YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



increased in size until 1910, when it yielded 10 pounds. The follow- 

 ing year the crop fell to 6 pounds. In 1912 it again bore well, al- 

 though trespassers gathered practically the entire crop, and the exact 

 yield is therefore not known. The parent tree passed out of control 

 of Mr. Burkett and was killed by being cut to the ground in the 

 spring of 1912. 



In an address on " New varieties of pecans/' given by Mr. M. 

 Falkner, of Waco, Tex., at a meeting of the Texas State Horticul- 

 tural Society in July, 1911, this variety, on the basis of information 

 received from different sources, was unwittingly reported under the 

 names " Burkett " and " Labadie," the latter having been applied 

 in honor of Mr. Victor H. Labadie, of Dallas, Tex., who had become 

 interested in it. This address was subsequently published as a part 

 of the report of that society. 1 This unintentional duplication soon 

 became apparent and " Burkett " was recognized as the correct name 

 of the variety by Reed in 1912. 2 



DESCRIPTION. 



Size large, averaging from 50 to 55 nuts per pound ; form roundish 

 oblong, distinctly shouldered at apical end; base flattened; apex 

 short ; color light gray brown, with numerous black specks over en- 

 tire surface and dark splashes near apex; shell moderately thin, 

 though soft and breaking readily ; partitions somewhat thick, corky ; 

 cracking quality good ; kernel symmetrical, roundish oblong, broadly 

 grooved, surface smooth ; texture moderately firm ; flavor sweet ; 

 quality very rich, oily. The nuts are uniform in size and the kernels 

 plump, although riot to such a degree as to interfere with the crack- 

 ing quality. 



The budded tree was described to Mr. Falkner in 1911 as then being 

 " about 12 feet high, with a 6-inch diameter 3 feet above ground, and 

 of symmetrical form." Mr. Burkett reports that the foliage of this 

 tree is dense, coarse, and of a rich green color. He states that the 

 variety is easy to propagate. The nuts 1 are said to form in large 

 clusters. 



Because of its good quality, ease of cracking, large size^, and place 

 of origin, this variety should be especially valuable for planting in 

 northern and central Texas and places of similar climatic and soil 

 conditions. 



The specimens illustrated in Plate VIII were of the crop of 1911 

 from the budded tree and were supplied by Mr. Burkett. 



1 Proceedings of the Fourteenth Texas Farmers' Congress. Texas Department of Agri- 

 culture, Bulletin 22, 1911, p. 122. 



2 The Pecan. Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin 251, p. 47. 



