THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
3 9i 
PECAN ORCHARD AREAS RAPIDLY EXTENDING IN 
SOUTH GEORGIA AND NORTH FLORIDA 
A New Industry Established by the Introduction of Budded and Grafted 
Paper-shell Varieties 
The pecan nut—of the paper-shell variety—is indeed 
“King of Nuts,” says Wm. F. Parkhurst in the Atlanta 
Constitution. 
The most striking fact relative to pecan culture is that 
all authorities are equally positive that no other investment 
is comparable with a pecan grove. Albany and Dougherty 
counties,Ga., are situated in the most desirable portion of the 
south, and 'the pecan is one of Nature’s greatest gifts to the 
south. The pecan tree lives a long life—some even for 
centuiies; it bears fruit practically all its life, and it is sus¬ 
ceptible to neither drouth nor climatic conditions. The 
pecan has practically no vital enemy or serious pest, and 
the tree combines the beauty of the magnolia with the sym¬ 
metry of the pine and the fecundity of the walnut. The 
only way to destroy a pecan tree is to grub it up. 
The pecan is practi¬ 
cally unknown in Eu¬ 
rope, but its use as a lux¬ 
ury for the table, in can- . 
dies, as an oil and as a 
staple food product is 
growing marvelously in 
this country and Mexi¬ 
co. The groves in -Albany 
and surrounding terri¬ 
tory are the largest in 
the country and produce 
the best nuts. Over 
10,000 acres are now 
planted to pecans or 
planned to be in this 
great section of South- .... ........ . , 
6 ^ n - 
% west Georgia. . ■ - 
The pecan as a com- The Cultivated 
mercial proposition is a 
wonder. One strong fact in favor of the pecan is that, al¬ 
though the trees do not bear fully before they are five to 
seven years old, the grove owner putting out pecans does 
not have to wait for them to bear to have a revenue, as cot¬ 
ton, corn or other crops are planted between the rows and 
bring in the same return as when planted alone. A pecan 
tree begins to bear profitable crops in five to seven years 
after transplanting from nursery, although some bear 
within three to four years. The paper-shell pecans nuts 
readily retail at $1 per pound in any part of the United 
States. 
Twenty pecan trees to the acre is the average number to 
plant when put in square, a distance of about forty-six feet 
apart is the rule. Pecan trefes do not require as much care 
or cultivation as ordinary fruit trees, and they have fewer 
insect pests. Nuts and trees from the south Georgia and 
north Florida districts are now being sold in nearly every 
country on the globe. 
HOW $200 PER ACRE IS MADE 
An acre in yielding trees (seven to nine years old) will 
give returns as follows: 
Twenty trees are planted to the acre, each tree bearing 
20 pounds of nuts, or 400 pounds of nuts per acre annually. 
The present price of paper-shell pecan nuts in any part of the 
United States is $1 per pound. However, for the sake of 
extreme conservatism, figuring the sales at only 50 cents per 
pound, gives a return of $200 per acre. This is net, as all 
necessary cultivation is secured from that given the cotton, 
corn, peas or other crops always planted between the rows 
of pecan trees. Another fact in the pecan’s favor is that 
each year after the 
seventh the trees bear 
more heavily, at eight 
years the yield being 
probably 30 pounds per 
tree. After the eighth 
year, an increase of from 
10 to 30 pounds per tree 
in yield may take place. 
, A' ■' V*.. ■* 
Pecan Orchard 
AN IMPORTANT 
INDUSTRY 
More intelligent atten¬ 
tion is being given each 
year to the planting and 
cultivation of the pecan. 
The permanent and 
increasing annual value 
of the tree is being real¬ 
ized. Experimental 
stages have been passed and the outlook for the industry 
is brighter than ever. The demand for fine nuts for table 
and confectionery purposes is constant, and the supply is 
entirely inadequate. The industry, so far as the better 
nuts is concerned, is in its smallest infancy. The large nut 
meat manufacturers of New York, St. Louis and San An¬ 
tonio, Texas, advise that the demand for shelled pecans 
is constantly on the increase. In November, 1906, pecan 
meat was selling in St. Louis, Mo., at from 57 to 65 cents 
per pound in barrel lots, with demand very active, and good 
cracking nuts always extremely scarce. One St. Louis house 
alone will shell at least twenty-five carloads this season. 
A house at San Antonio will use one hundred cars of pecans. 
Smaller plants are being established at other points. 
The largest manufacturers of candies throughout the coun¬ 
try report pecan meat candies among their best sellers. 
