158 



THE XUT CULTURIST. 



loose grayish scales ; the young twigs stout, with a gray 

 bark, most noticeable in winter. Fruit large, oval to 

 oblong, usually four-ribbed above the middle, with de- 

 pressions between; husk 

 thick, somewhat spongy, 

 shrinking at maturity, and 

 splitting open from L op down- 

 ward. Nut large, with prom- 

 inent ridges, and strongly 

 pointed, but slightly com- 

 pressed at the sides, as seen 

 in Fig. 47 ; shell thick and of 

 a dull yellowish color ; kernel 

 moderately large, as shown 

 across section of nut in Fig. 

 48, but much smaller in pro- 

 portion to the size of the nut 



FIG. 47. WESTERN 8HELLBARK. 7. ,-, -, . 



than in the two preceding 



species, but ic is sweet, well flavored, and easily removed 

 from the shell when cracked. The very large size of 

 these nuts makes them a favorite, especially where the 

 pecan and the true shellbarks are 

 not plentiful. These nuts were 

 formerly known as the Springfield 

 or Gloucester nut. A very large 

 tree, sixty to eignty feet high, and 

 two to four feet in diameter, with 

 thick, scaly bark, the scales some- 

 what thicker than in tne common 

 shellbark hickory of the Atlantic 

 States. A rare tree, except in the 

 valleys west of the Alleghanies, FIG 

 although it is reported to have 

 been found in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and thence 

 west to southern Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, eastern 

 Kansas, and the Indian Territory. Plentiful in the 



SECTION WEST . 



ERX SHELLBARK. 



