The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-05-01

is matter Ol 0ApSTleuC0 Will II ule
growers. The reason for this is that
a peach tree stores its elaborated sap,
consisting mainly Of sugar and starch,
largely in it's body, while the apple
tree stores it's elaborated sap in its
limbs chiefly. In the spring of the
year the tree must depend on this
elaborated sap to supply its nutriment
for growth and fruit production till the
leaves grow out to their natural size.
The elaboration of the crude sap of a
tree must take place in the leaves.
The leaves, therefore, become the
cook shop, so to speak, where the sap
coming up from the roots is worked
over and made available for the nour-
ishment of the tree. This worked
over sap, called by our plant physiolo-
gists elaborated sap" is stored in
the body of the peach tree and can
be drawn upon when the tree is de
horned" This accounts for the fact
that peach trees may be more heavily
cut back than apple trees.
| see by some of the papers that
some nurserymen are advocating the
growing of pecans in the north. have
made some investigation in this direc-
ton and my advice is, to those who
are likely to go into this business ex-
tensively, don't" At least, it would
be we'll to try the matter before going
extensively into the business. H. E.
Van Deman, the veteran pomologist,
and one of the best posted men on
pecan growing in the United States.
says that they will not do well in the
north. He is at the head of COM
pany that has several hundred acres
planted in pecans in the lower Mis-
sissippi valley. He has travelled over
great part of the United States in
studying this and other questions in
fruit and nut growing. His judgment
in such a matter ought to be worth
vastly more than that of nursery
man who may have pecan trees to sell,
but has no experience in growing this
nut.
| have very distinct recollection
of trying to eat northern pecans in
Indiana and Iowa. 1t is true that we
did not call them pecans, but they
were known as white hickory nuts,
or more commonly as pig nuts" If
there was ever one of these nuts
grown that was fit for anything but
a pig to eat, I am absolutely unln-
formed of the fact. | have tried
many a time in my boyhood days to
eat them, but they were so bitter and
puckery that l am like Mark Twain
about the paregOric of his babyhood:
81 can taste it yet" 1t may be said
truthfully that there are better varl-
cites of the pecan than the native ones
in the upper Mississippi valley, but it
is not yet demonstrated that these
better varieties can be grown in the
north. My friend, ]. w. Aumiller, OF
North Yakima, showed me pecan
tree last January loaded with nuts.
but not one of them ripe. An early
frost caught them before maturity
and spoiled them. This doubtless
would not occur every year, but the
fact that such thing occurred last
fall shows the danger to which the
crop would be exposed and should
make people hesitate about going into
the business till the matter is thor
oughly tried.
X
I have several times referred to the
parasite imported from Spain into Cal
fornia to prey on the cooling moth. At
first they called the insect ephialtes
carbonarrius, but this proved to be
such a hard name that now they call
it the calliephialtes messer CD. 1ne
poor thing has no common name and
will have to get along with one or
the other of these names or possibly
both. But the name aside, is this
parasite doing any good in curtailing
the ravages of the cooling moth? l
read three California fruit journals