THE HICKORY NUT 89 



The contrast between the tiny beach plum, for 

 example, and its gigantic descendant a few gen- 

 erations removed, offers an object lesson in the 

 possibilities of fruit development by crossing and 

 selection. And, for that matter, each and every 

 one of our improved varieties of orchard fruits 

 teaches the same lesson, even though the wild 

 progenitor is not at hand for comparison. 



So there is every reason to expect that the wild 

 pecan will similarly respond to the efforts of the 

 plant developer, and that its descendants, a few 

 generations removed, will take on qualities that 

 even the most sanguine experimenter of to-day 

 would scarcely dare to predict. 



One improvement that might probably be se- 

 cured without great difficulty is the introduction 

 of the quality of hardiness, so that the pecan 

 might be cultivated farther to the north. At 

 present the pecan does not produce profitably 

 as a rule, even in the coast counties of California, 

 as the nights are too cool, thus making the season 

 too short for the pecan to ripen its fruit. About 

 Vacaville they thrive much better, and the Sacra- 

 mento and San Joaquin Valleys, where the 

 nights are very warm, there is as good prospect 

 of growing the pecan profitably as anywhere else 

 in the world. But in the main the cultivation of 

 this nut has hitherto been restricted to the region 



