This section is from the book "Trees And Tree-Planting", by James S. Brisbin. Also available from Amazon: Trees and Tree Planting.
This tree grows to a height of sixty or seventy feet, with a diameter of from two to three feet. This is a very beautiful tree; tall, straight, and well-shaped trunk. The timber is inferior to the rest of the hickories, but it more than pays the cost of cultivation by the proceeds of the sale of its fruit, which is superior to any nut, either native or foreign, on account of the excellence of its flavor. The nut is thin-shelled, very sweet, and the kernel is not divided by partitions. I agree with Mr. Bryant in condemning the practice, worthy only of vandals or barbarians, of chopping down the trees to gather the fruit, thus diminishing not only the number of trees, but the quantity of fruit. This practice of chopping down the pecan-trees cannot be too strongly condemned; and I doubt not, if it were not that it has been practised so much, and is still practised, where it can be done with impunity, the pecan-nut would be more highly valued and better known; but let it continue a few years longer and the pecan will advance in value as the trees decrease in number.
 
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