It is a fact worthy of note that the average man requires 3,500 calories of energy each day, an amount which must be secured from food consumed. One pound of pecan kernels, according to the above analysis, would supply 3,445 calories, or only 55 calories less than the amount required per day. We are not, be it understood, pointing out this fact because we believe that the pecan alone would be a satisfactory food, though it is wholesome, nourishing and palatable and should be used in larger quantities than is usually the case, but simply to emphasize its high food value.
According to the foregoing analysis, the pecan is richer in fat than any of the other nuts. Seventy per cent. of the kernels is fat. The pecan may at some time be in requisition as a source of oil—an oil which would doubtless be useful for salad purposes—but it is never likely to be converted into oil until the present prices of the nuts are greatly reduced.
If we turn from the dietary value of the nut to the ornamental value of the tree, we cannot but be forcibly impressed with its value as a shade and ornamental tree. For these purposes it may be planted far outside the area in which fruit may be reasonably expected. If given good soil and sufficient food supply, it grows quite rapidly, making a stately, vigorous, long-lived tree. In its native forests it is a giant tree, sometimes reaching a height of upwards of two hundred feet with a trunk of six feet. Isolated specimens, grown in the open, come to maturity with wide-spreading branches and the whole tree has an exceedingly graceful appearance. Wherever it will succeed, no other shade tree is so worthy of attention as the pecan, and in the fruiting area, beauty and healthful shade may be combined with utility.
As an orchard tree it is well worth planting. The ground in which the trees are planted may be cultivated in other crops for a number of years, thus reducing to a minimum the cost of maintaining the planting, and when the trees have come into bearing, the same area in trees will yield more in net returns than the same area in cotton or corn at the usual market prices.
On the whole, considered from whatever standpoint we may choose, the pecan is a valuable tree, whether cultivated for its nuts or planted for shade or ornamental effect.
Exports of Nuts from United States for Years 1900-1904 inclusive.
| 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 |
| VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. | VALUE. |
| $156,490 | $218,743 | $304,241 | $299,558 | $330,366 |
Importations of Nuts into the United States for the Years 1899 to 1904 inclusive, according to the most authoritative statistics.[B]
| 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | ||||
| VARIETY OF NUTS. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. |
| Almonds | 9,957,427 | $1,222,587 | 6,317,633 | $949,083 | 5,140,232 | $946,138 |
| Cocoanuts. | ... | 625,789 | ... | 702,947 | ... | 804,233 |
| Walnuts | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) | (a) |
| Other | ... | 879,166 | ... | 1,326,804 | ... | 1,518,184 |
| Total Nuts | ... | $2,727,542 | ... | $2,978,834 | ... | $3,268,255 |
| 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | ||||
| VARIETY OF NUTS. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. | Quant'y lbs. | Value. |
| Almonds | 9,868,982 | $1,240,886 | 8,142,164 | $1,337,717 | 9,838,852 | $1,246,474 |
| Cocoanuts. | ... | 832,383 | ... | 908,242 | ... | 971,852 |
| Walnuts | (a) | (a) | 12,362,567 | 1,106,033 | 23,670,761 | 1,729,378 |
| Other | ... | 1,971,072 | ... | 1,514,406 | ... | 1,523,462 |
| Total Nuts | ... | $4,044,341 | ... | $4,866,398 | ... | $5,471,166 |