Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-09
Pecan Culture for Texas.

have read with both care and interest your
late articles on pecan culture for Texas, and
find myself fully agreeing with you in every
thing your writings set forth with reference to
the matter. 7 truly glad that you have
brought out the idea of setting our overfowed
lands to pecan trees. There can exist no doubt
whatever of its practicablity aud su access.
would ask that you carry the subject little
further. to the extent Of urging upon Texas
farmers that they stop cutting down pecan trees
in the clearing up of their lands. 1t is only oc-
casionally, in my travels over Ellis county. that
1 meet with farmer who sufficiently appre-
ciates the value of pecan trees to leave them
standing when he clears up his lands. l think
il safe to state that since my residence in this
county began, eighteen years ago. tens OF thou
sands of fiourish.ng pecan trees, young and old,
nave peen CUT Gown ana ae , oy persons sons
add that much of this land ia visited by oc-
casional overflow, thus rendering entirely I'M
certain any calcu alton for the success of an or
binary cultivated crop in each season. In all
such cases, it seems to me, the farmer would be
acting much more on the side Of wisdom and
common sense were he to leave the pecan trees
standing, for they would be sure to yield him
something of q crop in any event. In most cases
he has other and safer lands that he might dedl-
Gated to cotton and corn. g. T. HOGAN.
Ennis, Tex.
This thing of cutting out and Destroy
ing the pecan trees in clearing up lands
is not confined to Ellis county-we find
it quite the general usage throughout the
state. In the course of an airing out in
Tarrant county last week we came upon
SbVeTal UOtLOIu ucES Tic sEcdtost
trouble, apparently, the owner had to
contend against existed in the springing
up of pecan sprouts here and there all
over his fields. The sprouts grew out
from the still living roots or stuEps of
pecan trees that had been cut away at
the clearing years ago. In several cases
we measured sprouts of this years
growth that since the time of ''laying
by'' the crops had attained to the height
of from three to five feet. We saw no
other tree growth that appeared any
thing like 80 persistent. The pecan ap-
peared to feel that its native home had
been unjustly encrosched upon. and
that, therefore, it was resolved on stay
ing.
OF course this cutting away of tine Pc
can is a mistake, most decidedly. And
really there is little excuse for doing it,
once we clearly understand the true
character of the growth No
species of tree could be less
in the way on cultivated grounds,
for it is peculiarly d deep feeder. Its
roots tend downward, and draw the food
of the tree from far down in the soil,
consequently il does not rob any crop
that may be growing Immediately around
it. Many persons are under the impress
sion that it is the shade of a tree that dam
ages the crop, but this is an error in al
most every instance. 1t Is the shallow
running roots that do the harm, by Selling
upon the plant food and moisture for the
use of the tree. A tree whose feeding
roots run at considerable depth below
the surface, does not at all interfere with
surface grOwths. Such q tree Is the Pc
can--lts feeders seldom lie less than from
three to four feet below the surface. 1t
is on this account that the pecan never
succeeds to Its best on other than deep
alluvial soil. The pecan, compared to
most tree growths, Ia like clover or al
faifa compared to most herbaceous
plsnts-it feeds deep and hence gathers
In its susteuance from locality not much
encroached upon by large majority of
other trees.
Many persons clearing up lands cut
out the pecan trees on account of the
impression that they are not productive
trees. For years the owner has known
them, perhaps, and in all that time
they have yielded few If any nuts. This
is poor rule to go BY. You don't eX-
pect hen to lay many eggs if kept in q
starved condition. It seldom happens
that a pecan tree, though apparently
barren in crowded forest, does not
become productive when the other tree
growths crowding it have been cut away.
The best plan would lie in giving the
pecan fair trial after the lands
have been cleared up and put under cul-
turs; after this, should 1t still remain
barren, would be time enough for con-
verting It into stove wood.
Another argument often brought to
bear against certain wild pecsns by the