THE HICKORY. 



THE Hickory, including several species, is very gen- 

 erally distributed over this continent, but is found in no 

 other part of the world. It is distinguished from the 

 walnut by its foliage and general habit of growth, by the 

 smaller number of leaflets on the leaf-stern, and by their 

 darker color and firmer texture. The aments of the 

 Hickory are in threes, and the outer shell of the fruit 

 opens at four angles when it is ripe ; the aments of the 

 walnut are single, and the outer shell of the nut is undi- 

 vided. The two trees differ also in their general appear- 

 ance. The Hickory rises to a greater proportional height, 

 with less length and spread of the branches, the lower 

 ones being higher from the root of the tree and smaller 

 than those of the walnut. Many of the trees are flattened 

 at the top, and take a cylindrical form, when they ap- 

 proach to any regularity ; but their outlines are more 

 frequently irregular, displaying frequent gaps, and pre- 

 senting several distinct masses of foliage. 



The Hickory, therefore, when full grown, has seldom 

 much elegance, and little of the beauty of grace and sym- 

 metry. Its picturesque qualities are its sturdy habit, its 

 great height, its dense and dark green foliage, its approach 

 to a cylindrical shape, and its general eccentricity of growth. 

 I have never seen a Hickory with long spreading branches 

 like those of the butternut, nor with neat and prim foliage 

 like that of the ash. The different species are so common 

 in all the southern parts of New England as to form a 

 notable arboreal feature of our landscape. In Massachu- 



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