The Pecan, 113 



154. Pruningf the pecan does not appear to be generally- 

 practiced, but it is said that the trees endure pruning well. 

 Since the fruit is borne only on the new wood, it would 

 seem that, at least in old trees, pruning might be beneficial 

 by increasing the number of new shoots. 



155. Harvesting and marketing:. The fallen nuts are 

 commonly gathered at frequent intervals. Sometimes the 

 dropping is hastened by beating the branches with poles. 

 The nuts should not become wet, as this would injure their 

 appearance and quality. They should be dried someAvhat, 

 before storing in bulk. Most pecans of medium size and 

 below, are polished by friction in revolving barrels before 

 marketing. At present, the demand for the larger thin- 

 shelled nuts for seed is so great, that few reach the retail 

 market. Fifteen to 20 cents per pound is a fair market 

 price: a bushel contains 44 to 50 pounds. 



156. Parasitic enemies. The hickory-shuck worm 

 (Grapholitha caryana) is perhaps the most serious insect 

 enemy to the pecan. The larva penetrates the hull and 

 young nut, causing premature dropping. The infested 

 nuts should be promptly gathered and burned. The fall web- 

 worm {Hyphantria cunea) is injurious to the foliage. It 

 may be controlled by burning the webs as fast as discov- 

 ered with a torch attached to a pole, or by spraying with 

 an arsenite. The hickory twig-girdler (Oncideres cingu- 

 latus) sometimes troubles the pecan by girdling the twigs, 

 causing them to be blown off. The fallen twigs should be 

 promptly burned. Certain borers injure enfeebled trees; 

 the only remedy is to destroy such trees. 



157. Other nut trees allied to the pecan. Several other 

 species of the genus Hicoria that bear edible nuts are native 

 in northern United States. The shell bark or shagbark hick- 



