PEAR PESTS— PECAN 



1657 



can be easily seen, and when they first 

 iDecome abundant spraying should be 

 done. Spray the under side of the leaves 

 where the larvae are at work. 



Summary 



The pear thrips can be controlled by 

 thorough spraying on any variety of the 

 deciduous fruits grown in the infested 

 areas. 



The sprayings necessary to control the 

 thrips are expensive, but the outlay of 

 money and labor gives large returns. 

 Many experiments in spraying have given 

 net returns of from $100 to $600 per acre 

 more than was secured from adjoining 

 untreated areas. 



The thrips work rapidly and may de- 

 stroy all prospects of a crop in less than 

 a week's time. Spraying, to be success- 

 ful, must be done thoroughly and at the 

 time to kill the thrips before the fruit 

 buds have been destroyed. 



Those who can do so successfully are 

 advised to irrigate and plow in the fall. 

 This is to be followed by thorough spray- 

 ing the following spring. 



When the thrips begin to appear on 

 the trees in numbers, spraying should be 

 done thoroughly, using high pressure, 

 holding nozzles close to buds and direct- 

 ing the spray directly into the ends of 

 the buds and not against the sides. 



Growers should not attempt to spray 

 too many trees with one machine. More 

 profitable returns will be gained by spray- 

 ing half of the orchard thoroughly and 

 at the proper times than by spraying all 

 the orchard poorly one time. Results of 

 the work in 1909 to 1912 show conclu- 

 sively that one application is not suffi- 

 cient when the thrips are abundant. 



Tussock Moth. See Apple Pests. 

 Waxnut Mealy Bug. See Walnut 

 Pests, 



Walnut Scale. See Walnut Pests. 

 White Lined Sphinx. See Cantaloup 



White Peach Scale. See Peach Pests, 

 Tinder West India Peach Scale. 



Woolly Apple Aphis. See Aphids. 



Pearmain, Blue, Apple for Massa- 

 chusetts. See Massachusetts. 



Pecan 



The pecan, Hicoria pecan, is a spe- 

 cies of hickory, indigenous to North 

 America, especially the United States. 

 It belongs to the walnut family 

 and is one of the most profitable com- 

 mercially of any one of that species. It 

 grows to a height of 100 feet, and under 

 favorable conditions of deep alluvial soil 

 and plenty of moisture will live to a 

 great age and bear nuts of great com- 

 mercial value. Trees are now living and 

 bearing in Texas and other Southern 

 states that are said to be 300 years old. 

 Since the pecan has come to be regarded 

 as commercially important and profitable 

 there has been much discussion as to 

 what sections of the country are best 

 adapted to its production. This ques- 

 tion is hard to settle. It grows as far 

 north as Central New York and as far 

 south as the Gulf of Mexico. It seems 

 not to produce profitably for commercial 

 purposes in the latitude of New York, 

 but is profitable in all the Southern 

 states. Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Ala- 

 bama, North Carolina, Virginia and 

 Mississippi all lay claims to special 

 adaptation to its production. It is also 

 well adapted to the sections drained by 

 the Mississippi river as far north as Cen- 

 tral Illinois, Central Indiana and other 

 sections in the same latitude. Just now 

 there is a great awakening of interest 

 upon the subject, and many orchards are 

 being planted to improved varieties. 



Granville Lowtheb 



Pollination 



Since two kinds of flowers are pro- 

 duced on the pecan, one bearing the pis- 

 tils, the other stamens, the pollen must 

 be transferred from the latter to the 

 former in order that pollination may 

 take place. In many plants the pollen 

 is transferred from one plant to another 

 by means of insects, but in the pecan 

 there are no bright colors, no nectar, no 

 scent to attract insects to carry pollen, 

 but, instead, the wind is the carrying 

 agent and it needs no attractions. Pollen 



