“Tree Crops” by J. Russell Smith
A classic book, first published in the 20’s, and then in a revised edition in the 1950’s. Long out of print, but you can sometimes find a copy in a library. This book has inspired generations to work on developing fruit and nut trees. Smith makes a well-reasoned, factual case that plow-based agriculture is the destructor of soils through erosion, and that tree crops are the way out.It covers the possibilities for pecan, hickory, black walnut, persimmon, honey locust, mesquite, sweet acorn oaks, pawpaw, and many more, all in a delightfully engaging style. Makes you shake your head in wonder that so little has been done with this man’s ideas in the more than a half-century since this book’s publication.