LUTHER BURBANK 



the gophers destroyed them both. So the experi- 

 ments I had contemplated in connection with them 

 were not carried out. But I am confident that 

 great improvements in the pecan will result from 

 hybridizing this nut with the shagbark hickory. 

 THE CULTIVATION OF THE PECAN 



Even in its existing varieties, however, the 

 pecan nut has very attractive qualities; and it has 

 the distinction of being the only native nut that 

 has hitherto been placed under cultivation on an 

 extensive scale and has attained commercial 

 importance. 



We have already referred to the economic 

 importance of this nut in an earlier chapter, and 

 mention was there made of the fact that all the 

 pecans now under cultivation are directly derived 

 from a few wild varieties that have been propa- 

 gated by budding and grafting. It is only in recent 

 years that a method of grafting this nut success- 

 fully has been developed, and as yet little or noth- 

 ing has been done toward improving the wild 

 varieties. 



The fact that the nut in its wild state has such 

 attractive qualities gives full assurance that under 

 cultivation and development it will prove of even 

 greater value. 



In selecting the best wild varieties for cultiva- 

 tion, attention has been paid to the matter of early 



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