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of the state would undoubtedly reveal some unusually large 

 nuts with medium or thin shells, from which seedlings from 

 the ordinary nuts might be budded. 



If a desirable nut can be developed in this way there is a 

 great possibility of growing pecans profitably on large areas 

 of overflow land along the Marais des Cygnes, the Neosho and 

 the Verdigris rivers and their tributaries. The pecan trees 

 in this section of the state, growing under natural conditions, 

 frequently attain a diameter of three and one-half or four 

 feet, and vary from seventy-five to ninety feet in height. 

 Mature trees are known to have yielded as much as 600 pounds 

 of nuts in a single season. However, the nut crop under 

 natural conditions occurs periodically. There are a few nuts 

 practically every year, and occasionally there are extremely 

 heavy crops. 



System of Management. The pecan is propagated from the 

 nuts. These should be planted in the fall or stratified until 

 spring and planted in March or April before they begin their 

 growth. The ground in which the nuts are to be planted 

 should be under a thorough state of cultivation. The nuts 

 should be planted in rows or at regular spacing at the rate 

 of from 3000 to 5000 per acre. When two years of age the 

 seedlings should be budded with buds from the best stock 

 available. This work should be done during August. The 

 following spring the tops should be cut off the seedlings on 

 which the buds have set. The bud then throws out a shoot 

 which develops into the future tree. When five years of age 

 the budded trees are transplanted to their permanent location. 

 Cultivation must be continued until the trees reach such size 

 as to thoroughly protect the ground by their shade. Some 

 authorities on growing pecans maintain that cultivation should 

 continue as long as the trees live and that the size and quality 

 of the nut is greatly improved by continuous cultivation. 

 Cultivation at least maintains a better supply of soil moisture 

 than it is possible to maintain without tillage. 



At twelve to fifteen years of age the trees come into bear- 

 ing, and at twenty years of age should produce enough nuts 

 to be of considerable value, the quantity of nuts continuing 

 to increase with the increase of the size of the tree. The land 

 on which pecans are most likely to yield a profitable crop is 

 the overflow lands along the streams mentioned. Flood waters 



