s that have a reputation for producing good yields of
high quality nuts. The beginning of this top-grafting program was in
late April of 1948, when some 200 trees were top-worked mostly on the
farm of the late Roscoe Stone, a farmer in this area who had
considerable land holdings. It is highly pleasing to our Extension
workers to observe what we think is an outstanding success in this first
year of development, for we find that over 90% of the five to ten year
old trees that were top-grafted have developed a new growth from the
spring grafting, to the extent of from two to eight feet of new growth.
John Watts, County Farm Agent of Fulton County, who pioneered this pecan
improvement development, tells me that we already have requests for
top-working over 500 other trees in this area for the spring of 1949.

+Northern Varieties Preferred+

The best information available was sought from such pecan authorities as
Ford Wilkinson of Rockport, Indiana, Dr. A. S. Colby, chief in nut
culture, Horticulture Department of the University of Illinois, Bob
Endicott of Villa Ridge, Illinois, and others. They are of the opinion
that this southwestern Kentucky area approaches the northern limit of
successful production of known southern varieties of pecans, and that
our success in our pecan grafting program can best be assured by
top-working to the hardy northern varieties of pecans such as the Major,
Greenriver, Niblack, Giles, Goforth, and others.

Thanks to our pioneers of this generation who located some outstanding
seedling pecans in the Ohio Valley, such trees as the original Major,
Greenriver, and others have proved their worth as hardy northern pecans
and they have been used for propagating purposes rather than being
destroyed by farm hands who burned piles of debris left by high water
around many of these early trees.

+Some Superior Local Nuts+

We are of the opinion that other seedling varieties are now growing in
this Reelfoot Lake area, maybe in Kentucky, maybe in Tennessee, or
across the line in Missouri, that are equally as good pecans, and, we
hope, better, than the already named seedlings which have been mentioned
above.

During early August it was my pleasure to spend a day in the Hickman
bottoms with County Agent Watts and Mr. Ernest Fields, manager of the
local nut cracking factory, together with Mr. C. B. Toombs, of Hickman,
at which time we inspected a number of recognized successful native
pecan groves.