242 'TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



a beautiful polish, light brown turning darker with exposure; 

 sapwood thin and light colored. Specific gravity, 0.4086; weight 

 of a cubic foot, 25.46 pounds. 



Uses. The Butternut is occasionally used for ornamental' 

 planting in the parks of this country, but is seldom a safe tree 

 to depend on in Minnesota when growing in the open. In pro- 

 tected locations it may be used as a shade tree, but is more valua- 

 ble in timber plantings. It is found farther north than the Black 

 Walnut, and is somewhat hardier, but is more easily injured by 

 drouth. The wood is not so valuable as that of the Black Wal- 

 nut, but is nevertheless very desirable for interior finishing, cab- 

 inet making and furniture and tool handles. The nuts, which 

 ripen in October, contain a large amount of oil, are delicious 

 when fresh, and are generally preferred to the nuts of the Black 

 Walnut, but like them they become rancid with age. The unripe 

 nuts are sometimes gathered early in June, when they are tender, 

 and after removing the clammy pubescent by scalding and rub- 

 bing with a coarse cloth make excellent pickles. The inner bark 

 is white, but becomes light yellow and ultimately dark brown 

 upon exposure to the air. It possesses mild cathartic properties, 

 that from the root being especially valued as a safe cathartic. 

 The acrid leaves have been used as a substitute for Spanish flies, 

 Sugar of excellent quality has been made from the sap, and a 

 dye for coloring cloth a yellow or orange color is obtained from 

 the green husks of the fruit and from the bark, and formed the 

 butternut color commonly used in the early history of this coun- 

 try. 



Genus HICORIA. 



Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, with few leaflets. Flowers 

 monoecious, apetalous; the staminate in clustered lateral cat- 

 kins, each cluster on a terminal peduncle; the pistillate two to 

 six together on a terminal peduncle; stigmas two to four, large. 

 Fruit a smooth or angled nut, covered with a four-valved husk, 

 which generally separates at maturity. The leaves of most, if 

 not all, the hickories are aromatic and astringent, and the bark 

 is astringent and bitter. The bark has been successfully used in 

 the treatment of dyspepsia and intermittent fevers and in homeo- 

 pathic practice. The Indians used an oil made from the nuts. 



