44 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
shape, thin shelled, well filled and kernel ideal in color. 
Such varieties as these will, when the chaff is winnowed out 
from the good, be planted to the practical exclusion of all 
others. 
The general interest taken by almost every home owner 
and farmer in the fine varieties of pecans will in a few years 
make pecans the leading horticultural product of the Wire 
Grass section. No tree is more valuable or more desirable 
for a roadside or street 
tree. They should be 
as universally used 
for this purpose 
throughout the South 
as the maple is in New 
York. 
THE NURSERY SIDE OF 
THE PECAN. 
The planting of 
select varieties of 
budded or grafted 
pecan trees is becom¬ 
ing so general through¬ 
out the Cotton Belt 
that the pecan has 
become an important 
factor with the nur¬ 
sery trade of the 
South. No tree ever 
offered to the planter 
carried with it the 
value and perman¬ 
ency of the pecan. In 
a few years the nuts 
from these trees will 
be an important fac¬ 
tor in the agricultural 
resources of the 
South. The value and 
permanency of the 
pecan is such that the 
planter will not only 
be richly rewarded 
for a small investment, but he will be a benefactor to 
his descendents and community for many generations. 
Notwithstanding the value and importance of the pecan 
tree, less is generally known among nurserymen about the 
character, growing, handling, planting, and what may be 
expected the first year or two after planting in the grove, 
than with any other tree of equal importance. 
As a nursery tree the first class pecan, notwithstanding 
its value, does not present the pleasing appearance of the 
three fourth to one inch apple, peach or pear tree. The 
smaller trees are even less pleasing, the tops are not uni¬ 
form or symmetrical. The root is usually a long club tap, 
with few laterals, this being especially noticeable in the 
smaller grades. As usually handled it is not an easy tree 
to transplant, as it resents abuse more than any deciduous 
tree we know of. The first year after transplanting the 
growth is small, and usually unsatisfactory to the planter. 
In some cases the trees do not bud out until a month or six 
weeks after the normal period for the leaves to appear, 
only making a growth for the season of an inch or two, and 
unless planted in the most fertile soil and under most 
favorable conditions, only a few inches growth may be ex¬ 
pected. If well cared for, fertilized and cultivated, the 
second year’s growth is usually very satisfactory, with a 
vigorous and increasing growth from year to year. 
To insure the best 
results with the pecan 
tree care should be 
taken in the selection 
of the nursery block, 
only planting in land 
conducive to the best 
lateral root growth, 
and of a consistency 
that will allow of 
getting all the root. 
In digging you cannot 
spare a single root off 
the pecan tree, and 
don’t want the few 
laterals or the tap 
root cut short. Get 
all the tap if possible; 
it may be long, but 
none too long for the 
support of the tree. 
Seedlings for propaga¬ 
ting should be two or I 
three years old before 
budding or grafting, 
thus insuring a better 
and more matured 
root than when , 
younger seedlings are 
used. 
The pecan must 
always be an expen¬ 
sive tree, not because 
of strong demand 
and limited supply, or long profits to the grower; but 
because the seed is expensive and it takes years to pro¬ 
duce a good salable tree. Propagation is slow and difficult, 
with an unusually low percentage of unions. The dig¬ 
ging is slow and laborious and the tree must have 
special care and attention until delivered to the planter. We 
said they resent abuse: They do. They will not stand 
poor digging, poor packing and the rough handling and ex¬ 
posure of the ordinary billing yard. They should be 
delivered from the nursery to the planter wfith the least 
possible handling and delay. Many nurserymen buying 
pecan trees and selling through salesmen complain of ex¬ 
cessive losses. This should not occur if well grown on good 
matured seedlings of the proper age, carefully dug, handled 
and protected until they reach the planter; but these 
‘losses will continue until nurserymen handling them fully 
realize the importance of getting matured roots and the 
i Bradley 2 Randall 3 President 4 Daisy 5 Frotcher 
Characteristic Forms of the Cultivated Pecan 
