1100 



NUT -CULTURE 



Planning the Orchard.— There are two ways 

 a pecan orchard. One is to depend on seedlings. If 

 really choice nuts are planted there is a reasonable 

 prospect of securing trees bearing somewhat similar 

 nuts, aud many follow this plan. The other is to de- 

 pend on budded or grafted trees instead of seedlings. 



There is also a division of opinion as to the advisa- 

 bility of planting the nuts where the trees are to stand 

 and rearing them for a year or more in a nursery. Both 

 ways are good, but each has its advantages. If the 

 former of these plans is followed, then two or three nuts 

 should be planted where each tree is to stand and a 

 cedar or cypress stake driven at the spot. Pine stakes 

 are said to induce worms to attack the little pecan trees. 

 A still safer plan is to enclose the little seedlings in 

 narrow boxes about afoot high, made of cypress boards. 

 This secures them from the depredations of rabbits, 

 which sometimes prove very destructive. By this plan 



r7 \^ 



The ] 



nut — the trouble and expense of securing grafted or 

 budded trees. However, it has been found that both 

 these methods of propagation are reasonably successful 

 in skilful hands. Eitherthe cleft-, tongue- or bark-graft 

 will succeed, but all styles do better on small stocks 

 just below the surface of the soil than above. Ring- and 

 plate-huddiner nvp mncli more siiceessful than the shield 

 method. TIhv Imv.- l.i-,n iirofitiibly used in nurseries of 

 young si'.'.lliiiL's :ii,,i on s|irimts un large trees. 

 Planli'iii ,tii,l i'iiliir,iiinii.-'\'\ic distance for planting 



NUTTALLIA 



make should be not less than 50 feet between trees, because 

 they get to be very large. It might be well to put them 

 half that distance and cut out half wln-ii crowding be- 

 gins. Thorough tillage will pay abundantly and should 

 never be neglected while the trees arr yunng. Farm 

 crops, such as corn, cotton and potatoes, inay In- grown 

 between the trees until they begin bcitring, which is 

 from 10 to 15 years from planting. Then the ground 

 may be seeded to grass. See Hicoria and Pecan. 



The Cocoanut (Fig. 1497).— Where Orown in Amer- 

 ica.— There is comparatively little territory on the con- 

 tinent of North America where the cocoanut will grow; 

 viz., a small portion of Florida and the wanner coast 

 regions of Mexico. In the warmer parts of California 

 the climate does not seem to be sufficiently humid. In 

 the vicinity of Lake Worth, Florida, there are many 

 bearing trees, and along the east coast and adjacent 

 islands from there to Key West, and as far north on the 

 west coast as Charlotte Harbor, there are many thousands 

 of cocoanut trees growing. In central Florida the cli- 

 mate does not seem to be suitable. Proximity to the sea 

 in all countries seems to suit the cocoanut. It witl 

 flourish in almost any soil, although the richer the bet- 

 ter, but a warm and humid atmosphere is iTidisponsalile. 



Origin of Cocoanut-Growing in Aim .. i- I li, .il.l.-st 



cocoanut trees in Florida were prol.i! i i ! ;. d- 



lings which came from nuts that wn i ' n inmi 



the sea long years ago. Such tn-.s ^m \iiv lanly 

 found. There are also a few old trees tliat grew from 

 nuts planted by settlers at Key West and other places 

 along the coast. The chief cause of the impetus to co- 

 ooauut-growing was the wrecking of the Spanish bark 

 Providencia laden with cocoanuts on the beach near 

 Lake Worth, Florida, Jan. 9, 1878. Many thousands of 

 the nuts were gathered from the surf and planted for 

 many miles up and down the coast. The trees grew so 

 rapidly and began to bear so soon, usnalh- :it Irmn six 

 to eight years fi-om seed, that visions ..I , . ihi, i. iii|,ieil 

 many more into planting groves. ()n< i . ' . I'.ay 



consisted of about 4,000 acres, in \' I : - > i .ikO 



trees. Another at Cape Sable contaiiieil I;'jihi irrr-.an<l 

 there are many more of less extent. 



Present Status. — Cold waves and occasional frosts 

 have injured many of the cocoanut trees, in some cases 

 killing them outright. In general, the trees bear good 

 nuts in reasonable quantity, but in a business "way the 

 industry is uncertain, owing to danger from frosts and 

 the cheapness of imported nuts. As an interesting 

 novelty, the cocoanut in southern Florida is an eminent 

 success. See Cocos. 



There are three American publications devoted to 

 nuts: "Nut Culture in the United States," 1896, being a 

 bulletin of the Division of Pomology, U.S. Dept. Agric. ; 

 Fuller, "The Nut Culturist," 1890; Parry, "Nuts for 

 Profit," 1897. H. E. Van Deman. 



NUT-GEASS. Mentioned under Ciiperus. 



NUTMEG. Treated under Uyristica. 



NUTTALLIA (Thomas Nuttall, professor of natural 

 history at Philadelphia; author of "The Genera of North 

 American Plants" [1818], "The North Ann liean Sylva" 

 [1842], etc.). Bosd-cem. A genus of L' sp. .i. , ,i| nmtb- 

 western American plants, one of whieh is ii,, ( !>,, r.irry, 

 N. cerasiformis. This is a shrub (1-1- it. hifjl;. with 

 white, 5-petaled fis. It is one of the earliest shrubs to 

 bloom in spring. It is rarely cult, in the East and of 

 doubtful hardiness, but is esteemed in England, where 

 it is compared to a flowering currant. Botanically, how- 

 ever, it is nearer Prunus than Rubus. Generic charac- 

 ters are: fls. polygamo-dioecious ; calyx between top- 

 shaped and bell-shaped, deciduous; petals broadly 

 spatulate; stamens 15, in 2 rows, 10 inserted with the 

 petals and 5 lower down on the disk lining the tube; 

 aiaments very short; carpels 5: drupes 2-4, oblong. 



cerasi{6Tinis, Torr. & Gray. Oso Berry. Shrub or 

 small tree, 2-15 ft. high: Ivs. broadly lanceolate; petiole 

 2-4 in. long: racemes shorter than the Ivs.: fls. H-1 in. 

 across: fr. blue-black, 6-8 lines long; flesh bitter; stone 

 somewhat compressed. Moist places, Calif. Gn. 34, p. 

 78. G.C. II. 19:309; III. 19:489. -Said to "exhale a 



