THE HICKOEY. 203 



tall Hickory, standing on an elevation that makes the 

 sky its only background. It is tall and narrow in its 

 shape, and > its head is divided into five distinct masses 

 of foliage, separated by a considerable opening. Two 

 of these masses are on the right, and three on the left, 

 the highest making a flattened top, projecting over the 

 right side, and hanging down in a large flowing mass. 

 Yet this tree is perfectly normal in its proportions, for I 

 can discover no marks of mutilation in any part of it. 



The spray of the Hickory, like other trees with pin- 

 nate leaves that bear a large seed, is coarse ; but its al- 

 ternate branching gives it variety, and takes away some 

 of that heaviness so disagreeable in the spray of the ash. 

 All its branches are liable to be twisted, because they 

 cannot be broken by the wind, and these contortions often 

 extend throughout the ramification of the tree. It puts 

 them forth from a central shaft, that usually extends 

 to the summit of the tree, and, being small, they are 

 often bent down very considerably by the weight of their 

 fruit. The geographical bounds of the Hickory are the 

 southern parts of New Hampshire on the north, Ten- 

 nessee and North Carolina on the south, and the shores of 

 Lake Erie on the west. The wood of the Hickory is ex- 

 ceedingly hard, heavy, and tough, and is in America the 

 symbol of courage and firmness. . - 



