1911 . 
NUT GROWING IN THE NORTH. 
Part I. 
From the earliest times nuts have 
been known as a source of human food. 
The aborigines of this and other coun¬ 
tries have always used them because 
they were one of the natural products 
of the soil, .are rich in oil and other 
elements of food, are wholesome, nour¬ 
ishing and pleasing to the taste. The 
cocoanut and other nuts that are borne 
by various tropical palm trees enter 
largely into the commerce and food sup¬ 
ply of the world. The temperate zones 
also furnish many species of nuts, and 
North America is by no means behind 
in this respect. But until within recent 
years there has been little done in that 
way of cultivating any of the native or 
foreign species, except in California, 
where the almond and European wal¬ 
nut have been extensively planted for 
many years past. Now the Eastern 
States are awakening on this subject, 
and both north and south. 
The Pecan. —For many years past the 
pecan has been attracting great atten¬ 
tion, and it is the best nut in all the 
world, but it is adapted almost entirely 
to the Southern States. That is its 
principal native home, although there 
are wild pecan trees as far north as 
southern Iowa. Some of the most gi¬ 
gantic pecan trees that exist are in the 
Wabash and Ohio River bottoms in 
southern Indiana. But the nuts of 
nearly all the northern pecan trees are 
small, when compared with the choice 
varieties of the Gulf States, and their 
shells are usually thick and the kernels 
mixed with bitter material. However, 
there are a few varieties of the northern 
type that have thin shells and rich, 
plump meats that come out clean and 
easily. These are being brought to light 
slowly, and in time we hope to have a 
list of named varieties worthy of being 
planted. By growing seedlings from 
the best of the wild varieties others of 
excellence may be produced, and more 
reasonably so if crossing with the large 
southern varieties is practiced. This 
will surely be done by some one soon. 
For the present I know of but four 
varieties that have been named and their 
propagation begun that are likely to 
prove valuable in the north. Two of 
them are from Virginia, the Mantura 
and Appomattox, and these are, prob¬ 
ably, not so hardy as the other two be¬ 
cause they are of the more tender south¬ 
ern type. Indiana is from the southern 
part of the State from which it gets its 
name, and is quite hardy. The other 
variety is the Starkdale, and originated 
in Missouri. Trees of these two kinds 
are not ready for sale as yet. To plant 
seedlings is too uncertain of good re¬ 
sults to justify the trouble. This has 
been tried many times with the south¬ 
ern pecans and with great disappoint¬ 
ment in almost every case. 
The Shellbark Hickories. — Al¬ 
though the pecan is the most important 
and best species of the hickory genus 
some of the others are almost equal to 
it. The best one of these is known as 
the Little shellbark. It grows naturally 
from the New England States to Min¬ 
nesota and Missouri, but is most abun¬ 
dant from Pennsylvania to Illinois. In 
the forest the tree grows large and tall, 
witii a slender trunk and long shaggy 
bark, but in the open it makes a full, 
round head above a low, stout trunk. 
All of the hickories make beautiful 
shade trees, with their luxuriant foliage 
and spreading tops,. There are great 
differences in the size, shape, thickness 
of shell and flavor of the nuts of the 
species we are now considering and in 
the bearing of the trees as well. Al¬ 
most any country boy knows this full 
well, and just where to go to get the 
best nuts and the most of them in the 
frosty days of Autumn. So far there 
has been almost nothing done towards 
marking, naming and propagating from 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
317 
the choice varieties that are scattered 
about the country. Some of them are 
so valuable for their nuts that it is 
highly important that they should be 
saved and distributed over the country 
as grafted trees or their scions or buds 
set into others that may thus be made 
to yield far more valuable returns. A 
little has been done in this direction, 
and we have a few named varieties of 
very fine character of tree and nut. 
These few are as much superior to the 
ordinary run of the wild varieties as 
our best apples are better than the 
fence-corner seedlings. Dr. Robert T. 
Morris, one of the greatest surgeons of 
New York City, has devoted a large 
part of his time, thought and money, 
outside of his profession, for some years 
past, to the collecting and culture of 
the choice hickorynuts, along with other 
hardy species of nuts, and we may look 
for something very useful to come from 
this work. Before Dr. Morris began 
investigating this subject there were 
several good varieties of the Little 
shellbark hickory known, among which 
are the Hales and Weiker. A very few 
grafted trees of each of these varieties 
have been grown, but owing to the ex¬ 
treme difficulty in getting the grafts or 
buds to take on the stocks their propa¬ 
gation by nurserymen is not now carried 
on, so far as I know, nor do I know 
of any other choice variety of hickory- 
nut being so propagated. However, 
their great value and the demand for 
the trees will lead to their production 
and sale; and as greater skill in the 
art of budding and grafting nut trees 
is acquired it is probable that their cost 
will be reduced. 
There are many waste patches, cor¬ 
ners or little fields on some farms that 
might be planted to the choice hickories. 
Even if the land is rough and cannot 
be easily cultivated, the trees will grow 
on it very well, provided it is rich 
enough and the trees are deeply mulched 
with old trash to keep down other 
growth until they are well established. 
As roadside or avenue trees there' are 
few trees more fitting than the hickory. 
Added to their beautiful foliage and 
comfortable shade in Summertime, is 
the wealth of nuts in the Fall. Let the 
hickories be planted. 
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