Mr. Bechtel: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: After having listened to so many good papers and addresses it seems to me that as far as imparting any knowledge to this audience my trip may have been in vain. However I assure you as this is my first visit to Washington it lacks a whole lot of being in vain from what I have already seen and enjoyed. I may be able to add a few points to what has already been said.
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.