HICKORY. 



(Hicoria or Carya.) 



\The Hickories occur only in the eastern part of North 

 America. They produce woods in which the qualities of 

 toughness, elasticity, and resilience are unusually pronounced,) 

 and since these qualities are greatest in the sapwood, 

 hickories are peculiar in that the sapwood is more valuable 

 than the heart. Second-growth wood is much prized, since, 

 being younger, it contains more of the pliable sapwood.* Most 

 second growth woods are regarded as being inferior to first 

 growth woods because sapwood is usually less desirable. The 

 reputation of American hammers and axes owe much to the 

 qualities of their hickory handles. 



Hickory is not durable when exposed and is more or less 

 subject to attack by boring-insects. It is used for implements, 

 machinery, carriages, and the like; hickory axe-helves have 

 no superiors. The nuts of the shagbark or white hickory are 

 a source of considerable profit. The pecan (Hicoria pecan) 

 affords wood so inferior as to be little used in construction, 

 although it makes an excellent fuel. } Pecans are planted in 

 many of the Southern States because of the nuts, for which a 

 considerable demand exists. 



The Hickories are known by their nuts, the husks or pods 

 of which loosen completely from the nut in four pieces, instead 

 of adhering unbroken as in the case of the walnuts. The nine 

 species are American trees, eight of them being natives of the 

 United States. Carya was the Greek name of the common 

 walnut. Hickory is said to be derived from the Indian 

 powcokicora, a liquor once obtained from the nuts of the 

 hickory. 



* See Second -growth Ash. 



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