"With the single exception of the white elm the pecan
tree has the most widely expanded head of any tree in
proportion to its size, while in altitude and majestic
appearance the largest and finest elms are no comparison
to it. Some trees are 175 feet high with a spread of 100
feet or more. The trunk often measures more than 50
feet and occasionally 80 or 90 to the first limb."
The best pecans come from Louisiana. They are very
large and reach the market earlier than those from Texas.
144 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
In some parts of Texas pecans are grown with thin shells
that may be crushed with the fingers. In 1880 there
were marketed in San Antonio, Texas, 1,250,000 pounds
of nuts. At Winter Park, Florida, is an orchard of pecans
containing 4,000 trees covering 100 acres. The impor-
tance of the pecan is scarcely less than that of the English
walnut or almond at the present time, and it is probably
destined to become the leading nut of the American
market.
The industry for preparing the meats for market has
already assumed large proportions. It was begun by Mr.
Koerber in 1884. In 1887 he prepared 20,000 pounds,
and in 1890 more than 100,000 pounds. With a machine
constructed for cracking these nuts, pecan meats are
coming into general use, and it may be but a short time
before nut meats will replace the whole nuts on hotel
tables, Three pounds of nuts contain about one pound
of meats. The smaller nuts are made into oil, and will
make a first-class oil for table use.
The Shagbark, incorrectly called in New England
" walnut," is also a hickory nut, already valuable while
capable of improvement under cultivation. The kernel is
plump and sweet, and readily parts into halves with a
stroke of the hammer, or a simple nut cracker. This is
one of its most desirable qualities and makes it possible
to place this excellent fruit as a " nut meat " upon our
tables.
The Hazelnut, or filbert of commerce, called "cobnut"
in England, is marketed for dessert purposes, though a
pleasant oil resembling olive oil is sometimes expressed
from it, and in portions of Europe this, like the chestnut,
has been used in limited quantities for making bread.
NUTS AND THEIR CULTURE. 1 45
Thomas Brigden of South Lowell, Ala., says :
"Within ten miles of Maidstone, in Kent, England,
there are hundreds of acres of these nuts yielding a heavy
profit to the grower. I hope the nut question will be fully
ventilated for it is one of the farmer's money crops."
In the State of Washington these nuts are native and
flourish as in no other country. Some varieties grow on
trees, many of them attaining a height of 50 or 60 feet
and five or six inches in diameter.
Chestnuts. As yet but little attention has been paid
to the cultivation of our native chestnut, they having
afforded an abundant crop without care, growing less,
however, of late years.
H. M. Engle of Marietta, Penn., says :
" The great progress in chestnut culture will be by the
following method : The hillsides and mountain slopes of
chestnut timber will be cut and a proper proportion of
the sprouts grafted with choice varieties and the rest of
the sprouts and underbrush destroyed. By such method
chestnut groves will be established without planting, and
by their rapid growth will make bearing trees in a com-
paratively short time. Four to five years of practical
work of this kind justifies me in making such statements,
and if I am not mistaken, the boom in chestnut culture
will be by such methods."
Prof. William A. Buckhout says :
Page 58
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
"With the single exception of the white elm the pecan tree has the most widely expanded head of any tree in proportion to its size, while in altitude and majestic appearance the largest and finest elms are no comparison to it. Some trees are 175 feet high with a spread of 100 feet or more. The trunk often measures more than 50 feet and occasionally 80 or 90 to the first limb."
The best pecans come from Louisiana. They are very
large and reach the market earlier than those from Texas.
In some parts of Texas pecans are grown with thin shells that may be crushed with the fingers. In 1880 there were marketed in San Antonio, Texas, 1,250,000 pounds of nuts. At Winter Park, Florida, is an orchard of pecans containing 4,000 trees covering 100 acres. The importance of the pecan is scarcely less than that of the English walnut or almond at the present time, and it is probably destined to become the leading nut of the American market.
The industry for preparing the meats for market has already assumed large proportions. It was begun by Mr. Koerber in 1884. In 1887 he prepared 20,000 pounds, and in 1890 more than 100,000 pounds. With a machine constructed for cracking these nuts, pecan meats are coming into general use, and it may be but a short time before nut meats will replace the whole nuts on hotel tables, Three pounds of nuts contain about one pound of meats. The smaller nuts are made into oil, and will make a first-class oil for table use.
The Shagbark, incorrectly called in New England " walnut," is also a hickory nut, already valuable while capable of improvement under cultivation. The kernel is plump and sweet, and readily parts into halves with a stroke of the hammer, or a simple nut cracker. This is one of its most desirable qualities and makes it possible to place this excellent fruit as a " nut meat " upon our tables.
The Hazelnut, or filbert of commerce, called "cobnut" in England, is marketed for dessert purposes, though a pleasant oil resembling olive oil is sometimes expressed from it, and in portions of Europe this, like the chestnut, has been used in limited quantities for making bread.
Thomas Brigden of South Lowell, Ala., says :
"Within ten miles of Maidstone, in Kent, England, there are hundreds of acres of these nuts yielding a heavy profit to the grower. I hope the nut question will be fully ventilated for it is one of the farmer's money crops."
In the State of Washington these nuts are native and
flourish as in no other country. Some varieties grow on
trees, many of them attaining a height of 50 or 60 feet
and five or six inches in diameter.
Chestnuts. As yet but little attention has been paid to the cultivation of our native chestnut, they having afforded an abundant crop without care, growing less, however, of late years.
H. M. Engle of Marietta, Penn., says :
" The great progress in chestnut culture will be by the following method : The hillsides and mountain slopes of chestnut timber will be cut and a proper proportion of the sprouts grafted with choice varieties and the rest of the sprouts and underbrush destroyed. By such method chestnut groves will be established without planting, and by their rapid growth will make bearing trees in a comparatively short time. Four to five years of practical work of this kind justifies me in making such statements, and if I am not mistaken, the boom in chestnut culture will be by such methods."
Prof. William A. Buckhout says :