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PROMISING NEW FRUITS. 275 



MAJOR PECAN. 



The parent tree of the Major pecan is located in a native pecan 

 forest near the mouth of Green River, Henderson County, Ky. It is 

 oAvned by Mrs. Laurie -M. B. Major, of Henderson* in honor of whose 

 late husband it was named. It appears to have attracted considerable 

 local attention previous to 1907, when Mr. C. G. Taylor, of Princeton, 

 Ind., sent specimens of the nuts to Mr. W. N. Roper, of Petersburg, 

 Va. The evident merits of the nuts and the account of the tree so 

 favorably impressed Mr. Roper and his partner^ Mr. E. Gill Hinton, 

 that the latter went to the original tree during the summer of 1908 

 for the purpose of obtaining scions, and from the scions then obtained 

 the first nursery-grown trees of the variety were propagated. The 

 variety was first described in the second edition of " The Pecan and 

 Its Culture,"*by H. H. Hume, in 1910. 



The actual bearing record of this tree has not been kept, but it is 

 stated by persons in the locality of its origin that during recent 

 years it has borne regularly and that frequently the crops have been 

 approximately 100 pounds. It is a healthy tree 2J feet in diameter 

 at breast height and 59 feet to the first branch. 



DESCRIPTION. 







Size somewhat below medium, averaging from 85 to 90 nuts per 

 pound; form roundish oblong to oblong conic, tapering slightly at 

 base; apex short, rather plainly^ grooved; color light brown with 

 sparse markings toward apex; shell smooth, moderately thick. brittle, 

 cracking readily; kernel roundish, oblong, plump, bright colored, 

 and sufficiently broad grooved to release kernel readily; texture 

 firm, crisp; flavor sweet, pleasant; quality, excellent. In cracking 

 quality and richness of kernel this nut compares favorably with 

 any of the known sorts. These points, together with its reported 

 productiveness and the latitude in which it originated, should com- 

 mend it strongly for trial planting in the northern portions of the 

 pecan area. 



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

 and were obtained from the original tree by Mr. T. P. Littlepage, 

 of Boonville, Ind. 



OWENS PECAN. 



The original tree of the Owens pecan was grown from a nut pur- 

 chased and planted in the spring of 1900 by Mr. F. M. Owens, upon 

 whose plantation it now stands, near Gerald, Coahoma County, Miss. 

 Mr. Owens purchased nuts for planting from the J. Steckler Seed 

 Co., of New Orleans, and from Mr. S. H. James, of Mound. La. 



