120 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
feet each way, or 17 to the acre. The pe¬ 
can does not have to be gathered within a 
short period like some perishable fruits. 
The gathering season extends from the 
first of October to well in January, al¬ 
though it is advisable to have them on the 
market before the holidays. The nuts are 
thrashed off the trees by means of long 
bamboo poles and then picked up from the 
ground, or from canvas spread under the 
trees. They are then graded according to 
diameter, and packed in strong tight boxes 
or barrels. 
The pecan is a very valuable food prod¬ 
uct, being the richest of all nuts. One 
pound of pecan meats is equivalent, in 
calories, to 2.3 pounds of smoked ham, 2.3 
pounds of flour bread, 2.4 pounds of 
dried beans, 3.7 pounds of porterhouse 
steak, 12.3 pounds of Irish potatoes, ioj 4 
pounds of apples, 15 pounds of oranges. 
And the different elements of food in the 
pecan is in such proportion that it makes 
a balanced ration. 
The pecan tree is one of the longest 
lived of any orchard tree. It is expected 
that an orchard well cared for will bear 
crops for at least 100 years, and possibly 
300 to 400 years. This expectation is 
based on the age of the pecan trees found 
in the forests, many of them being much 
over 100 years old and some even 400. 
Therefore when you plant a pecan orchard 
you not only plant for yourself and chil¬ 
dren but several generations. 
Under proper conditions and treatment 
a pecan tree will bear a few nuts the third 
or fourth year after planting, some excep¬ 
tional trees bearing as much as 30 pounds 
the sixth year, but in general you cannot 
expect a commercial crop before the eighth 
to tenth year from planting. Other things 
being equal, the richer the soil, the better 
the cultivation, and with proper fertiliza¬ 
tion, the sooner you will get a commercial 
crop. 
In planting pecan trees there are a few 
things to consider in order to produce a 
successful orchard: (1) Select your best 
and well drained land. With us in the 
northern counties it is necessary to have a 
good clay sub-soil within ten to fifteen 
inches, but there are successful orchards 
on lands without clay sub-soils, where the 
water table is within a few feet of the sur¬ 
face of the ground. (2) Select first-class 
nursery stock from a reliable nurseryman 
or his agent, and of the proper varieties 
for your locality. For best results the 
trees planted should not be less than four 
feet high. The Moore and Moneymaker 
are probably the best commercial varieties 
adapted to Florida conditions, although 
Curtis, Pabst, Success and Stuart are also 
good. (3) Give your trees good care and 
plenty of fertilization. 
If you follow these instructions, you 
will get results. If you buy cheap trees, 
set them on poor land, and neglect them, 
you will get no results. 
I think the day is coming, and not many 
years hence, when the pecan will be the 
best and most valuable cash crop of the 
cotton states of the South, and of the 
northern part of Florida. 
