SELECTION AND PROPAGATION FOR IMPROVEMENT OF PECANS

Theodore Bechtel, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is indeed a great pleasure to meet you all here in the interest of Horticulture, one of the greatest, and, by the way, the oldest industries of which we have any record, since Adam and Eve were engaged in it, and in the interest of one of the greatest branches of that industry, Nut Culture, and this in the greatest city on Earth, because it is the seat of Government of the greatest nation on Earth. We are all here, primarily, in the interest of Nut Culture and I venture to say that these meetings will not be in vain, as a congregation of such intelligence, interest and determination as I see displayed here is certain to accomplish much in the course of time. The very fact that there are many problems in Nut Culture to be worked out makes the industry the more interesting for those who are not looking for an easy get-rich-quick scheme. We have accomplished some things in the line of propagation of pecans which were said to be impossible only a few years ago, and they now seem easy. The problems you will have to work out in the Northern pecan section, as it appears to me, are selection and development of suitable varieties for your climate. This will no doubt be done by using the best hardy varieties you already have, some of which are showing good results, and crossing these just as is being done in the South now by our Government officials and by several private individuals. This great Government of ours has an Agricultural Department which is capable of performing tasks in the way of experimental work in this line on an extensive scale, which would be too great an undertaking for an individual, and we should use every effort to induce this work to be extended to the Northern sections, if it has not already been begun.

The results obtained by Mr. C. Forkert, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who was one of the first to take up the work, are highly interesting and give satisfactory evidence of what can be done by way of combining the good qualities of two varieties by a systematic scientific method of cross pollenizing and the work of Dr. Van Fleet, whose place we visited yesterday certainly was convincing of the great possibilities along this line of work. The fact that you have not the best now does not indicate that you will not in time surpass in results some of the sections where pecans now abound. Jackson County, Mississippi, had no native pecan forest to start with and yet we now have some of the best and most profitable orchards in the world, and it is the place where most of the standard high class varieties have originated.

In the selection of varieties upon which to build up your pecan industry be careful to choose varieties showing as many of the following qualities as possible: Productiveness, hardiness, early maturity, plumpness of kernel, good flavor and cracking qualities. The varieties selected for cross pollenization should combine as many of the desirable qualities as possible. By grafting from the young hybrids into the top of old bearing trees you may have samples of nuts in a very few years. The propagation of pecans in the Northern nurseries seems to be well under way and will no doubt be stimulated as orchard planting increases.

I might add as a suggestion that seedlings to graft upon be raised from seed obtained as near by and as nearly in the same latitude as possible as these will usually be found best adapted to local conditions of that section.

Whether grafting or budding is the best method of propagation will likely depend upon local conditions. We find in the far South that budding succeeds best in some localities while grafting is best in others. Ultimate results of the two methods in the orchards are equal. In sections where there are native pecans growing in suitable places these should be top worked to the best hardy varieties possible for quick results. The best method to do this work will also depend upon local conditions and seasons. The slip mark method of grafting as early in the spring as the bark will slip, will no doubt be one of the most expeditious, as it is quickly done, and in many sections is very successful, providing the scions are kept perfectly dormant and the waxing and tying are carefully done.

As commercial orcharding is still in the experimental stage in the Northern section of our country it will be well to sound a note of warning to prospective planters that they may avoid some of the mistakes that we in the Southern pecan belt made at one time. Next to the neglect, which some of the planters allowed their orchards to undergo, probably the selection of the wrong kind of land has been the cause of more disappointment than any other one source. A fertile soil deep, mellow, well drained sandy or gravelly clay subsoil should be ideal for pecans anywhere in the latitude in which they are hardy. However, many other types of soil are producing pecans, and if your home happens to be located where the soil is not ideal, you can still grow them by furnishing the elements which nature has failed to provide, if your soil is well drained and free from hard pan. The planting and cultivation, to be sure, must be carefully and thoroughly done to insure success anywhere.

I will say in conclusion that I believe there are wonderful possibilities in Nut Culture in this country of ours. We know it is an established fact that nuts are entered into the dietary of our upwards of one hundred and ten million inhabitants of the United States of America more and more from day to day. We have evidence of this in our importations of nuts, which have increased from year to year until they have nearly reached the enormous value of $57,000,000 for the year 1919 as stated by the American Nut Journal. Then, too, there certainly can be no more fascinating branch of horticulture combined at the same time with financial reward.

Now, let me thank you for your attention and say that I only wish that every one of you might join us in our big meeting of the National Association at Austin, Texas, next week.

Mr. Foster: A thought occurs to me in connection with Dr. Morris' idea of paraffin for use in warm climates. I happen to know as a patent attorney that in the manufacture of candles in order to give paraffin heat resisting qualities they introduce stearic acid. I have no doubt that it would be just as successfully employed in paraffin for the purpose of grafting. I think in candle making they add something like ten or fifteen per cent to the ordinary paraffin.

Mr. Littlepage: I think we are very fortunate to have with us Mr. Bechtel and Mr. Perry from down South who are really in the nut business. The problem before us is varieties. If you want to plant black walnuts what walnut do you want to plant? Just because I happen to say that Stabler is a first-class walnut does not make it so. If you want to plant English walnuts what variety? I said to Dr. Van Dazce a few years ago, "I wish I knew more about that variety." He said: "Don't bother about that. You will be top working them all in a few years." (Applause.) I have found a bigger pecan down in Indiana than the Major. It is a big type and I wish we knew more about it. I wish the Department of Agriculture would make an investigation and find out. What nuts to plant and what soil to plant them on and what varieties to plant it seems to me ought to be the trend of our talk here at these meetings, and I am glad that Mr. Bechtel has taken up that question.

Mr. Olcott: I think the members of the association would be interested in hearing a brief account from Mr. Bixby of the only commercial nut planting proposition in the North at present,—a very successful one. He has visited it within a week and I think he could tell us what varieties they have planted.

The Secretary: About a week ago I was at Alton, Illinois, at the place of Mr. E. A. Riehl. He has been a pioneer in many things, in fruit culture and what interests us more today in nut culture. He is outside the native chestnut belt and many years ago he planted some native American chestnuts. When the Rochester chestnut came out he planted it and he obtained from the late J. R. Parry of Parry, N. J., his best Japan chestnuts including the Reliance. He also obtained Boone trees from the originator the late Geo. W. Endicott, Villa Ridge, Ill. He has raised many seedling trees from the above varieties and planted a small hillside to them. Out of those he has selected the best and is propagating from them. He has chestnuts there that I wish I might show here, some that are fifty per cent larger than Paragon and with a better flavor. Furthermore they will drop out of the husks so that it is not necessary to pick up an unopened burr and heat it or pound it to get the nuts out. He has now between one and two thousand chestnut trees. Most of his chestnut trees however are seedling trees which do not bear nearly as well as his best trees. The greater part of his trees are in land that has never been cultivated. Many of his trees are not yet in bearing. Some of his trees however are now 25 to 28 feet spread and bearing heavily. He is certain that the yield of his orchard could be greatly increased by top working the poor bearers and that he is doing. Still he told me be obtained not less than 35¢ per pound for any of the crop and for some as high as 40¢ and 50¢ wholesale. In 1920 he produced over 4000 pounds.

In this connection a short history of the Boone tree will be of interest. In the spring of 1895 Mr. Endicott fertilized blossoms of Parry's Japan Giant chestnut with pollen of a native American chestnut and planted the nuts. This cross was made with difficulty for the American and Japan chestnuts do not bloom at the same time and it was several years after he had made up his mind to make the cross before he was able to do it. In the fall of 1897 one of the trees produced six burrs filled with nuts and was named the Boone. Since then it has borne as follows: 1898, 1 lb.; 1899, 3 lbs.; 1900, 5 lbs.; 1901, 6 lbs.; 1902, 8 lbs.; 1903, 12 lbs.; 1904, 17 lbs.; 1905, 25 lbs.; 1906, 31 lbs.; 1907, 43 lbs.; 1908, 50 lbs.; 1909, 56 lbs.; 1910, 5 lbs. (small crop due to hard freeze in April); 1911, 80 lbs.; 1912, 76 lbs.; 1913, 140 lbs.; 1920, 153 lbs. I am not informed as to the crops in 1914 to 1919 inclusive. Two other trees of the same parentage planted at the same time bore 128 lbs. and 168 lbs. respectively in 1920. If we consider that chestnut trees are set 40 feet apart each way, which means 27 trees to the acre, and estimated the crop at a fraction of that borne by the Boone tree we shall still have figures sufficient to show the wonderful possibilities of the chestnut in those sections outside of the native chestnut area of the country where it will succeed.

Mr. Riehl also has black Walnuts. He procured a Thomas black walnut from Joseph W. Thomas & Son, King of Prussia, Pa., fifteen or sixteen years ago. From that original Thomas tree he has top worked a lot of seedling black walnut trees and he has I should think between one and two hundred in bearing at the present time many of them bearing heavy crops. It is very evident that Mr. Riehl has in his chestnuts and in his black walnuts gotten northern nut culture down to the point where it pays. I wanted to get Mr. Olcott to go there on his trip and get some facts from Mr. Riehl to present at this meeting. When I was there I had another mission in mind and I spent the time in getting what I went for. Consequently I did not get all the practical details and results in dollars and cents which we ought to have to demonstrate that it has been a commercial success. But I am satisfied that it is because he is constantly increasing his plantings.

Mr. Jones: Two years ago he favored black walnuts.

Mr. Bechtel: What has he done with pecans?

The Secretary: The pecan is native with him but he is probably pretty near its northern limit even though I have found it bearing good crops further north. The pecans I have seen at Alton do not seem to be bearing much. He has one or two northern varieties top worked on native pecans one eight years old and another one five neither one of which is bearing.

Mr. Bechtel: He had a very small choice nut that he prized very highly and sent me some scions to propagate for him I think about 12 or 14 years ago. I grew them on our native stock shipped them to him. I never followed it up to see what results he had. I think probably those roots may have frozen out if he had severe winters.

The Secretary: What he showed me were two of the standard northern varieties, I think Busseron and Indiana, which he had grafted on young trees. In southern Indiana they are doing much better. Grafted varieties are bearing but with Mr. Riehl it is the black walnut and the chestnut with which he is making a success.

The President: The next speaker has for his subject the southern pecan and how its commercial development came about. He comes from the one state in the Union of which I may be somewhat jealous. It is the only state east of the Mississippi River with a larger area than Michigan. (Applause). I take pleasure in presenting Mr. A. S. Perry, of Cuthbert, Georgia, Secretary of the National Nut Growers' Association.