LUTHER BURBANK 
And certainly the hickory nut, walnut and butter- 
nut constitute better native material than the wild 
plums, for example, with the aid of which some 
of the finest varieties of cultivated plums have 
been developed within the most recent years. 
And, indeed, it must not be forgotten that the 
work of developing our native nuts has already 
passed the experimental stage with regard to at 
least one species. This is the nearest relative of 
the hickory, a member indeed of the same genus, 
which is familiar as the pecan. 
This nut grows only in the southern parts of 
the United States, being far less hardy than the 
other hickories. But what it lacks in hardiness it 
makes up in quality, and it is pretty generally 
regarded as the best nut that is grown in temperate 
climates, not even excepting the English walnut. 
The relationship between the northern hick- 
ories and the pecan is attested by the fact that in 
the regions where the two tribes intermingle, they 
hybridize freely. 
I have received specimens of the nuts that were 
undoubtedly hybrids between the shagbark hick- 
ory and the pecan, and these included two or three 
varieties that are among the finest nuts that I have 
ever seen. 
The seedlings that grew from them included 
two trees that gave great promise. Unfortunately 
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