HISTORY, DIMENSIONS AND CROP RECORDS OF PARENT NORTHERN PECAN TREES, AND NOTES ON THE OBSERVATION OF PROPAGATED TREES
Reading edition
W. C. Reed, Vincennes, Indiana
Varieties
In considering varieties of the northern pecan, there are many points to be estimated, such as size, thinness of shell, cracking quality, quality of kernel, growth of trees in nursery and bearing records. The latter is perhaps most important. What we want are trees that will give us a fair crop annually; next would be the cracking qualities. If they crack easily and come out of the shell with a large percentage of whole meats the size does not make so much difference, for ultimately the value of a variety will be gauged largely by the number of pounds of whole meats a bushel, or a given number of pounds, will produce. I would therefore place prolific bearing and cracking qualities as the two most important points to be considered in selecting a variety worthy of planting.
Crop Records
In considering crop records of the different northern varieties; we have no grafted or budded trees old enough as yet from which to make comparisons, and in considering the crops of the original trees it is well to keep in mind that many of these trees are located in the native forest without cultivation, without proper sunlight and with a poor chance for the full development of the tree; also it is well to remember that scarcely two trees have the same surroundings and conditions, and that it is not often that the owner is able to secure the entire crop from any one tree, being located in the forest where a large part of the crop is carried off by others. With these conditions it is often impossible to tell what a certain tree may yield, except by comparison with former crops. In giving you these yields I am giving my own knowledge so far as I can, and then information and estimates from the most reliable sources at my command.
Indiana
This variety is perhaps the best known (owing largely to its name), and has not failed to produce at least a partial crop annually for the past fifteen years. Since it has been under close observation, which has been about seven to eight years, it has usually borne from 100 to 300 pounds. Often a large part of the crop has been stolen. Crop 1912 about 200 pounds; 1913, 250 pounds; 1914, I am confident would have been 300 pounds. The owner secured 125 pounds; balance carried off by others. This year, 1915, is almost a failure; just a light sprinkling of nuts; was full of blooms but owing to heavy cold rain, failed to pollenize. The tree is located in a cultivated field, circumference of tree is 5 feet, height about 60 feet, spread 50 to 60 feet.
Busseron
This is almost identical with Indiana, and the owner tells me has borne as many as seven bushels to twelve bushels at a single crop. The tree being very tall, the entire top was cut out of it a few years ago and it is just now commencing to bear again. The lower limbs, however, of older wood that were left, have borne annual crops. In the nursery this variety has shown a tendency to very early bearing; most one year trees, spring 1914, set full of catkins, and one tree produced 16 well-developed nuts. These, however, dropped during the extreme drouth of August. The past spring most Busseron trees in the nursery again set full of catkins and at the present time we have one tree, coming two years old from bud, bearing one nut that is full grown and looks as though it would mature during the next thirty days.
Several other varieties have set full of catkins in the nursery row but have not developed any pistillate blossoms. The Busseron has furnished much propagating wood and at the present time there are, perhaps, more trees growing in the nurseries of this than of any other northern variety. Crop of 1915 promises to be fairly good.
Niblack
Crop of 1912, 100 pounds; crop 1913, about 50 pounds; crop 1914, 225 pounds; crop 1915, I would estimate at 100 pounds. This tree is very deceiving; the top is rather open and the nuts are usually scattered all through. The crop of 1914 was not considered heavy until after it was gathered. The past spring this tree bloomed very full, but owing to wet, cold weather when in full bloom did not set well. Size of tree 18 to 20 inches in diameter; 50 to 60 feet high with 40 feet spread, and is located in a cultivated field.
Posey
Crop of 1914 was 125 pounds saved; this tree is about the same size as the Niblack, located in the edge of a cornfield near heavy timber, being far from any house. A large part of the crop is often stolen; the crops of 1911 and 1912 were not so heavy, perhaps 50 to 75 pounds. It usually bears a fair crop, however, but I do not consider it a heavy cropper like the Indiana or Niblack. Its large size and splendid cracking qualities, however, will make it a popular variety and it may prove to bear much better on budded trees under cultivation.
Butterick
This giant tree stands out in the open field, measures 14 feet in circumference, 90 feet spread and perhaps 100 feet high, and usually bears from 5 to 7 bushels. The owner tells me he has owned this tree for forty-four years and that it has not missed more than two or three crops during that time and that the former owner told him he owned the tree for fifty years and that it was a good sized tree when he bought the farm and bearing regular crops.
Major
Crop 1912, 160 pounds saved, and from what information I can get this tree usually bears 100 pounds or more; tree about 3 feet in diameter, 120 feet high and 60 feet to first limb. Owing to its height and size it is very hard to get much of an estimate in regard to the crop it may carry until after it is gathered. Being located in the dense forest a large part of the crop is often carried off.
Greenriver
Tree is located in the same grove with the Major, is about 3 feet in diameter, 35 feet to first limb, crop 1912 reported 260 pounds and has not missed a crop in twelve years. Have had no report for 1915.
Kentucky
Crop 1912, 4½ bushels; since that has borne good crops, but do not know the exact amount, but fair crop this year. The owner says it has only missed two crops in twenty years.
Warrick
This tree bears very regularly, but owing to the fact that it has been cut so severely for propagating wood has not made any heavy yields the past few years. The old wood has heavy crop this season.
This practically covers the named list of varieties for the Indiana pecan belt. I might say, however, that most of the native trees are bearing a very good crop of pecans this season in our country.
Observations on Propagated Trees
The Busseron has shown a stronger tendency to early bearing than any other variety. The Major and Greenriver seem to be the best growers in the nursery, with very heavy foliage. The Posey makes a very stocky tree but seems to be one of the most difficult to propagate.
Southern Varieties
The summer of 1914 we had the Stuart, Delmas and Schley. The first killing frost was a severe cold snap; mercury dropped to 10 above zero, November 22d. Foliage on these perfectly green as well as the nuts. The Stuart seemed to have about matured fruit although foliage was green. Husk on nuts had burst open ready to drop. The fruit which looked to be ripe, however, when cracked, the kernel looked plump, but when cut open was found pithy and more like a piece of cork.
Stuart tree bearing this season nuts at present, September 1st, only half grown, while Busseron alongside in nursery row is full size. The northern varieties usually mature ready to gather October 1st; the Indianas in the jar on the table were gathered September 28th last year.
High Land versus Low Land. Pecans in High Land
There have been a number of articles written by men well posted claiming that the pecan will not bear or thrive except on the cultivated bottom lands of our valleys and streams. The writer wishes to disprove this erroneous idea. It is not borne out by facts. On the farm of W. J. Coan of Bruceville, Knox County, Ind., there are a number of pecans planted from ten to fifteen years ago. Part of these trees are on bottom land and part on high land. This high land is heavy clay underlaid with considerable hardpan. The writer visited these trees two weeks ago and has photographs showing four trees in a group that were planted fifteen years ago that have borne for the past six years, each crop getting better. At the present time I would judge they are bearing at least one bushel to the tree. A single tree in the barnyard has not made the growth owing to the compact soil around it. However, it has borne quite heavily, commenced bearing at nine years of age from seed. The trees on the bottom land are not as large and have not borne half as many nuts as the ones planted on high land. This is Mr. Coan's report and he says that were he planting again he would plant entirely on high ground. The trees shown in these photographs are located on perhaps the highest elevation in Knox County, Ind. There are a number of other trees near the writer's home planted on high land 150 feet above the river, back from three to six miles, that are large trees, measuring 18 to 24 inches in diameter and bearing regular crops. Heavy clay land seems to push a stronger and more vigorous growth than does the more loamy, darker soil. I submit here a number of photographs taken August 10 of pecan trees in the nursery row, budded one year ago, showing a growth of from 4 to 6 feet, many of them 5 to 7 feet and some 8 feet high and still growing rapidly. These were budded on four-year-old pecans.
Propagation
We have tried all known methods of propagating the pecan with varied results; one of the methods you do not want to try is the Edwards method. While it may be a success in Texas, where it originated, it is a miserable failure in the North. Grafting above ground is done after the sap is well up, and gives fair results. However, best results have been obtained by the patch bud method on seedlings three to four years old. Good strong seedlings, well-ripened buds cut from the scion orchard or from trees two years old in the nursery have given best results—in some cases, as high as 85 per cent stand the past season.
Mr. Jones: Mr. Rush had a Stuart bearing last year in south-eastern Pennsylvania. The nuts were not very large but they matured fairly well. I am more encouraged than ever that the Indiana variety will be safe for use in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Reed: I think that if the Stuart bloomed as early as the others it would be all right, but it is about two weeks later.
Mr. Littlepage: I don't believe in the Stuart very much: I have better pecans myself, hardy in the north.
The President: I wish to corroborate Mr. Reed's point about the success of the pecan on high land. One man is, I believe, responsible for that widely circulated statement that the pecan will grow only on alluvial land. I have travelled a thousand miles in investigating that fact, and found it a fallacy. Some of the biggest pecan trees I have ever seen were growing at 900 feet elevation down in Georgia. This was on clay hills. I have seen the same thing in Raleigh. That alluvial soil business is a hoax.
This ends the intellectual side of our program.
Business meeting.
Meeting adjourned sine die at 10 P. M.