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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