CHESTNUTS 



363 



The Pecan is a native of the gulf states, but some are found 

 wild as far north as Illinois and Iowa in the Mississippi Valley. 

 It is of the same genus as the hickory. The southern varieties 

 are more popular because of their thin shells. It is these which 

 are chiefly used in commercial plantations. 



They are commonly propagated by seeds, but grafted and 

 budded varieties are much pre- 

 ferred because of the certainty as 

 to the character of the crop pro- 

 duced. A uniform product is ob- 

 tained from an orchard started from 

 budded trees, while the crop from 

 seedling orchards varies widely in 

 the thickness of shells, size of nuts, 

 and flavor. The grafting operation 

 is not always successful, and for 

 this reason the trees grown on graft- 

 ed or budded stocks are rather ex- 

 pensive. The stocks used are grown 

 from seeds and are usually budded 

 near the ground. 



In rich soil the trees attain a 

 spread of fifty feet or more and 

 should be given this distance at least 

 when planting the orchard. Crops 

 are grown between the rows for the 

 first eight or ten years so that some 

 return may be obtained from the 

 land while waiting for the bearing 

 to begin. 



Chestnuts. (Fig. 254). While 



native Chestnuts are found On the FIG. 253. Hickory nuts vary great- 



i j j j r ,1 . i ly in size, thickness ot shell, and quality 



market and are desired for their rich O f meat. The be*: should be selected for 

 flavor, it is the foreign varieties planting - 



which are chiefly used and which are grown commercially. Native 

 chestnuts are found throughout the eastern states and southern 

 Canada. Much of this region, however, has been devastated by 

 a disease called the "chestnut blight" which has wiped out the 

 native trees. Improved varieties of the native sorts are being 

 established. The Paragon chestnut is the most prominent variety 

 of the European species. The Ridgely is also grown in nurseries 



