274 



The Hickories. 



THE HICKORIES. (Genus Carya). 



1098. These occur native only in North America, although fossil 



species are found in Europe. 

 About ten living species are 

 known in the United States 

 and Mexico. The wood of the 

 hickories is generally heavy, 

 hard, close-grained, and re- 

 markably strong and elastic. 

 As a fuel they rank higher 

 than any other of our native 

 woods. 



1099. THE PECAN-NUT 

 (Carya oliwzformis). This is 

 144. The Waliiut.-Yon.ie Leaves Blossoms, f ound grow iug to the height 



of sixty to seventy feet along 



the country bordering the Mississippi and the lower Ohio, from Iowa 

 southward to Louisiana, and westward in Indian Territory. The wood is 



coarse-grained, hard, strong, 

 and durable, but not so val- 

 uable as that of some other 

 species. The fruit of the 

 pecan is considered as one 

 of the best of the hickories, 

 and occasionally a tree is 

 found upon which it is ex- 

 ceptionally fine. There can 

 be no doubt but that these 

 could be greatly improved 

 by cultivation, and that the 

 finer varieties could be 

 grafted upon other species, 

 and grown with much 

 profit. 



1100. THE BITTER HICK- 

 ORY (Carya amara). This species occurs from New England and 

 New York, and southward into the Carolinas, where it is occasion- 

 ally found from the coast to the mountains. It grows best in a cool 



145. Carya olivseformis The Pecan-nut. 



