570 



Garden and Forest. 



[November 27, 1889. 



lias any such root-pruned and transplanted tree proved an 

 early bearer; that, on the contrary, such trees do not bear 

 fruit luitil they are twelve, and even fifteen, years old. Expe- 

 rience, ot late, leads more and more to the planting of the 

 nuts where the tree is to stand. Several nuts, soon after their 

 gathering-, are placed in a hill well supplied with rotted litter. 

 Tiie following season the strongest of the seedlings is left 

 standing. The hills are placed at a distance of from thirty to 

 forty feet. Judging, however, from the diametei" of the crown, 

 iis eiisplaycd by trees long before they have reached the fidl- 

 ness of their growth, it is evident that they should stand at 

 least fifty feet apart. 



Qu.'VLlTV OF Fruit. — The nuts from different individuals of 

 spontaneous growth or under cultivation present an endless 

 variation in size, shape, thickness of shell and plumpness 

 and flavor of kernel. The nuts of the trees growing in the 

 alluvial forests east of the Mississippi River are somewhat 

 spindle-shaped in form, small, hard shelled and of scarcely 

 any value for marketing. West of the Mississippi River, in 

 the open l^elts of timber fringing the streams in Te.xas, west 

 of the valley of the Trinity, the nuts are more oval, with a 

 thinner shell and of better size and flavor. Nowhere else are 

 such fine, natural crops of nuts produced as in western 

 Texas. These are of no small importance to the settlers 

 of that section. Many hundreds of thousands of pounds 

 of nuts armually reach the markets of San Antonio and 

 Austin, where they sell by the wagon-load at five to six 

 cents a pound, and where they are assorted according to their 

 quality before they are shipped to distant markets. Nuts of 

 highest quality, oblong-ovate in shape, one and a half inches 

 long, with shells so thin that they can be crushed between 

 the fingers, and unsurpassed in richness of flavor, are grown 

 with cultivation throughout Louisiana west of the Mississippi 

 River. The earlier settlers along the. so-called Mississippi 

 coast parishes, in the Red River district of Bayou Teche, have 

 given attention to the improvement of the Pecan-nut, and, of 

 late, similar efforts have been made successfully in Mississippi, 

 Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. 



Hybrids. — The influences which cause the variations in 

 the quality of the Pecan nuts, outside of those depending 

 upon climate and soil, cannot be discussed at present. There 

 can, however, be no doubt that in these deviations from the 

 original type, much is due to cross-fertilization between in- 

 dividuals possessed of slight variations, originally mere 

 sports. It is a fact that scarcely any other tree is more 

 subject to hybridization by the crossing with other individuals 

 of its kind. Such hybrids are met with in the forest and also 

 among cultivated trees, to the great dismay of the planter, 

 yielding fruit as unsightly as it is unpalatable. Crosses be- 

 tween this species and the Water Hickory {Hickoria integ- 

 rifolia — Carya aquatica, Nutt.) are frequently met with. 

 The fertilization in the case of these trees being entirely left 

 to the agency of the wind, it is clear that intercrossings be- 

 tween the different species of Hickoi-y, hybrids, variety hy- 

 brids, and the forms presenting slight deviations from the 

 original character, must lead to the production of a multitude 

 of variations, and that to keep a desired race pure, individuals 

 bearing fruit of inferior grades growing in the immediate 

 neighborhood of the grove should be removed. 



Propagation by Seed.— The opinion held by many that the 

 fruit does not always prove true to that of the parent tree, 

 and that the propagation by seed of trees bearing the finest 

 nuts cannot be depended upon with certainty, receives 

 confirmation every year. Mr. Delchamps, convinced of 

 the uncertainty of producing fruit in every respect equal 

 to that of the parent tree, holds the opinion that there is a 

 limit to the improvement of all fruits, and that if this limit 

 is once reached, the tendency is strong to revert to the original 

 type. According to his experience, this tendency is well 

 marked in the Pecan, and repeated observation shows that 

 trees grown from the finest nuts often produce fruit of 

 very inferior quality. In the selection of nuts for planting he 

 would reject the very finest as well as the poorest, and limit 

 his choice to medium sized nuts, well shaped and of good 

 flavor. He is confident of obtaining in this way a greater per- 

 centage of fine nuts and fewer inferior ones. 



Propagation by Grafting. — To obtain just such nuts as are 

 desired — that is, to propagate and multiply extra fine qualities 

 — as in other fruit-trees, grafting must be resorted to. 



The cultivator quoted states that, in the face of the bold 

 assertions to the contrary made years ago, he succeeded with- 

 out failure in whip-graffing or tongue-grafting the Pecan on a 

 common Hickory (the Mockernut), the stock being sawn off' 

 close to the ground. He would layer well shaped and well 

 flavored nuts in sand until January and February (in the latitude 



of Mobile), and plant them where the tree is to stand perma- 

 nently. Under good cultivation, in a year most if not all the young 

 trees will be stout enough to tongue-graft. The cions, taken 

 from choice trees, should be cut some time before they are 

 used, say about Christmas, and kept in sand until needed. As 

 soon as the stock trees show signs of swelling the buds, say 

 about the beginning of February, they should be cut to the 

 ground and the cions grafted on them. If any are still too 

 slender, the grafting can be deferred till the next year. 



Pecans at the North. — The possibility of propagating 

 successfully trees bearing nuts of finest quality in the territory 

 north of the southern states is yet a question to be settled by 

 experiment. This is the only way that it can be decided 

 whether late frosts in the spring prove an obstacle by causing 

 injury to the flower-buds, or whether the earlier frosts near the 

 close of the season will interfere with the full maturing of the 

 fruit. 



Insect Enemies. — The Pecan-tree has some insect ene- 

 mies which endanger its health and life. Amongst those are 

 the larvag of a cerambicoid beetle, which bores into the very 

 heart of the tree, and a species of tent caterpillar, which 

 causes less injin-y to the tree, but gives it an unsightly look 

 from the numerous nests infesting the crown. 



Possible Profits of Cultivation. — The Pecan-tree yields its 

 crops of nuts almost without failure every season ; however, 

 not in equal abundance, one year of fruitfulness being gen- 

 erally followed by one of considerably shorter crops. From 

 immerous inquiries made it can be asserted that a tree, after 

 having reached the twentieth year, will for generations tocome 

 yield an income averaging from fifteen dollars to twenty dol- 

 lars a year at ruling market prices. Considering the facilities 

 with which the shipping and marketing of the Pecan-nut is 

 attended and its possible transportation to the most distant 

 points without any injury — considering, too, the .increasing 

 demand for this fine dessert nut in this country and in foreign 

 markets — there can be no doubt about the profits to be derived 

 from the establishment of a Pecan-grove. No part of an 

 estate will prove of greater and more permanent value as a 

 bequest to posterity. 



In the southern states, in the region best suited to the cultiva- 

 tion of the Pecan-nut, lands of the required conditions are easily 

 obtainable, abundant and cheap, particularly on the lower At- 

 lantic or the Gulf coasts. As the trees come into bearing those 

 found to yield nuts of inferior quality, and therefore of little 

 market value, should be immediately taken from the grove 

 and replaced by grafted trees of vigorous growth. 



Mobile, Ala. Charles Mohr. 



Rose Notes. 

 'T^HE dull, cloudy weather which has prevailed for the past 

 ^ month has plainly affected bofli the size and color of 

 many of the best forcing Roses, and in some varieties it has 

 also caused many malformed flowers, a trouble not usually met 

 with so early in the season. There are some good flowers to 

 be found, it is true, but there are also many poor ones. 



This was quite noticeable at the recent exhibition of the 

 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, in Philadelphia, where few 

 superior blooms were seen among the cut Roses. Dull colors 

 and in many instances comparatively small size was the rule 

 among these flowers, and beyond question this was due 

 rather to lack of sunshine than to lack of intelligent care oh 

 the part of their growers. \ 



Very prominent just now among the newer Roses is the 

 so-called dark La France, the Duchess of Albany, a flower 

 which has attained much popularity, for its first season, in 

 some localities. It is very similar to La France in general 

 appearance, the chief difference being in its color, which is a 

 deep pink. Perhaps, even, it may be termed a rosy red. 

 There are, however, decided differences of opinion as to 

 the comparative attractiveness of the new color, and it will 

 probably be hard to persuade some persons that the new- 

 comer is really better than a good La France. 



Madame Hoste is to be seen in good quality, and some buds 

 are as large as those of Cornelie Koch, although not furnished 

 with so stiff a stem. Madame Hoste seems free of habit both 

 in growth and bloom, and may prove very useful, for it forces 

 well. Its greatest drawback is its undecided color, the lemon 

 yellow of the centre facing to white in the outer petals, and 

 there is apparently considerable density in its shades of color. 



A Rose, not often seen in quantity now, is MaCapucine, but 

 at the Philadelphia Exhibition before alluded to, a glass filled 

 with blooms of this pretty little Tea attracted much notice. 

 Ellwanger describes its color as " nasturdum yellow." It is of 

 slender growth and not large enough in bud to satisfy the 

 popular demand for big Roses ; and yet Ma Capucine is much 



