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PECAN CULTURE. 



By Herbert Post, of Fort Worth, Texas. 



To the Honorable Secretary of the State Board of Horticulture of Cali- 

 ' fornia: 



Dear Sir: Through the kindness of John Benson, Esq., of San Fran- 

 cisco, I have received a copy of the fourth biennial report of your Board 

 for 1893. I was very glad to receive it, for it contains much of great 

 value to others who are outside of California but interested in horticult- 

 ure, one of the greatest professions man ever followed. Especially was 

 I interested in the discussions on the pecan nut, on page 330. 



Mr. Benson has asked me to state what I would have said had I been 

 present at this discussion, and been called upon for information con- 

 cerning the pecan tree and its great value. 



Such discussions are valuable, and it is very evident those taking 

 part were seeking information, and if I add but a mite to the knowledge 

 sought upon this important industry, I will feel well repaid. 



An old Italian saying is, "An olive orchard is a gold mine on the face 

 of the earth." If such be true of the olive, it is vastly more so of the 

 pecan, especially of the Texas thin-shell pecan. With cultivation they 

 begin to bear at six years (so do some growing wild); at eight years 

 they bear profitably. As soon as they bear fifty pounds per tree, twenty- 

 five acres, costing but $75 for the nuts to plant, will earn $7,625 annu- 

 ally, going on increasing in yield for thirty years, lasting for generations. 

 A hardy tree, with few or no insect enemies, we have in the pecan a friend 

 famous for its earnings in lifting mortgages and bringing comfort and 

 happiness to thousands, who have only lately come to know of its great 

 value. 



Having made this valuable industry a special study for nearly five 

 years past, and in consultation with our best informed horticulturists 

 frequently upon this subject, what I have to say will be indorsed by such 

 men, some of whom have spent most of their lives in this State. Pro- 

 fessor Stelle (now deceased), who was for many years connected with 

 the Geological Survey of the State, visiting every part of it, made for 

 twenty years a study of the pecan, and to him we are indebted for much 

 valuable information. With pen and voice he has tried to interest the 

 Texans in this valuable industry, who seemed to care but little for it, 

 but went on year after year wasting wantonly the valuable forests of the 

 pecan, simply to gather the product. Happily, two years ago our Legis- 

 lature put a stop to this, making a severe penalty for those who cut 

 down the pecan, or even gather the nuts without permission of the 

 owner. The question has been asked by people outside the State, "If 

 the pecan is so valuable, why don't all Texas go into growing them?" 

 My answer is, people in a new country like Texas are so busy getting 

 bread and meat that they have little time or care for anything else, 

 especially so when they can go out and in a few hours gather all the 

 pecans they want. With them that ends all the interest they have. It 

 is like asking the people of Pennsylvania to plant chestnuts, while the 

 woods are full of them and supply the demand. 



Attention has been called to this industry the past three or four years, 

 and it has induced a few to plant out groves, with promise of large 

 earnings and with increased value of the lands devoted to them. 



