The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1921-02-05


swing lamp, and the head of the house
sent his youngest son to the
garnet for butternuts. A little later,
with an iron lapstOne on his knees
and hammer i'm hand, he was produc-
ing rhythmic rap-rap-rap-crack-
clink, as the crinkly brown shells split
open and were tossed into basin, ex-
posing their delicately favored twin
meats.
This is the last crop from that old
tree" he remarked, thoughtfully, paus-
ing after few minutes of fascinating
labor. "Rotted out, and the wind got
1t last night. And l have gathered
nuts from that tree since was little
tike in short breeches."
The hammer rested for a few mo-
ments, and the fingers of the farmers
left hand ran meditatively through the
pile of richly laden shells.
Fifty years." he unused. Fifty
springs I've seen the green come out
on the leaves; fifty falls / or my chill
dren or grandchildren have picked up
bushels of nuts; and fifty winters I've
sat by the fire here and cracked them.
That butternut tree has been a good
old friend"
None to Take Its Place.
Yet, with all the pleasure that he
had obtained from that tree, the farm
er, thrifty in nearly everything, had
no new butternut trees coming up to
take the place of the patriarch which
the wind destroyed.
1t Is only recently that serious at
tention has been paid to nut-trees
planting. Landowners set out or
chards and plant trees in dooryards
and on the highways for shade; but
nut-bearing trees, which usually re-
quire eight to fifteen years to come
into bearing, have been in measure
neglected.
There are a number of nut-bearing
species, say specialists of the United
States Department of Agriculture,
which grow as rapidly for shade as
the maple or elm, and which will yield
pleasure and some revenue for a quar-
ter or half q century after the first
few years of cultivation.
The butternut is now being produced
by nurserymen and grows farther
north than most other species. But
ternut trees will bear i'm about eight
years and form an attractive yard or
roadside ornament, especially in the
northern states.
More attention, however. is being
paid. to its relative, the black walnut.
The late war made heavy inroads on
the ranks of these fine old trees for
gunstocks, airplane parts, and other
material; but nurserymen already had
begun to grow young trees to make up
the loss. Contrary to the common
idea, the black walnut is not neces-
sarily a slow grower. Under good
conditions of culture, it becomes one
of our most rapid growing trees, es-
pecially of the more valuable woods.
II has been known to bear few nuts
in six years. At fifteen to twenty-five
it is a heavy producer. and in old age
it is always resource for timber.
The chestnut, which has been an i'm
portant resource for centuries, is now
one of the tragedies of freedom. due
to the bark disease brought from
Japan. The United States Depart
ment of Agriculture and various nut
culture associations are now work
ing with some promise of success to
develop varieties which are blight
resistant. Until they arrive at estab-
lished results, it will probably notsbe
wise to plant chestnuts in any Sec
.tion where the bark disease is preva-
lent.
The shagbark hickory makes
handsome shade tree, and quite few
varieties have been propagated. Shay
banks generally come into bearing
after fifteen or twenty-five years. A
few hickory trees planted now would
be a comfortable resource for another
generation.
scarcely be classed as a commercial
nut, but is an attractive and honey
tree where there is room for its
spread. Beechnuts furnish dainties
for an evenings chat, or left on the
ground in woods and pastures they
furnish fattening material for pigs
and turkeys. If the beech tree is
headed low, 1t offers less chance for
defacing its smooth bark with jack
knife hierogIyphics.
One other interesting nut tree is the
fiibert or European hazel. 1t is one of
our most tantalizing species, for while
it can be made to grow in many parts
of the North, no variety has yet been
found to bear profitaIhy east of the
Rocky Mountains. due to the fact that
it flowers early and is caught by frost.
In the Pacific Northwest it bids fair
to soon become an important nut.
Pecan Favorite.
The pecan is easily the favorite and
most important nut of American
origin, prolific and profitable in the
South and now being introduced well
into northern states. Bearing pecan
trees are not infreQuent along the At