

 produced bearing nuts large, thin shelled and full of 

 the richest and sweetest meat. Mistakes are often 

 made in planting the trees too near together. In- 

 deed, this is a common error in the planting of any 

 variety of trees in orchards. At this time, it is not 

 positively known by experiment whether the pecan 

 is seriously injured or not by cutting off wholly or 

 partly its tap root at the time of transplanting. Some 

 growers allege that it is better to remove the tap 

 root and thus allow a wider branching of the root 

 system, while others contend that the removal of the 

 tap root sounds the death knell to the tree as a bearer 

 of nuts in paying quantities. While some planters 

 assert that the tree will come true to seed, others 

 allege stoutly that in order to propagate choice fruit, 

 the trees must be grafted. In any event, so strong 

 is the faith of each school that while the one plants 

 nuts in the places designed for the trees to grow to 

 form an orchard, the other devotes much care to 

 grafting favorite varieties into trees previously trans- 

 planted from the nursery, or grown in situ from the 

 seed. In some places in Florida, fine pecan groves 

 have been made by grafting choice varieties upon 

 the nativ^fe hickory, which may be found growing in 

 large "patches" among the scrub oaks in some of 

 the very sandy regions of that State. By thinning 

 out the trees sufficiently, an early and profitable nut 

 orchard may be thus established at small cost. 



The process is similar to that by which some of the 

 best orange groves in Florida were established by 

 merely grafting fine varieties upon the wild orange 

 found growing in great number in the hammocks. 

 While such groves have the disadvantage of irregu- 

 larity in the distances between the trees, yet there is 

 the indisputable advantage of not having to trans- 

 plant the trees. Some have made pecan orchards by 

 planting nuts where the trees were to stand and sub- 

 sequently grafting the trees when two years old, with 

 their favorite varieties. Pecan trees should never be 

 planted less than 35 or 40 feet apart, for the spread- 

 ing habit of the tree will soon enable it to fill the 

 spaces if the soil and cultivation are of a suitable 

 character. Ordinarily the pecan tree is not an early 

 bearer, and many kinds will delay profitable returns 

 for half a score of years. Some allege that the time 

 to reach a profitable bearing stage may be shortened 



by budding or grafting as above suggested rather 

 than to allow the tree to grow as a seedling. This 

 rule is well known to hold good with many varieties 

 of fruit also. Pecans to sell best in market should be 

 large, thin shelled and meaty, and a very wide differ- 

 ence in prices is shown in the various markets, 

 corresponding with these conditions. 



If trees are planted at 35 to 40 feet apart, it will be 

 found easy to cultivate other profitable crops between 

 the rows for a number of years. Wherever irrigation 

 is possible, any one of a considerable number of 

 crops may be grown as an inter-culture among the 

 nut trees. Corn, beans, grapes, alfalfa, cabbage, 

 onions, berries, or other crops may be grown, thus 

 fully utilizing the ground until the bearing stage of 

 the nut trees shall be reached. Harvesting pecans 

 is a simple process. The nuts are let alone until they 

 fall to the ground, when they are gathered in sacks 

 and sent to market without further preparation. 



A UTAH ORCHARDIST ON SPRAYING. 



J. C. Lemon, a notably successful farmer and fruit- 

 grower of Ferron, Utah, writes THE AGE of his 

 method of spraying trees as follows : 



" I irrigate my trees as soon as possible in the 

 spring, so as to keep back the early blossoming ; then 

 when the trees do start, they do so with more vitality 

 and vigor. I prefer early irrigation, so as to get as 

 much early growth in first part of the season, then the 

 trees are in good condition for fall, provided they are 

 not started in September to make a second growth 

 in a season. This is the cause of some trees dying at 

 the tops. Water trees late in the fall and early in the 

 spring. I use the F. E. Meyers spray pump. I use 

 or prefer Paris green for spraying apples, although 

 London purple is good. I spray the first time as soon 

 as the trees are in full bloom, and again in about ten 

 days, but if it should rain inside of a day or two after I 

 have sprayed, I spray again. I made my spray a 

 little bit stronger than this formula: one pound of 

 Paris green to about 150 gallons of water. I have 

 never had any worms on my trees or in my apples, 

 but I thought an ounce of prevention better than a 

 pound of cure. I always manure and cultivate thor- 

 oughly, delve between the trees and place all the 

 bones and refuse of a like character at the roots of 

 my trees, and the result is good, vigorous, healthy 

 trees that bear an abundance of apples, that I will 

 place in competition with any in the United States 

 for quality, color and flavor. I have never had any 

 pear or plum leaf blight, but should anything of the 

 kind occur I will fight it with a formula I have for 

 the purpose. 1 ' 



The secretary of the interior has ordered a re-sur- 

 vey of the Las Vegas land grant in New Mexico. 



