Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-30
NUT CULTURE IN THE SOUTH.

That excellent Southern publication, the
Florida Dispatch, Farmer and F'ruitgrower
says Chief Van Deman of the depa rtment
Of agriculture predicts that the cultivation
Of nuts will soon be one Of the greatest and
most profitable industries Of the United
States. The large returns from individual
trees and immense profits from established
orchards have stimulated the interest, and
our foremost enterprising fruit growers are
planting nut trees largely for market pur-
poses; others who enjoy the nuts during
winter are realizing that in order to have
an abundant supply it is only necessary to
plant the trees, as hardy species OF some
character or other can be made to succeed
in all parts of our common country.
But there is no denying the fact that the
pecan is to be the nut Of the future, ooutin-
ues Mr.. Van Deman. One grower in Flor
ida already has a pecan grove of
1000 pecan trees now six years old.
'sWhen they begin to bear" adds
Mr.. Van Deman, their product viii be
worth 500, 900 yearly at wholesale-a figure
which certainly makes tobacco-raising and
orange-growing seem far less tempting.
Mr. c. H. Daniels of Georgia has pecan
tree which bears annually from ten TO if
teen bushels of nuts, which sell readily at
wholesale for four and five dollars bushel.
Col Stuart of Ocean Springs, Miss, has
madea reputation as successful cultiyator.
Mr.. Van Deman then quotes Col. Stuart's
statement lately made to THE GAZETTE: Il
began planting pecans when I was fifty-six
years old, and now at sixty-nine, 1 tell you
they help me to live in my old age
1.-The pecan forests of Texas says Mr..
Van Denan. furnish large quantities of
rich nuts to the market of New Orleans,
whence they are shipped to Europe, where
they are said to bring a higher price than
any other nut.'
The pecan,n further remarks Mr. Van
Deman, is a beautiful, symmetrical and
rapid growing tree, with luxuriant, bright
green foliage, much narrower than that Of
any other hickory. The nuts are oblong,
smooth and thin-shelled, with sweet and
delicious kernels. There is fine one in
the grounds OF the capitol at Washington,
d. c. The trees should be planted thirty
feet apart, forty-eight to the acre.
Thirty feet apart might do for the pecan
in Florida, where the lands are rot overly
rich, but it would be entirely too close for
Texas. Forty feet apart is certainly near
enough to plant here, especially on our rich
bottom lands.
OF the proftableness of the pecan as
crop for Texas, its natural
home, there can be no kind of ques-
ton. Pecans may be grown in other
Southern states, but never to that degree of
perfection as must ever characterize it in
Texas. And the crop must be of great
special value to US on account of the fact
that it can be made crop OF our bottom
lands exposed to occasional overflows,
where few other crops would be safe-such
lands suit it better than lands of any other
character.
Why every Texan owning suitable lands
sis not hurrying into pecan culture is some
Thing hard to explain. All admit that the
crops would eventually pay large returns,
yet they stand back on the plea that one
has so long to wait for those returns.
What of that? It costs comparatively lit
tie to start pecan grove, and if your land
IS cultivatable you can use it all the same
to produce other crops up to the time when
your pecan trees would come into profitable
bearing. Too long to wait, indeed! Will
you not have to wait anyway, SO long as
YOU live2 Wouldit be any worse waiting
with q good pecan grove coming on, than it
would be waiting without pecan grove2