CHAPTER XXXV. 



THE PECAN NUT. 



Of the nut bearing trees, the walnut, chestnut and fil- 

 bert are ail worthy oi" cultivation, but they are far less 

 valuable than the pecan (carya olivae-formis) which is 

 of the same genus as the hickory, and succeeds wherever 

 that tree grows. The natural range of the pecan is in 



Fig. 114. 



the valleys of the Western rivers from Illinois to Texas, 

 and it is cultivated with remarkable success in most 

 states of the Union, especially so at the South, The 

 tallest tree of which we have any account is growing 

 near Philadelphia, Pa., and the largest nut which has 

 yet been brought before the public was obtained from 

 Illinois? There are fine specimens of the trees grow- 

 ing in the Southern States, which often bear fifteen 

 bushels of excellent nuts per tree ; and as they sell 

 readily at from three to five dollars per bushel, the net 



