1!>05. 
TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
295 
UP-TO-DATE FACTS ABOUT PECANS. 
A Growing Industry in the South. 
the HOME OF 1 HE NUT.—To those who live in 
the Southern States, and those who think of living 
there, pecan growing and all that pertains to it is of 
special interest. Many who live far to the north show 
a desire to grow the pecan, although they may be out 
of the territory suited to it. Pecan trees are only found 
in the wild state in North America, and have rarely 
been planted elsewhere, even in arboretums. Indeed, 
it is doubtful if this nut can be produced profitably in 
other parts of the world, and if this be true it leaves 
us Americans in control of the business. Naturally the 
pecan grows along the Mississippi River and its tribu¬ 
taries, on the bottom lands, as far north as central 
Iowa, but the lower part of that region, especially from 
St. Louis southward to the Gulf of Mexico, is its real 
home. There is a marked difference in the hardiness 
of the trees. There is also a corresponding difference 
in the size of the nuts, ranging from almost half an 
ounce in weight near the Gulf to less than one-fourth 
as much at the North. Not all of the pecans in the 
South are large, for many of them are very small, but 
the very large ones are all grown there, and perhaps 
always will be, for the trees that have produced them 
so far are tender north of the Gulf States. It may be 
that the experiments now under way will result in 
discovering or developing varieties that will be hardy, 
in tree and having large and thin-shelled nuts, but until 
then let no one expect to succeed in growing really 
valuable pecans north of St. Louis at the farthest, and 
at present the line of suc¬ 
cess is not far north of 
Memphis, Tennessee. 
• FERTILITY AND 
MOISTURE.—The pecan 
is a native of the richest 
river and creek bottom 
lands in America, and 
there is where it does best 
under cultivation. By 
means of manuring and 
good tillage it is possible 
to obtain profitable crops 
of pecans on ordinary up¬ 
lands, and even on poor 
sandy lands, but the ex¬ 
pense is very much great¬ 
er, and the profits far less 
certain than where the 
soil and subsoil are nat¬ 
urally suitable. The pecan 
tree not only flourishes in 
rich soil, but there should 
be water within reach of 
its deep roots, to make 
sure of the nuts filling 
well. It is the plump ker¬ 
nels and not the poorly 
filled shells that we must 
have. 
BUDDING AND 
GRAFTING. — Wild pe¬ 
can trees of almost any 
size may be budded or 
grafted in the top by a 
skillful operator who un¬ 
derstands the peculiarities 
of the business. It is better, if not quite necessary, to 
cut back the large branches, and after a year or two 
of growth on the sprouts bud or graft them. Budding 
by the patch method has so far been better than, any 
other way of retopping pecan trees. It can be done 
by holding back the scions in the Spring, by refrigera¬ 
tion until the bark will peel on the stocks, or in the 
ordinary budding season in late Summer. The varia¬ 
tions of seedling pecans are so great, and from the 
choice nuts almost universally so backward, that it is 
unwise to risk planting an orchard of them, no matter 
how good the parentage. The nuts are not only in¬ 
ferior, but the trees are usually tardy and scanty in 
their bearing. Budded or grafted trees are the only 
sure ones to depend upon for abundant crops of good 
nuts. They may be bought from nurseries and planted 
in orchard form or grown on the farm. For the aver¬ 
age planter the former is the better plan. Or, nuts 
can be planted where the trees are to stand, and the 
seedlings budded or grafted there. This is apt to result 
in an irregular and unsatisfactory stand, but by great 
care and perseverance it can be fairly well done. There 
need be no fear of pecan trees failing to grow and bear 
well that have had their tap roots cut back in trans¬ 
planting. There are plenty of examples to warrant this 
conclusion. 
PLAN I ING THE GROVE.—The proper distance 
apart to plant pecan trees in rich soil is not less than 
50 feet, and 75 or even 100 feet is better. Their tops 
will interfere at 50 feet apart in about 20 years, if the 
trees are given proper treatment, when it will be nec¬ 
essary to cut down a part of the trees or allow them 
seriously and permanently to injure each other. At 
75 feet apart they will not interfere for many years, but 
at 100 feet they will rarely be too close at full maturity. 
The pecan, like all other trees that bear fruit or nuts, 
requires plenty of air space for the development of the 
lower branches. If they do not have direct sunlight on 
all sides the foliage will be scant and the branches be¬ 
come dwarfed and assume an upward tendency, instead 
of being nearly horizontal, as they should be. A pecan 
tree should in no case be forced to take on forest pro¬ 
portions. Nuts and not wood is the desired result. On 
poor land the distance apart for the trees should be 
less than that just mentioned, for they will not grow 
so fast, nor live so long as those on rich land. A pecan 
tree should be ■ in its prime at 50 years from planting. 
The height above ground at which the head should be 
formed is generally thought by experienced growers 
to be from six to eight feet. This will give ample room 
under the branches, but none too much, if the trees are 
given proper treatment otherwise. Some of the largest 
trees are found near the northern limit of growth. 
VARIETIES.—The all-important matter of safe and 
well-tested varieties can be stated in fewer words than 
many suppose, and than some who have new varieties 
to push will approve. Some of these latter varieties 
may eventually prove to be better than those I may 
name, but it will take time to prove it either way. It 
is only safe to depend on the actual performance of the 
trees under varied conditions within the pecan area, 
and for as long as 10 years. The nut must be good in 
every way and the tree productive and healthy. Stuart 
stands first on the list. All things considered, it is the 
best pecan that has been well tested. It is one of the 
largest, thinnest-shelled, best-filled, easiest to extract 
from the shell and richest in flavor of all pecans. Its 
oblong form is very desirable. The tree is well formed, 
healthy, and, above all things else, it bears regularly 
and abundantly. Van Deman is next in rank, of the 
well-tested kinds. It does not always fill out the ker¬ 
nel fully, but with this exception it is quite equal to 
Stuart in every respect. Russell is of medium size, de¬ 
cidedly oval in shape, thin-shelled and good in every 
respect, except that there arc many dark specks on the 
shell, which are somewhat objectionable. Pabst has not 
been widely tested, but gives promise of being one of 
the very good pecans. The shell is not quite so thin 
as that of those already mentioned. Moneymaker has 
only been tested a few years, except in case of the orig¬ 
inal tree, which is 20 years old. It began to bear at 
an early age, and has continued to bear heavy crops 
almost every year since. I have seen it several times, 
and always well loaded with nuts except once; also 
younger trees. They are almost equal to the largest in 
size, roundish ovate in shape, thin-shelled, kernel plump, 
and comes out of shell easily. The quality is good 
but not best. The tree is spreading, the wood very 
tough, and is propagated more easily than most vari¬ 
eties. The nuts ripen very early, which is of great 
importance for the northern sections. For general mar¬ 
ket purposes Moneymaker is one of the best pecans to 
plant. l'here are other choice varieties that have not 
been tested many years, but are of excellent quality of 
nuts, and bear well so far as tried. Among these are 
Schley, Gregg, Georgia Giant, Alley and the Jacocks 
seedlings. Among the older varieties are some that 
have proved to be of little value. The most prominent 
of these is Rome, which is more commonly known as 
Columbian, Pride of the Coast, and Twentieth Century. 
It is a very large nut, but rarely fills well, is of very 
poor quality, and, worst af all, the tree is a very poor 
bearer. I his variety should not be planted by anyone. 
Centennial is a large, thin-shelled nut, but the kernel is 
not always plump, nor does the tree bear well. These 
facts have been gathered from experience, many years 
of careful observation in the pecan country, and a 
special study of the subject. h. e. van deman. 
THE BEST WATER TANK. 
In answer to Z. C. B., page 224, in regards to tanks, 
the best wood tank is cypress, the next is White pine. 
Both are expensive, and both woods will flavor and 
spoil water for drinking. I have the best galvanized 
iron tank, that I have only used for five years, and that 
is nearly used up with rust, so much to I have had 
to have it repaired. If Z. C. B. has a small hill or 
raise of ground not too far from his well, let him 
put in a good cistern in the ground, well cemented, put 
a windmill over or near his well, and pump his water 
to cistern, and then run by gravity to house, or where 
he wants it. It will not cost one-half what the gaso¬ 
line engine and wooden tank will, and with care will 
last many years with light cost. I have a Dandy wind¬ 
mill that has run 10 years; has cost me only 50 cents 
for repairs. I have an¬ 
other make that has cost 
me 10 times what the 
Dandy has for same time. 
If I were in Z.' C. B.’s 
place, and I could find or 
dig a well on high enough 
land and get a decent vein 
of water, and run this 
water to where wanted, it 
will beat all the pumping 
engines or mills ever 
made. A man can afford 
to go to three times the 
expense at first to get 
running water. Then in 
regards to piping water, 
a good lead pipe will last 
five times as long as iron. 
In some water iron pipe 
will last from 10 to 15 
years. I have had black 
iron pipe rust solid' in 
three years; in the same 
water I had galvanized 
iron to rust full in five 
years, but according to 
my experience the life of 
either iron or galvanized 
pipe is from 8 to 10 years. 
I hope to hear from 
others, wm. h. hallock. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
I have a 40-barrel tank, 
water used for house use. 
First I got a galvanized 
iron tank at considerable 
cost. In a year or two it began to leak a little. I had 
it repaired; it soon leaked again. I had it repaired 
every few months for about five years, when it gave 
out entirely Then I got a wooden tank of cypress, 
holding 40 barrels for less money than the iron tank. 
I have now had the wooden tank over 20 years, and it 
is still good. Water never tasted of the wood. The 
tank is in an enclosed building, and is 10 or 12 feet 
from the ground. n. h. albaugh. 
Ohio. 
Having had a large experience with this class of 
work, would recommend wood. White pine or cedar, free 
from knots and sap. Erect it so it will have air space 
underneath and paint. If I wished an extra good job 
I would pitch it over on inside with pitch, such as 
used on boats, after calking with oakum. Iron or steel 
tanks have to be painted on inside, and sooner or later 
will rust and corrode, and will need repairing, which 
will make the water taste for some time, and be¬ 
sides, water will be more or less rusty. r. h. w. 
Kingston, N. Y. 
In June, 1901, I erected a tower with a cypress tank 
of 6,000 gallons capacity on top of it, and never does 
my family remember the water tasting of the wood. 
I think galvanized iron tank would be all right, if you 
could get galvanized iron, but if you got a galvanized 
tank it would be steel, and it would give you trouble 
sooner or later. h. p. lee. 
What makes the best tank? Our experience is, a 
wooden tank lined with sheet copper. Of course the 
wood part need not be watertight, but must be of suffi¬ 
cient strength to hold and support the weight of water. 
We have one so constructed; it has been in use since 
the sixties, and no leak yet, p. w. i. 
Connecticut. 
“WHO WILL CARE FOR MOTHER NOW?” Fig. 124. 
