oil types. The uplands usually
planted to corn and wheat and the flood plains of the river basins may
both be well suited to nut growing.

For good growth and production deep well-drained soils are required.
Under proper conditions the trees develop rapidly, have an extensive
root system, and eventually may reach a great age. Furthermore, nut
trees cannot grow successfully on wet poorly-drained land where water
stands on or just beneath the surface a considerable portion of the
year. Lowlands which may be found well adapted to the growth of willow
and gum trees, may be too wet and sour for the growth of nut trees. It
would also be well to avoid dry, very thin, and very sandy soils.

In their native range the pecan, hickory, and walnut thrive on the
alluvial soils of the Missouri and Mississippi River Valleys. They grow
well also on the upland sandy loam soils adapted to the growth of corn,
oats, and wheat. All of these nut trees are usually influenced more by
the fertility, humus, and moisture content of the soil, than by any
particular soil type.

~Fertilizers for Nut Trees~--The deep rich alluvial soils of river and
creek valleys do not present the same fertilizer problems as light and
heavy upland soils. Manure supplemented with superphosphate at the rate
of about 20 to 30 pounds to a ton should prove to be a satisfactory
fertilizer on depleted soils. It is spread in a circle around the trees
extending out about twice the spread of the branches and plowed or
harrowed into the soil. A moderate application would range from 8 to 12
tons to the acre.

Leguminous cover crops are particularly valuable for building up the
nitrogen and humus content of the soil when plowed under. Their
judicious use with non-leguminous cover crops and supplemented with
commercial fertilizers to increase the tonnage for plowing under, will
usually bring good returns in growth and production.

CARE OF THE PERMANENT PLANTINGS

Since but few diseases and insects attack nut trees in Missouri, very
little if any spraying work will be required while the trees are young.
As the trees grow older, however, it may be necessary to give pest
control more attention. Caterpillars that infest the foliage of the
trees in late summer and early fall can usually be destroyed by cutting
off the comparatively few branches on which the worms have clustered and
burning them. The pest may also be destroyed on high branches by means
of torches. If the trees