The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1907-05-30
4 Promising Line Of Orchard Endeayor
For a Large Portion Of the South
West--The Preferable Varieties.
BY JOHN CRAIG,
Professor Of Horticulture. Cornell University.


It is astonishing how few people
there are who know what pecan
nut Is, and still more surprising to
realize that there are very few who
recognize differences in quality or
varieties, and who really know that
there is really as much difference in
the flavor Of pecans as there is in the
flavor of different varieties of apples.
The wild seedlings may be thick
shelled, bitter and astringent, where
as the cultivated forms are thin
shelled, rich and delicate in flavor
and texture. For many years the
markets of the East have received
and have consumed considerable
quantities of the Seeding nuts OF
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
and other regions where the pecan is
Indigenous. These nuts range from
good to very Indifferent and poor.
They all present the same polished
brown exterior in the grocer's win
dow, but vary greatly in the quality
of their meaty contents.
The United States is good deal Of
nut-eating country. Something over
100000 worth of nuts are i'm
ported annually. On the other hand,
We only export about 100000. This
export quantity is largely made UP
OF English walnuts grown on the Pa
cific coast, and perhaps a few pecans
from the South. It is interesting to
note that as the pecan has become
known in the East its consumption
consumption have come also higher
prices. Less than ten years ago or
binary nuts could be bought for five
or six cents pound. These nuts,
which were then used by nurserymen
for growing Seeding stocks, now
bring from eight to twelve cents a
pound. There is still greater adj
vance In the price Of the really edible
varieties. Where formerly they were
sold for ten cents, they now bring
twenty and thirty cents. while the
propagated varieties sell up to fifty
and sixty cents, when private and
personal trade is established. There
is no question at all that the pecan is
one of the coming nuts, and is bound
to be leader among the orchard
fruits of the future.
AS fruit it possesses the import
ant quality of being non-perishable
within reasonable limits. Cold stor-
age is not factor, and transporta-
ton facilities are of relatively small
Importance.
This tree, which belongs to the wal
nut family and is known technically
by the name of Carya olivaeformis,
or, more lately, Nicoria pecan, has
quite wide distribution in the
United States. Naturally, it is dis
tributed more abundantly on the rich,
alluvial bottoms of the streams than
on the higher lands. The pecan runs
as far North as southern Iowa, and
as far West as the Colorado River,
in Texas, extending sOutherly to GEN.
trail Georgia. Roughly speaking, we
may say that it occupies practically
the same area as the cotton plant,
although it can be grown further
north.
When growing in the open it makes
an exceedingly handsome tree. 1t is
stately and symmetrical. Well de-
veloped specimens reach a height of
$50 to ITO feet. The flowers, like
those Of a good many nut trees, are
Of two kinds, male and female, or
staminate and pistillate. The stami-
nate flower is in the form of catkin.
while the pistillate flower is an In
conspicuous floral organ. which final
ly develops the nut with its four
Waived covering or husk. The pecan
depends upon the wind to set its
flowers. The pollen is scattered and