Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-10

ALMONDS, HAZEL NUTS AND FfI.BERrs.
10 Just dawning." said Chief Van Deman of the
genealogical division in the Department of
Agriculture yesterday. Before long, how
ever, the growing Of nuts for market will be-
come enormous industry in the United
States, where now the product depended upon
for consumption is either gathered from wild
trees or imported from abroad. Incidentally
tothe clearing Of the land for settlement nut
bearing trees are being largely wiped out, and
the wild crop is necessarily diminishing in
proportion from year to year. This is especially
true Of the pecan, which the pickers are fond
of collecting by cutting down the trees-a pro-
ceedlng that naturally lessons the production
OF subsequent seasons.
at Is only within the last ten wears that nut
culture has been tried in this country, but it is
being widely taken up because of the large
profits obtained from il, and great orchards of
hundreds and even thousands of trees are grow
Ing or being planted on every hand. In GEN.
trail California almond groves of from 1000 to
5000 trees are not unusual, and in the southern
part OF the same state the English walnut.
properly called the Madeira nut, Ii already
extensively raised. The English walnut is
grown also for market in most of the other
states, and on Staten Island it is cultivated and
sold green for pickles and catsup. The pecan
Is grown In orchards in the south and south
west and the pinon, or pine nut, through quite
unknown to people east of the Mississippi. is
produced in immense Quantities on the Pacific
slope. Wonderful results obtained with
nuts by selection and proper grating With
such care they increase surprisingly in size and
become thin shelled. Here, for example, are
some pecans. don't wonder that you are as
tonished at their bigness. The pecans you are
accustomed to see have been wild ores, whereas
these are cultivated specimens. You will Oh
serve that they are five six time as big as
the ordinary nuts and their shells are SO thin
that you will notice break this one easily be-
tween my thumb and finger, Just as i would q
peanut
FUTURE OF THE CHEsTNUr.
"The chestnut is susceptible of the same sort
Of Improvements and in not less degree. 1t is
beginning to be extensively planted and is
found a most profitable agricultural product
You are familiar with the chestnut called the
marion that we import from abroad. 1t is
grown IN China and Japan, as well as in France,
spain. Italy and Portugal. In point Of flavor
1t does not nearly equal the American chest
nut, but it has a great advantage in point of
size, being as big as a horse chestnut. Now.
we can grow these marrons perfectly well in
this country and are already doing so in the
central states along the Atlantic and as far
west as the Mississippi Orchards of seedlings
are starting In many places, and before long
the marion will become plentiful native crop.
There are some choice varieties of American
range, In North Carolina, Georgia and as far
north as New York, which nearly as big as
the foreign kind Here are a few that. you
see, are quite an inch and a half in diameter.
These are chestnuts well worth cul-
tiyating. There is plenty of waste land
lying about that could be made ad-
mrable use of for chestnut planta-
tons, and when / tell you that a single tree
can be made to bear from $40 to $50 worth OF
the nuts each year you will perceive that the
business of raising nuts is well worth the
farmers attention. 1t is likely that excellent
results could be secured by cross fertilizing the
maroon and the native chestnut, to get the size
OF the former combined with the flavor of the
latter. Indeed, some growers report that they
have already accomplished this. The chinquapin
also may perhaps be probably crossed with the
Chestnut, to give 1t size. 1t has the great ad-
vantage of being an earlier crop than the
Chestnut. Some chinquapins are as big as good
sized chestnuts, and selection and grating
would doubtless accomplish a great deal with
them. Already many farmers are going into
'he business OF growing chestnuts for market,
md It Is sure to be great industry a few years
hence. Extensive plantations are being rapidly
developed in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsyl-
ania. Chestnuts are used as a staple food in
rance, you know. They ought always to be
loon as possible after being gathered to kill the
worms and eggs.
FACTS ABOUT THE PECAN.
The pecan is a nut Of the future, and the
outhern planters who are setting out great
richards Of pecan trees now will reap big for
ines a few years hence. There is one man in
lorida who has a grove Of 1000 pecan trees of
ne varieties, nearly all Of them grated, six
sars old and seven to eight feet high. When
ey get to bearing he will have big thing A
own pecan tree will produce two barrels Of
It's yearly, and those nuts will sell at els a
rel Wholesale. That will mean an income
the proprietor Of the grove refer to of
H. ~ N nnn
gpecans may turn ont very well, but the
sure way is to graft. Plantations Of pecans
being started numerously in Georgia
bama, Texas Louisiana and Mississippi. In
ifornia they are just beginning to be Guilt
ID in orchards Of from 100 to 200 acres
are about fifty different varieties of
ans that know OF. The finest specimens
produced come from the neighborhood of
IN Springs, Miss. OF course, you know that
pecan is purely an American nut; it only
vs. on this continent. In the West Indies,
ever, they are trying to introduce il. Be-
very long We shall doubtless export large
ltities of pecans.
Hickory nuts are beginning to be cultivated
Some Of the wild shagbarks are very big
fine, and, starting with them, crops Of ex-
Mt quality ought to be obtained. We have
ived reports Of hickory nuts that used to
? In certain region of the west, which are
,ches in diameter, but the trees that bore
were all cut down few years ago. i be-
this to be an exaggeration. Possibly the
described were much as three inches in
ter. myself have seen them az much
and q half inches. IL Is in the Wabash
OF Indiana that the biggest hickory nuts
ENGLISH wALSuTs AND ALMONDS
so-called English walnut is beginning to
ed on an extensive scale in the United
and the cultivation promises also to be
industry in the not very distant future.
n nuts, as they should be called, are
In Spain and Portugal and especially on
md of Madeira. The nuts reach this
through British hands. and it is for
ison that they are known here as English
3. The trees grow and bear excellently
country. know Of one In this city on
eet near NJ. But ii is in California that
mess Of raising them has arrived at i'm
Q. In the southern part OF that state
arly in the neighborhood of Los An
thousands Of tons Of the finest varieties
duced by great plantations originally
from seed. In New Mexico, Arizona
Ithwest Texas Madeira nuts do excel
lsO. They must have rich land.
ornia Is also producing almonds on an
scale. One man in that state has
Fo square miles planted with the trees
ut Almonds grow we'll in California
lere, and they will eventually drive out
gn product altogether. They will not
asst OF the Rockies, and our supply of
re will be drawn entirely from Cali
rough it may be that southwest Texas
suitable for their cultivation also.
hazel nut will before long be intro
gely as @ commercial product. There
millions of acres in this country Of
hEa ab - L-.L