The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-12-01
Pecan cr1tare.

llGCt6 VI VI cdIt. 4 udNS u
some little experience in a small
way, and a pretty general obserya-
tion of the results of the pecan
'sindustry," (if indeed that may be
called an industry which does hut
little to aid nature,) and / don't
know anything in which money
might be invested with greater GER
tainty of large and continuous re-
turns. No surer foundation for a
fortune can be laid than in the
planting and nurture of a pecan
orchard.
In Texas there are fine pecan
groves growing wild all along the
river courses and bottom lands, and
many farmers make more clear mon
ey from the wild pecan groves that
grow along the rivers and creeks
that border their farms than they
do by the cultivation Of their arabic
lands. Many Of these native groves,
without care OF culture or one dime
of expense, save in the picking of
the nuts, yield to the owners o net
profit of $500 and more a year.
The wild nuts sell in this market
at from three to seven cents per
pound according to quality and the
extent of the crop. A fair average
estimate of the yield of these forest
trees is about 200 pounds each. Of
course a wellnurtured orchard would
produce a much finer nut and much
more abundant yield.
L would suggest the following
plan to any entering into the bust
ness of pecan growing:
Prepare the ground thoroughly
as if for planting grain, and then
check it off in squares of say 4Ox4O
feet and plant several nuts six or
eight inches apart in each hill.
This will give twenty-five trees to
the acr When the scions are two
years old, / would graft in February
or March, from trees bearing the
best soft-shell nut, in two or three
of the scions, leaving one or two in
each hill to be bedded in, say in
May or June, if the gratis should
fail to live. In that way one, two,
or three trees or scions could be re-
lied upon in each hill. AT three
years old remove all but one from
each hill by digging carefully
around the roots and removing the
tree by means of a soft rope and pry
in as gentle and careful a manner as
possible, SO as not to bruise or tear
the skin from the tap root, and re-
plant them in other ground pre-
pared as above. In this way an
orchard could be had in bearing
condition IN five years from the
planting of the nuts. In tie fifth
year from planting we might safely
calculate on twenty pounds of nuts
to the treee, giving, with twenty-five
trees to the acre, an aggregate yield
of 500 pounds. At, say, five cents
per pound (Which is a very low fig
ure for good nuts), we have a net
income of $25 per acre This yield
will increase every year, and at ten
years old we might safely calculate
on a yield of $3.50 per acre, and at
twenty years old double that amount.
Now this is the yield from the Pc
can alone, but the land should not,
by any means, be left idle to pro-
duce no other crop in the mean
time. When planting the pecans a
row of peach trees or other fruit
suited to the soil and climate might
be planted between every row of pc
cans. These will not interfere with
or retard the growth of the pecans,
and if peach trees were planted they
would, in three years and until ten
years old, yield a very handsome
profit. At that age they would
either die out or become unprofita-
BILE and could be cut down, leaving
the pecan to yield its revenues.
Nor is this all: the land should
every year be cultivated in cotton,
Irish potatoes, peas, onions, or
in fine any crop that would not
obstruct the growth of the young
trees, and this cultivation would
not only be a source of revenue, but
would be of great advantage to the
growing trees and greatly aid in
making a finer growth and better
fruit. This cultivation might be
kept up until the trees attained
great age for the lateral roots do
not ordinarily rise near the surface.
The conditions of soil necessary are
such as the hickory requires. Where
the hickory fourishes the pecan
will do we'll.
There is a great difference in the
size and quality of the nut; some
are small with hard shells, while
others r large and have shells so
! soft that they a be easily crushed
in the hand. [ have on my home
lot here in San Antonio one large
tree that produces little hard nuts
that are not worth the gathering,
and l allow the little boys to pick
them up at their pleasure, while
other trees bear large and richly
favored fruit. OF course the size
and quality of the fruit would be
greatly enhanced by cultivation, and
The price would be proportionately
higher. The large soft-shell nut
would probably bring in this mark
ct ten cents per pound, and thus my
estimate is made at five cents per