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.