THE PECAN. 



275 



Fig. 



RlBHKIA. 



Petite, which is rather small, and are full of well 

 flavored meat, Helen Harcourt excelling in this respect 



Another very val- 

 uable variety is the 

 Idlewild (Figs. 13 

 and 14), grown by 

 Louis Biediger, of 

 Idlewild, Texas. It 

 is very large, quite 

 thin-shelled, and of 

 excellent flavor. As 

 Texas is called the 

 home of the pecan, we may expect to obtain many more 

 superior varieties from that section of the south. Un- 

 doubtedly they already exist, but have not yet been 

 reported. It is said that in many parts of the state the 

 trees are cut down in order to gather the fruit more 

 easily, and where such extravagant methods are fol- 

 lowed it is not strange that the merits of individual trees 

 are not very seriously considered. 



The pecan has few enemies, and but little care is 

 required to protect it from them. The most injurious 

 insect is a borer, Cyllcne picla, Fig. 15. The ground 



color of the mature in- 

 sect is black, but it is so 

 abundantly marked and 

 spotted with yellow that 

 from a distance it has a 

 golden appearance. 

 These beetles are very 

 abundant on the flowers 

 of the golden rod in the 

 fall, and are easily recognized by their bright markings. 

 At this time the eggs are laid on the bark or in the 

 crevices of the tree ; they soon hatch, and the larva 

 immediately commences work boring inwards and up- 

 wards. The saw-dust like material formed by them is 

 thrown out at the place of entrance, and thus the pres- 

 ence of the insect may be detected. The mature insect 

 issues about the first of September of the 

 following year. Packard suggests, as a 

 preventive remedy, to put soap or some 

 such material on the trunk of the tree 

 during August, so as to prevent the 

 female from laying her eggs ; the young 

 larva is also killed by this material. 

 Another way of destroying the insect is to 

 run a wire into the cavities made by the 

 borer early in the fall. Its excavations 

 are not very extensive at that season, and 

 the larva is easily reached and killed. 

 Another cerambicid beetle which attacks 

 the pecan is Mallodon dasystoiiius, but it 

 usually attacks only weakened or injured 

 trees. The remedies are the same as for 

 the preceeding. 



The fall web worm, Hyphantria cttin-a, 

 Fig. 16, is an insect which, if neglected, will do consid- 

 derable damage. The moths lay their eggs on the leaves 



FlC. 13. luLEWlLl) 



early in the spring. These moths, often called the 

 "many-spotted ermine moth," vary considerably as to 

 size and coloring, some being pure 

 white and others abundantly spot- 

 ted with brown or black. Their 

 eggs hatch in about a week, and 

 the caterpillars immediately begin 

 to spin their web which, if undis- 

 turbed, becomes large and un- 

 sightly in the fall. Fortunately 

 these insects can be destroyed 



easily. Where they are very abundant, arsenites sprayed 

 upon the trees two or three times before the first brood 

 of caterpillars matures, will effectually put a stop to 

 their ravages. Another simple and sure remedy is to 

 burn the webs as soon as they appear, with a ball of 

 cotton or rags tied to the end of a long pole and saturated 

 with kerosene ; or the affected limbs may be cut and 

 then burned. This also should be done early in the 

 season. 



Among the other insect enemies of the pecan may be 

 mentioned the bark borer, Scolytits quadri-spinosKS, Fig. 



17. This is often very destructive to 

 our common hickories, tunnelling 

 just under the bark, as seen in 

 I and 2, Fig. 17, but as yet it has 

 not seriously injured the pecan. 

 Heinirliipus fasictilaris, a wire 

 worm, and Chraniesiis Chapuisii, as 

 well as several species of phyllox- 

 era, also work upon this tree, but at 

 present they have no economic im- 

 portance. All these figures of in- 

 sects are from a bulletin of the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



On black waxy lands the pecan 

 often suffers from a disease commonly known as twig- 

 blight. It is caused by an excess of moisture near the 

 surface of the ground. The remedy is to drain the land. 



15. CVLLENE 

 PICTA. 



Fig, 16. Fall Web-worm [Hyp/inn/ria mnea) in various stages. 



and if this is well-done the trees usually recover. 



It has been said that the pecan will soon rival the 



