HICKOKY NUTS. 177 



received from him being dated Dec. 13, 1887. In one 

 of his letters he said that he had raised a large number 

 of seedlings from this supposed hybrid, and if these are 

 still alive they would be of much scientific interest, espe- 

 cially if any of them showed the distinct characteristics 

 of either of the supposed parents. 



It would certainly be a pity to have such a remark- 

 able nut lost to the world, because if propagated by 

 grafting or by any other mode to insure perpetuating its 

 varietal characteristics, its value could scarcely be esti- 

 mated. The nuts are as thin-shelled as the common 

 pecan, the kernel sweet and good, and in addition, the 

 tree is a native of a northern State, and would, no 

 doubt, prove as hardy as our common shellbark hickories. 



THE FLOYD PECAN. This is another supposed-to- 

 be hybrid, and of the same species of hickory as the 

 last ; but the one nut which I received differed from 

 the Nussbaumer by being somewhat larger, and the shell 

 with more prominent ridges and a little thicker. It 

 was said to have been found somewhere in southern In- 

 diana by a Mr. Floyd, who, believing it to be of great 

 value, refused to give any information likely to aid any 

 one else to locate the original tree, neither would he 

 part with any of the nuts except the one specimen which 

 eventually came into my hands. Of course all horticul- 

 turists know that seedlings raised from such freaks 

 among nut trees are far too uncertain to be of much 

 value, but ignorance in such matters often leads the 

 possessor of an article slightly differing from the ordi- 

 nary to permit his imagination to warp his good sense. 



Cultivation of the Hickories. The hickories 

 have been so seldom planted in our Northern States for 

 any purpose, that anything like a systematic cultivation 

 of these trees is a thing almost unknown. Of course 

 there is no good reason why the hickories should not be 

 multiplied and cultivated as well as other kinds of trees, 

 12 



