CHAPTER FOURTEEN 



HICKORY AND WALNUT 



THE seeds of all the trees 

 we have studied up to this 

 time are light and are dis- 

 persed by the wind. The 

 fruits of nut-bearing trees are 

 too heavy to be distributed 

 in this way. They may roll 

 down a hillside, be borne 

 along by currents of water, 

 or be carried by animals and 

 dropped where they will 

 grow. The kernel of a nut 

 contains a store of food for 

 the young plant, and the 

 hard shell and bitter cover- 

 ing help to protect the little 

 plant and its food supply 

 from animals that might 

 otherwise devour them. How 

 are chestnuts protected while they are growing? 



Hickories. In the fall hickory trees are easily recog- 

 nized by their nuts. How many kinds of hickory nuts 

 do you know? If you live in a region where hickories 

 flourish, you can probably find five or more species 

 within a mile or two of your home. Big shellbark, 

 small shellbark, mockernut, bitternut, pignut, and pecan 

 are hickories. They differ with respect to leaves, buds, 

 and bark as well as in their fruits. .Hickories all have 

 compound leaves, which means that each leaf consists 



89 



U. S. Forest Service 



FIG. 52. Lone hickory neai; Edge- 

 wood, Maryland. 



