New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-11
St. Tanmauy Parish.
CONVICTION, April 9, 1874.

CONVICTION, April 9, 1874.
| EDITOR REPUBLICAN,:
The branch of business by which a man
can most certainly enrich himself in this
| parish, in my opinion, is that of growing
pecan trees In this / know l will meet
with great deal of difference of opinion
| especially among old residents of the State
| who have accustomed themselves to beliey.
| ing that pecan tree never bears in less a
tine than quarter of a century.
But after careful investigation of the
subject feel positive that this idea is as in
| correct as many others which prevail in re-
gard to the propagation Of trees and vege.
tables, and that with proper care and a
reasonable amount of fertilization The
pecan tree can be made to bear SIX years
from the planting of the nut, and that
highly profitable crops will be obtained in
ten years.
have seen here trees which were planted
in 1867 which bore upward Of two pounds
OF nuts last year, and others which were
planted in 1859 which bore over 100 pounds.
The average crop of a ten year old tree is
above fifty pounds, and l speak by the
card, for have seen dozen or more trees
of this age which produced such crop,
which. if sold early in the season, will bring
at the least 81 80. Now, it does not take
much of q mathematician to calculate what
500 such trees would yield and these can
easily be grown upon twenty-five acres of
our cheapest land, while one man can give
them all the attention they will require,
and the land bs cultivated or used as a pag-
turage for sheep CT cattle all the time.
l will not conceal the facts either that
the pecan tree does not bear every year.
but only about three years in five. But let
us calculate what the profits of these 500
trees will yield in those three years they
do bear, even conceding the fact that there
is no increase in quantity during the time,
while every body knows that the quantity
of nuts increases each year as the trees
grow older. 1t will amount to Sll $50, which,
divided by five, will show the average an
nual income Of $3.50 which income may
be had by any man who is able to buy
Z,
who is patient enough to wait only ten
years. Where is the other enterprise which
premises any such results!
But this is not all in regard to the pecan
growing business. l have experimental Oh
a small scale, and although entirely with
out experience in such matters, have demon
strated the fact that the tree can be dwarfed
by root grating as readily as can the
orange, the pear and the apple, and that
they viii grow from cuttings taken from
bearing trees. This shows that nuts can be
obtained in three years, ard that instead of
twenty trees to the acre, ten times that
number may be planted upon the same
space, while the trees being kept dwarted
will enable the grower to gather his crop
with greater facility and less loss.
Ia conclusion will state that when the Pc
can tree has reached the age of fifteen years,
its product is over three times that when at
ten years. ! have one tree on my place
which was planted in 1853, and last year /
picked from it 200 pounds, Part of which
kept tor home use. selling eeventy-iive
pouAcS W -hh. u u. beiiJ, VI Cahal eiitot'
in your city, for twenty-five cents per
pound. ! brought them 10 market full
three weeks earlier than the crop from
otler quarters of the State reached there.
They were Of the largest variety l ever
saw. Now, suppose | had 800 such trees
Who wouia not, in his youth, contract to
wait patiently and labor for his bread for
twenty years for fortune Of 5000 per
annum on the above calculated average at
the end Ca that period +. 4. Is.