44 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



Native Forest Trees of Rhode Island. 



No. XV. 



BY L. W. RUSSELL. 



Carya tomentosa. — Mocker-nut Hickory. 



C. tomentosa, coinmoniy known as the 

 mocker-nut, is frequently seen in certain 

 localities in Rhode Island. There are 

 some finely developed trees of this species 

 upon the rocky ridges in the vicinit}' of 

 Diamond Hill. This tree, when well de- 

 veloped, is a more stately and graceful ob- 

 ject than the shell-bark hickory. Its trunk 

 is erect and tall, its head pyramidal in gen- 

 eral outline, yet varying enough to avoid 

 stiffness. The branches are of moderate 

 size, forming sharp angles with the main 

 stem. The bark differs from that of the 

 shell-bark in not having long, loose scales, 

 and being arranged in ridges made by close, 

 deep furrows. The recent shoots are stout, 

 terminated by large, round buds, covered 

 with prominent downy scales: The male 

 flowers appear upon catkins grouped in 

 threes, three to six inches long, the midd e 

 one being the longest. The fertile flowers 

 are small and are composed of a four- 

 parted calyx, from which spring two ragged 

 stamens. The leaves are conspicuously 

 large, often twenty inches in length, 

 and composed of seven to nine obovate, 

 slightl3' serrated leaflets, downy under- 

 neath. The fruit is large, thick shelled, 

 varying much in shape, sometims four- 

 angled, giving rise to the name "square-nut." 

 The kernel is small compared with the 

 whole fruit, and although edible is far infe- 

 rior to that of the shell-bark. A character- 

 istic of the leaves, of service in identifying 

 the tree, is their strong resinous odor, partic- 

 ularly when the}- are young. The wood has the 

 prominent characteristics of the genus but 

 is not easily cleft, and is not quite as tough 

 as that of one or two other species of the 

 genus. It is diflftcult to distinguish the 

 woods of the different hickories, but the 

 buds, leaves, fruit, and bark of the differ- 

 ent species show characteristics sufficient 

 for eas}' identification. 



Carya Glabra. — Pig-nut Hickory. 



C. glabra, or the pig-nut hickory, is com- 

 monly diffused in Rhode Island. It is 

 a beautiful tree, with a shapelj-, cylindrical 



head, having a bright, glossy green foliage, 

 erect and statel}', making a fine landscape 

 adornment. It grows in company with 

 C alba and C. tomentosa, but to most 

 observers is a more" attractive tree than 

 the others. The bark is of a lighter grey 

 than than of those described. On 3'oung 

 trees it is broken into small ridged masses, 

 but, generall}' speaking the bark is 

 smooth. It is not uncommon to find 

 patches of j-ellowish lichens upon the 

 trunks of old trees and sometimes plates of 

 loose bark appear as with the shell-bark. 

 The branches are small, lower ones but 

 slightly curved upwards ; the buds small, 

 egg-shaped and pointed. The leaves are 

 small compared with those of the two pre- 

 ceding species, smooth on both sides, five 

 to seven leaflets, sessile and narrow, taper- 

 ing at both ends. The terminal one is 

 obovate and upon a short footstalk. In 

 autumn the leaves turn to a rich orange. 

 Those of the shell-bark drop early and with- 

 out coloring. The fruit of the C. (jlabra 

 is fig-shaped. Wilson Flagg in his Woods 

 and By- Ways of Nev England, says that 

 the original name of the fruit was flg-nut," 

 and that "pig-nut" is a corruption of the 

 former. He thereby recommends a restor- 

 ation of the name " flg-nut." It should be 

 observed that the nuts vary much in size 

 and shape upon different trees ; but they 

 are usually thick-shelled and smooth, and of 

 bluish gre^- color. The meat is scant, 

 difficult to get out and scarcel}' edible when 

 obtained. It grows singly', or in bunches 

 of two to four, and is very abundant. The 

 tree grows to a large size and from the 

 compactness, toughness, and elasticit}' of 

 its wood it is highly' valued as a timber tree. 

 As fuel the wood is scarcely inferior to that 

 of the shell-bark. There are man}' beauti- 

 ful specimens of this tree in the vicinity of 

 Providence and in other parts of the state. 



The Topographical Survey. 



'' The finance committee of the House 

 has given a hearing upon the matter of the 

 proposed topographical survey of the state. 

 The plan proposed is the same as at present 

 adopted in Massachusetts, where a survey 

 is being made in connection with the Gov- 

 ernment." That such a survej- be made 

 is eminently desirable. 



