The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-12-11
Can a Race of Commercial Seeding
.~. Pecans be Evolved?

business in this state. If Seeding
trees could be depended on to produce
fairly good marketable nuts, the in
dustry would boom, but at present
only budded trees are worth planting.
That eminent horticu1turist, Mr.. T. V.
Munson, believes that such a strain
of nuts can be produced He gave his
views in an address before the Texas
Nut Growers Association, which we
copy from Farm and Ranch:
This question is almost entirely a
theoretical one, as no such race has
yet been produced. But science often
enables the wise scientist to predict
with much certainty.
The Mendelian law of heredity
among plants has been demonstrated
true with various species and varieties
so that we are warranted in cOnclud-
ing that it is a general law of heredity
By observing it, fixed varieties Of
peas, wheat, oats, corn and various
breeds Of animals have been secured
In order to get such pure strains
Of varieties two parents must be Sc
lected embodying the desired char
acters Of size, shape, quality, pro-
ductiveness, etc., and cross them, by
careful hand-pollination. Plant the
nuts produced. The trees obtained
will be cross-breeds, and will vary
more or less. When they come into
fruiting, select two Of the best ap-
preaching nearest to the ideal nut
and tree you are seeking to produce.
Likewise cross these, plant the cross
bred nuts, and when the trees are a
year or two old, select the most
vigorous, all as nearly as possible to
the ideal form, and plant them in an
orchard entirely separate, at least
trees, and when they come into fruit,
remain-those that have best shape,
early and abundant bearing, and best
nuts every wav Graft all the rejected
to the verv finest Of the lot By
this time an orchard will be secured
that will produce nuts Of great COM
mercial value, and that when planted
will produce trees that. with few ex-
,eDtions, will produce fine commercial
orchards Such pecans would be thor
ough-breeds, and the owner would
have the most profitable pecan or
chard in existence, for the nuts would
command the most fancy prices among
planters of pecan orchards. To
establish such an orchard would re-
nuire the entire life Of man if he
began at 20 or 25 years Of age and
lived until he would be 70 or Is years
old. The production Of such an or
chard ought to be government work
Or the builder Of it ought to be we'll
,ensioned for life by the government
and the nuts distributed free to those
7ho wished to establish orchards.
Such breeding orchard would fur
nieh the basis for continually improv-
mo the necan, bv selecting the very
finest varieties and recOmbining until
eventually much finer nuts than any
fornd in nature would be produced.
The results here predicted would
as surely he realized as fine breeds OF
stock, grains, etc., have come by per-
cistent selection and crossing for
many years.
But the man who plants pecan
orchard grown from nuts gathered
in the woods, however fine, will reap
On abundant crop Of disappointment,
for he is expecting the results of thor
oroh breeding from lot of chance
mixture of good. bad and ind1ffer-
ent: hence, until such thoroughbred
nuts may be produced, the successful
n1anter mrst have budded or grated
fine varieties in his orchard
oo~+o1iza