18 



tions. The bur oak will reach maturity in from 75 to 100 

 years, at which age the trees should be from 2 1/2 to 3 feet in 

 diameter at the stumps. 



Yield. There are no figures available to show what yield 

 may be expected from a full stand of bur oak. However, the 

 cut in logs at maturity should be not less than 15,000 board 

 feet per acre. The present stumpage price varies from $12 

 to $25 per 1000 board feet. As the oak is a valuable post tim- 

 ber, no doubt the greater part of it will be used for posts and 

 ties. 



Pecan. 



The pecan is one species of hickory, which grows naturally 

 throughout the southeastern fourth of the state. While the 

 wood of this tree is not considered of any great commercial 

 value, the nuts that the tree produces command a good price, 

 and under proper care the trees yield a good crop, which in 

 many instances will equal or exceed in value the agricultural 

 crop that may be produced on land suitable for growing pecans. 

 The soil along the watercourses in the southeastern fourth 

 of the state is entirely suitable for pecan growing, and many 

 farmers are now considering the possibility of growing such a 

 crop. 



An investigation of the conditions under which pecans grow 

 most successfully shows that the trees are well adapted to a 

 variety of soils, but that they make their best growth and 

 attain the largest size on deep, rich, moist soil. They will 

 grow in swampy conditions, but prefer a well-drained soil. 

 Trees have been found growing on dry, gravelly or stony 

 soils, but in such soils their rate of growth is slow and the 

 trees are small and scraggly in appearance. 



Up to this time but very little has been done in this state 

 to determine what is possible in the way of developing an 

 improved strain of our native pecans. There are great pos- 

 sibilities along this line. The so-called paper-shelled pecans 

 of the South are not hardy under our conditions and cannot 

 be used for planting stock. The nuts of our native species 

 are small in size, but the quality is excellent. The shells of 

 some of our native nuts are extremely heavy, while on others 

 the shells are very thin, comparing favorably in thinness with 

 the so-called paper-shelled nut of the South. A careful survey 



