Our growers, however, and the industry in the state are far more concerned with the utilization of the native trees. To talk about these native trees is almost—well, we might borrow a Texas expression—these trees grow both in Oklahoma and Texas—and the Texans say whenever a Texan tries to tell the truth everybody knows he is lying. That's the way everybody knows about some of these native trees. When we think of a huge, tall tree 20 or so feet in circumference over a hundred years of age and realize that the white man has occupied that particular territory for only a little over 50 years, we wonder about the history of that tree for the first 50 years of its life when wild Indians were roaming the territory and buffalo were grazing under these trees which were getting started.
These trees occur along the streams, very seldom out away from the streams for any considerable distance, as one of the native forest trees and in sufficient number so that when all other trees are removed the stand of pecan trees remaining is in many cases more than adequate to make a complete stand of pecans for commercial production. So that after having removed the oaks and elms and cottonwoods and willows and the other native trees, we have the opportunity of making a considerable selection of desirable native or seedling trees by observing the type of nut which each tree produces.
We are not, in making this selection, concerned so much with the size of the nut produced as we are with the kernel percentage which will be yielded by the nut upon cracking and extracting the kernels and by the ease of separation. Within comparatively recent years many cracking and shelling plants have been established throughout the state, and the history of the industry I think will record that the establishment of these cracking plants in the territory where the pecans are produced will be a great stimulus to the production of that kind of nuts.
I don't know whether I have made the picture clear or not. Throughout the eastern part of the state, that part which you in your old geographies knew under the name of Indian Territory, and particularly concentrated in the middle of the state there are native trees which if properly handled, that is, cultivated and sprayed and thinned so that each tree stands out individually by itself, will produce in paying quantities.
On the experiment station we have a half mile of such territory lying between cultivated fields on both sides of a creek which had eroded a considerable basin. The area was unsatisfactory for cultivation, and so it was fenced out. Back some years ago the area was cleared of grape vines and other trees, and we have since that time pastured sheep in this tract of land. It Is narrow, not over three or four hundred feet wide at any place and, of course, varying in width from one end to the other, and the creek meanders along. There really is more than a half mile of total length.
The potential production of that half mile is now, in terms of dollars and cents, about $2,500 to $3,000, and before wheat and cattle attained their present prices that was no mean income for a quarter section of land. Naturally, with that opportunity prevalent over a great part of the state, we in Oklahoma are interested in the production of native or seedling pecans to be sold to the cracker. We feel that the future of the pecan industry is undoubtedly headed toward the utilization of pecans as kernels and not nuts in the shell. Such being the case, we are not interested particularly in large size. We are interested in kernel yield and in the potential production of each individual tree.
There are a great many problems connected with the industry, and we have more or less taken those into consideration and classified them under insects and diseases and marketing and harvesting and varieties. I will not have time to touch upon very many of these. Our harvesting situation is completely chaotic. Within the last two ot three years shaking machines have been developed, and we are indebted to the West Coast growers for these inventions, which are very helpful. Previous to that a, long bamboo pole was used to knock the pecans from the trees, and then they were picked up off the ground. There are two machines now waiting for the present crop to be harvested which are supposed to pick up the nuts by vacuum picking.
If the industry can be mechanized in that manner, getting away from harvesting pecans as we have been harvesting them, it is just like cradling wheat as compared to the present-day 12-foot, self-propelled combine that cuts the wheat so rapidly. If this mechanization can be put into effect, then the native seedling territory in Texas and Oklahoma will be able to produce pecans at a price which the market will accept.
I don't know whether you know it or not, but the pecan market situation has apparently reached a condition of saturation. It was very difficult to sell pecans last fall, not because there is over-production, no, but because there is under-consumption.
There are two things which will remedy the situation. The pecan is unquestionably the finest nut that is produced in the United States. If the people of the North can be acquainted with the pecan, there is no question in my mind but that it will be possible to vastly increase consumption. The Oklahoma growers and buyers hope to put before the legislature a proposition to assess a tax of a quarter of a cent or something like that per pound, which will be used in an advertising campaign to advertise pecans outside of the state, so maybe you folks in New York and elsewhere, if the campaign is successful, will hear more about Oklahoma pecans in the future.