There being other papers on the subject of nut culture I will confine this to Indiana and surrounding territory where nut trees of several kinds are native, and flourished before the coming of the white man.
Walnut and hickory trees are to be found growing on most kinds of soil, chestnut and hazels mostly on hill land, the pecan as a rule in the lowlands along the streams where vast groves of them are yet producing splendid crops of nuts.
One mile from my nursery, around Enterprise (which was the boyhood home of our worthy member Mr. T. P. Littlepage), are hundreds of these trees, including one of the largest in Indiana. This tree measures 16 feet in circumference at waist height and is estimated to be 125 feet high. It has produced more than 500 pounds of nuts in a season and other trees near here have produced as much as 600 pounds. One of these has a spread of over 100 feet. It is not unusual for a large size tree to produce from 300 to 400 pounds of a good season.
One of the largest groves near here is known as the Major grove near the mouth of Green River, containing about 300 acres, most of the trees on which are pecan trees. Some are of immense size and probably as large as can be found north of the cotton belt. A few trees in this grove are estimated to be more than 150 feet tall.
Along the Wabash River is probably the largest native northern pecan grove consisting of several hundred acres in which it is estimated there are more than 20,000 bearing-size pecan trees. At gathering time in the fall this is a very busy place. It is a source of revenue to many besides the owners.
I was at this grove two weeks ago and was told there that each year school begins the first of August so they can dismiss during October and November to allow the school children to gather pecans during those two months. School teachers in that territory are required to sign a contract to that effect. This grove lies between Shawneetown and New Haven, which are eighteen miles apart.
The town of New Haven has a population of about 400. I was told last fall by one of the three pecan buyers there that, in one day a few years ago, the three of them paid more than $15,000 for pecans for one day's delivery. This of course did not represent the total day's sales for this territory as many of them were sold at Shawneetown. So one can easily see why the people there are anxious for their children to help in this harvest, it being the chief source of fall income to many poor people, who are given one-half of all the pecans they gather. Often on or after a windy day the amount gathered by each one makes a splendid day's wages. Many make a practice of coming a distance each fall for this harvest. One party from St. Louis told me last fall that was his twenty-sixth year at that grove.
This grove is surrounded by smaller ones and many single trees growing on cultivated land. None of the native nut trees in this section have ever had any care whatever, except the ones growing in cultivated fields, and those only farm crop cultivation. Many of the native seedlings seldom bear and some others are shy or irregular bearers. But it is noticeable how much better as a rule those produce that have farm crop cultivation or stand in favorable locations.
This is plainly evident in many instances where trees in the last few years have been cleared around and cultivated, or where an individual tree is standing alone without cultivation, but has plenty of space, food and moisture. An excellent example of this is the Littlepage tree in Enterprise that is probably 35 years old, has never been cultivated but stands in a well used stock lot and has been an annual bearer since a small tree.
On the other hand, near here are a number of trees around which the land had been cultivated in farm crops until about ten years ago, and these trees produced well, but since that time the land has been abandoned and has grown up in a thicket and the production of these trees has been greatly reduced.