1962 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Cherries 



Cherries aro not largoly p;ro\vn in Tex- 

 as. Sour cherries do well in the Pan- 

 handle and Llano Estacado areas, but 

 cherry culture is not generally suceess- 

 ful, and sweet cherries are considered 

 failures. 



Pears 

 Pears are not largely Siown in Texas 

 on account of the ravages of blight. In 

 Reeves county, Kendall county, and the 

 Panhandle some pear orchards have been 

 grown successfully. The Kieffer and 

 Bartlett do well. 



Prunes 

 Prunes are much the same In their 

 adaptability to soil and climate as peach- 

 es and can be successfully grown in the 

 eastern part of the state, also in the 

 Llano and Estacado or Staked Plains 

 country. 



Pecans 

 Pecans grow wild in Texas, and that 

 Is the best reason to suppose they can 

 be grown commercially. For ages the 

 strips of timber along the streams have 

 contained pecan trees, and the work of 

 the farmer in preparing the land for 

 cultivation was to get rid of his pecan 

 trees, as he would of other timber. This 

 he found a difficult task, for the pecan 

 is tenacious of life where the conditions 

 are favorable for its growth. 

 Apples 

 John S. Kerr, one of the oldest and 

 most experienced orchardists in Texas, 

 thinks apples may be grown much more 

 extensively than Is generally supposed. 

 He says: "The success of small apple 

 orchards has long been known in the 

 following counties: Erith, Montague, 

 Fannin, Grayson, Denton, Collin and 

 Cooke. The Shinnery oak districts of 

 Texas have proved to be valuable lands 

 for apple culture, and many orchards 

 are now being planted in those sections. 

 In the western part of Texas, the Pan- 

 handle, and Llano Estacado territories, 

 there are vast areas of level farming 

 lands, dotted with orchards containing a 

 considerable sprinkling of apple trees of 

 assorted varieties. The Toyah and the 

 Pecos valleys are producing some good 

 apples. 



In East Texas, the lied Aslrachan, Red 

 •Tune, and Summer Queen and Yellow 

 Horse do well. In the western portion, 

 the Missouri Pippin probably leads in 

 favor, quality and productiveness. Along 

 with it, we find in successful production, 

 the Ben Davis, Gano, Arkansas Black, 

 Mammoth Black Twig, and Limber Twig. 



Orange CiiUiire 



The great question in reference to suc- 

 cessful orange culture in Texas, is that 

 of protecting the trees from the cold of 

 winter. Sometimes for several years the 

 orange-growing districts of Texas will 

 succeed without injury from frost, then 

 a "norther" will sweep down upon them 

 and kill their trees. How to overcome 

 this difficulty has been the study of the 

 orange growers. Much progress has been 

 made by the selection of frost resistant 

 varieties, grafting on hardy stocks, and 

 the control of the sap. In the selection of 

 varieties, the consensus of opinion now 

 is that the Citrus trifoliata. a deciduous 

 tree of Japanese origin, is the best 

 adapted. Taking this as a stock on which 

 to graft the Satsuma. gives the best re- 

 sults. 



As to sap control, this is largely a 

 matter of watering, cultivation and fer- 

 tilization. Trees that are heavily water- 

 ed late in the season, heavily fertilized 

 and cultivated, make a very rapid growth, 

 and the wood is tender in the winter. 

 The tendency now Is to push the growth 

 during the early part of the season, and 

 encourage dormancy during the latter 

 part as the winter approaches. 

 Figs 

 The following is a report of N. E. 

 Stout, Friendwood, Texas, on the gross 

 receipts of his Magnolia flg and Sat- 

 suma orange orchards for four years. 

 This state does not include several hun- 

 dred dollars worth of cuttings and buds, 

 used in the writer's home nursery. The 

 report is as follows: "The fig orchard, 

 consisting of ISVa acres, was planted in 

 the spring of the following years: 1899, 

 4 acres; 1901, 1% acres; 1903, 8 acres. 

 The orange orchard, consisting of 61/2 

 acres, was planted as follows: Two acres 

 in 1902, four acres in 190."? and one-half 



