PECAN 



PECAN 



1255 



rods. The nuts should not be left on the ground long 

 enough to become wet or discolored by storms, as both 

 appearance and quality are injured thereby. Most Pe- 

 cans of medium size, and below, are now polished by 



1696. Named varieties of the Pecan. Natural size. 



friction in revolving barrels before being placed with 

 retail dealers. This process cleans and brightens the 

 nuts, and renders them more attractive in appearance. 

 Unfortunately, it has the same effect on stale nuts as 

 on fresh ones, and makes possible the working off of 

 old stock for new. Dealers have been quick to take 

 advantage of this and frequently mix old polished nuts 

 with new at the beginning of the season. It is therefore 

 not advisable to polish or otherwise manipulate high- 

 grade fresh Pecans at the present time. The demand 

 for large, thin-shelled nuts for seed has consumed so 

 large a proportion of the product up to the present time 

 that market prices on large nuts for table use are hard 

 to fix. For fresh nuts, running approximately 50 or less 



to the pound, the retail price is rarely below 50 cents per 

 Ib. in the large cities, while for seed, such nuts, if of 

 well-authenticated varieties, usually bring from $1 to 

 $2.50 per Ib. 



Probably at least 95 per cent of the market supply is 

 still from wild trees and, as the crop varies greatly in 

 quantity from year to year, the wholesale price is sub- 

 ject to wide variation; 3 to 5 cents per Ib. for ordinary 

 wild Pecans is about the average price paid by buyers. 

 In recent full-crop years, considerable quantities have 

 been held over in refrigerated storage, and large profits 

 have been realized in some instances in this way. 



Large quantities of the medium sizes are cracked in 

 special establishments in different cities, notably in San 



Antonio, Texas, and New 

 York, and marketed in 

 neat cardboard cartons 

 in the form of meats 

 ready for the domestic or 

 commercial confectioner. 

 Such meats usually re- 

 tail at 50 to 60 cents per 

 Ib., and at a somewhat 

 lower price their con- 

 sumption will undoubt- 

 edly be largely increased. 

 Insect Enemies. 

 Among the most trouble- 

 some enemies of the Pe- 

 can are certain leaf-eat- 

 ing caterpillars, includ- 

 ing the fall webworm 

 (Hyphantria cimea, 

 Drury), which is con- 

 trolled by burning the 

 webs with a torch at- 

 tached to a pole as soon 

 as it is discovered. 

 Spraying with Paris 

 green would doubtless be 

 more effective in case 

 this pest should appear 

 in large numbers. The 

 hickory twig-girdler( On- 

 cideres cingulatus, Say) 

 is sometimes trouble- 

 some on Pecan. The fe- 

 male beetle deposits her 

 eggs in twigs which she 

 afterwards girdles to 

 such an extent that they 

 are broken off by autumn 

 winds and fall to the 

 ground. These should 

 be immediately gathered 

 and burned, to prevent 

 the larvae from entering 

 the ground. Certain bor- 

 ers, notably the painted 

 hickory borer (Cyllene 

 pict us, Drury,) and allied 

 species, sometimes work 

 havoc by tunneling the 

 cambium layer and inner 

 bark, but their attacks 

 are believed to be con- 

 fined to old or feeble 

 trees. The hickory 

 bark borer (Scolytus 4- 



spinosiis, Say) also works upon trees that have lost 

 their vitality through advanced age or other cause. The 

 only known remedy for these is the prompt removal and 

 destruction of infested trees as soon as discovered. 



Probably the most serious insect enemy to the com- 

 mercial Pecan - grower is the hickory - shuck worm 

 (Grapholitha caryana, Fitch), the larvae of which pene- 

 trate the hull and young nut, causing premature drop- 

 ping. So far as recorded, it is less troublesome on 

 Pecan than on the shellbark hickory (H. laciniosa) and 

 its hybrids. No remedy except prompt destruction of 

 the infested nuts by burning has been discovered. 



Varieties (Fig. 1696). Under the stimulus of the high prices 

 paid for choice seed nuts of good reputation, many varieties of 



