WOLFE ; S PECAN NURSERY 
13 
OVERPRODUCTION 
If all the pecans grown in the U. S. (and there is no other place on earth 
where pecans grow except in a small part of Old Mexico) were divided among the 
people of the U. S., they would have about 1-3 lb. of pecans each. The average an¬ 
nual production from 1924 to 1929 was only 43,000,000 pounds. Importation of nuts 
into the U. S. of different kinds has doubled since 1914. For the past five years, 
annual importations of English walnuts, almonds, Brazilian nuts, and filberts have 
totaled 165,000 000 pounds per year. 
These figures indicate that it will be many years before pecan growers can 
supply even the domestic demand for nut meats. The American people are learn¬ 
ing that nuts are more wholesome than meats, hence the demand for nuts has in¬ 
creased more than twenty times in the last twenty five years. Meat consumption 
in the United States has decreased during the same period despite the increase in 
population. 
The pecan industry in the southeastern states is threatened with destruction 
from fungus diseases. Should this unfortunate thing happen, it will increase the 
demand for western pecans. 
The pecan will go on the American table as a staple article of diet tq be used 
twelve months in the year, and an overproduction is not anticipated within the next 
half century. 
A Successful Pecan Growers’ Testimony 
Emmett Brown, Superintendent of School? 
Cleburne, Texas 
October 16, 1933. 
Dear Mr. Wolfe: 
For at least fifteen years it has been my sincere conviction that no phase ol 
agriculture or horticulture in our section of Texas offered so sure or so large re¬ 
turns from the investment as does the planting of a pecan orchard on land suitable 
for that purpose. Every prospective orchardist should acquire the best possiMe 
trees, grown in the same or nearby region and of varieties suited to his section. My 
experience justifies the expectation that all of these trees, if well cared for, will 
have nuts on them the third year and that under normal seasons the crops produc¬ 
ed from the third to seventh years inclusive will pay all cost of planting and tillage 
to that date and will in addition thereto probably give a fair return on the original 
investment. Who knows of anything that the farmer may do that will equal this? 
Cordially yours, 
Emmett Brown. 
