The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1902-10-16
SOMETHING ABOUT PEoANs.
where They Mos; AbOund-How They
Are Rouaht and Sold.

Are Bought ana oolu'
Tho following interesting article on
uecans we find in the Muskogee
Times and will prove interesting read
ing to every lover Of that nut:
Joseph sondheimer has bought hf-
teen pounds Of pecans. There is moth
ing strange about such a transaction
but il brings to mind the fact that the
pecan season is at hand and that there
will be marketed many thousand
pounds Of these highly priced nuts
within the next three months.
Pecans grow in the Indian Terrific
~. Texas. Southern Missouri, South
ern Illinois and Indiana. But the
great pecan countries are the Indian
Territory and Texas.
Mr.. Sondheimer is the pecan buyer
of the Territory He has been in the
pecan business for thirty-fve years
When he begun buying pecans II was
in the days when towns and white
men we're scarce in the Territory and
the only means OF transportation was
by water down the Arkansas river
or a long haul over the Kansas border
TO railroads in the states. Then the
buying was in small quantities and
from the Indians OF from white from
tiersmen along the borders Now IL
IL different. In a good year for pc
cans like last year Mr. Sondheimer
buys from 100000 to 100000 pounds
(pecans sell by the pound, forty-four
pounds to the busheD. The price
ranges from two cents per pound to
ten cents affected largely by the
Texas crop.
Years ago the Creek and Seminole
nations were the pecan countries and
from them most of the pLSans were
bought. For the Creek Nation Okmul-
gee was the great buying center and
one year Mr. Sondheimer had a man
there buying pecans while ne was him
self in St. Louis selling them and the
buyer almost swamped him. Every
carload would be reported the last
but was followed by another and still
another until Il seemed the world
could have been supplied with pecans
by Okmulgee that year. Last year
Mr.. Sondheimer shipped 100000
pounds Of pecans and the price was
fairly good. This year there will be
big Texas crop and the price may
be lower. At present pecans are sell
ing right around six cents, but they
will drop within the next thirty days
TO four cents. The years crop will
not begin to move well before the
first of December
There are lots of pecans in the In
dian Territory that go to waste every
year in the full-blood districts be
cause the Indians will not gather
them, though it is very profitable
there being no expense save picking
them up. Last year Mr. Sondheimei
paid one family, some Bohemians
who live on the Verdigris, 81, 200 foi
pecans.
Pecans are shipped in car loads, ex
cept in the early season, when the!
are sent by express. When the biz
crop Of 81 was being gathered, Mr.
Sondheimer paid over $1.10O express
TO the Frisco road for shipments mad,
over that line and one time paid eS
press on 1900 pounds at 81 per hur
dred. There will be as large a crol
this year as there was in 81 and tina
year Mr.. Sondheimer shipped twenty
five car loads. From this place the
are shipped to st. Louis and Chicag
and some to New York
Texas furnishes the bulk of the p,
cans for the United States. Las
year there were 1000 car loads shiI
ped from that state and most OF ther
went TO New York via Galveston.
Buying pecans is a very risky bus
ness, the demand and the supply b,
ing equally uncertain. Some time
there seems to be no demand for nut
where the year before they could nC
get enough, and vice versa, while o
n growing crop nothing like an est
mate can be made until they al
brought into market. owing to the r
mote districts in which they gro'
Consequently advance prices are SO
dom offered and pecans are bougl
only in quantities TO fill the demar
in sight.