174 NUT GROWING 



nut bearing tree in the United States, Its natural 

 range is from southern Indiana and Iowa southward 

 into Mexico. Pecan trees of different groups be- 

 longing to three distinct belts have been described 

 by Mr. Meredith C. Reed, of Vincennes, Indiana. 

 For purposes of planting, trees of the Indiana or 

 Iowa groups are the only ones which are likely to 

 be extended farther to the north. So long as the 

 shagbark hickory range extends from southern On- 

 tario southward beyond the indigenous range of 

 pecan hickories of the northern belt, it will probably 

 be desirable on the whole to develop the shagbark 

 hickory in the north instead of attempting to extend 

 the range of the pecan very widely in that direction. 



A natural check to the northern distribution of 

 the pecan hickory no doubt relates to its long grow- 

 ing season. The shagbark puts terminal buds on its 

 shoots after about six weeks of growth in the spring, 

 but some of the pecans do not put up top buds until 

 more than twelve weeks of growing season have 

 elapsed. Female flowers are borne upon the ends of 

 shoots of the year and buds for these flowers as 

 well as the growing nuts may not have time to ma- 

 ture before the first frost nips them in the north. 



The most northerly bearing pecan that I know 

 about is a seedling on the Dana estate at Glen Cove, 

 Long Island. There are two large bearing pecans 

 about one hundred years old on the Lorillard estate 

 at Jobstown, New Jersey. The nuts are small, but 

 good. Farther north there are several large and 

 thrifty pecans in Westchester County, New York, 



