Genus II. 



t'A'llYA Niittall. The Gary a, or Hickory Tree. Lin. St/st. 

 Monce'cia Tetr-Hex-andria. 



Identification. Nutt. Gen. N. Amer. PI., 2. p. 220. i Lindley Nat. Syst. of Hot., p. ISO. 



Synonyvies. Jliglans sp. LM., H'i/ld,, Mic/ir.; Hicdnwi Rafinesque ; Hickory, .-Jz/jcr. 



Derivation. " Karua i^Carya), the walnut tree : the name which the Greeks applied to Jtiglans 

 rfegii" .Xuttail, Gen. A. .imer. Pi., ii. p. 220.) The name of CJlrya was applied to the common 

 walnut by the Greeks, in honour of Carya, daughter of Dion, king of Laconia, who was changed 

 by Bacchus into that tree. (See Sir Wm. Chambers's Treatise on Civil Arch., vol. i . p. 55.) Diana had 

 the surname of Caryata from the town of Carya, in Laconia, where her rites were always celebrated 

 in the open air, under the shade of a walnut tree. {Pattsanias, Lac, c. 10.) Plutarch says the name 

 of Carya was applied to the walnut tree from the effect of the smell of its leaves on the head. 

 (Sj/t/i., lib. ii.) 



Description, Sfc, In the general remarks on the wahiuts and hickories quoted 

 from Michaux, it was observed, that, while the hickories bore a great family 

 resemblance to each other, yet that they differed considerably in the number 

 and size of their leaflets, and in their fruit : but, notwithstanding this dif- 

 ference, an extraordinary uniformity of structure pervades the timber of 

 the whole of the hickories. " So close an analogy exists in the wood of these 

 trees, that, when stripped of their bark, no difference is discernible in the grain, 

 which is coarse and open in all ; nor in the colour of the heart-wood, which 

 is uniformly reddish." (2Iic/i.r.) The timber of all is of great weight, strtngth, 

 and tenacity; but it decays speedily when exposed to heat and moisture, and 

 is peculiarly liable to injury from worms. It is, consequently, never used in 

 building houses or ships ; but it is found admirably adapted for the axletrees 

 of carriages, the handles of axes, and for large screws, particularly those of 

 bookbintlers' presses. It is also used for the backs of chairs, coach-whip 

 handles, musket-stocks, rake teeth, flails for thrashing grain, the bows of yokes, 

 and many similar purposes. The principal use of the hickory in the United 

 States is, however, for forming hoops foi' casks; and it is the only American 

 wood which is found perfectly fit for that purpose. " When it is considered 

 how large a part of the productions of the United States is packed in barrels, 

 an estimate may be formed of the necessary consumption of hoops," and, con- 

 sequently, of the great demand that there must exist for hickory wood. In 

 consequence of this great demand, hickory wood is becoming scarce; particu- 

 larly as the shoots do not sprout a second time from the same root, and the 

 growth of young plants is slow. In sloops and schooners, the wooden rings by 

 which the sails are hoisted, and confined to the mast, are always of hickory. 

 Nearly all the hickory timber is very heavy, and will produce an ardent heat 

 while burning, and leave " a heavy, compact, and long-lived charcoal." It is 

 consequently greatly esteemed for fuel. When propagated, the nuts should, 

 if possible, be planted where the trees are intended to remain, as most of the 

 species have very long taproots, which are nearly destitute of fibres. This 

 remark, however, does not apply to C. amara, which, like Juglans nigra, has 

 abundance of fibrous roots. The pig-nut (C. porcina) and the mocker-nut 

 (C tomentosa) are considered to afford the best timber; and the pacane-nut 

 (C. olivaetorinis) decidedly the best fruit, though small. Michaux suggests the 

 probability of improving it in size by grafting it on the common, or black, 

 walnut. Nuts of most of the kinds may be had in London, at 9d. per quart ; 

 and plants of some sorts from Is. Gd. to 2s. each. 



S 1. C. oliv.efo'rmis Null. The olive-shaped Carya, or Pacane-nut Hickory. 



Identification. Kutt. Gen. N. Amer. PI., p. 221. 



Synonymes. Jdglans rdbra Gtertn. Sem., 2. p. 51., t. 89. ; J. cylindrica Lam. Encycl , }\. Du Ham., 



4. p. 179. ; J. Pican .Muhlenb. in Nov. Act. Soc. Nat. Scrut Berol.,3. p. 3!)2. ; J. angustitViJia .Ht. 



IIu)t. Ketf.; J. oliv<\:f6rmis Michx. Ft. Bor. Amer., p. 192., IMUd. Sp. PI., i. p. 457., Michx. 



Nort.'i Amer. Sylva, 1. p. 167., Pursh Ft. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 636. ; Pecan-nut, Illinois Nut, Amer. ; 



POcanier, I'acanus, Nfver Ptcanicr. Fr. 



o h 2 



