APRIL. 195 



The only kinds that we have about Philadelphia are : — I. 

 The Common or White hickory (C. tomentosa) ; 2. Shellbark 

 hickory (C alba): 3. Illinois hickory or Peccan Nut (C. 

 olivcvformis)] 4, Pigiuit hickory (C porcina or C. glabra 

 of Torrey^ ; 5. Bitternut (C. amara) ; 6. Small Fruited hick- 

 ory (C. microcarpa). 



1. The Common White hickory (C. tomentosa) is the 

 largest growing kind with us, and the most valuable for tim- 

 ber, but, in its habits and appearance, the least ornamental. 

 The leaves are larger and coarser than any other kind, and in 

 the fall have frequently a tinge of scarlet mixed with the deep 

 orange they always present. The bark of the old trees is 

 usually cleft with deep fissures, and has a very coarse and 

 heavy appearance. It is readily distinguished by its fruit, 

 which has a very thick covering, often one-quarter inch, with 

 the valves opening when ripe half way down ; the nut itself 

 is very hard, and the shell thick, so much so, that it takes a 

 very heavy blow to crack them. It seems to attain its great- 

 est dimensions in rich woodland soils, that rest on a substra- 

 tum of clay. 



2. Shellbark hickory (C. alba) does not grow as tall as 

 Nos. 1, 3, or 5, but has a more spreading habit than any of 

 the rest. Indeed, it will occasionally come near rivalling in 

 that respect either the British or white oaks. The bark ofteii, 

 though not always, peels off in large flakes, which has given 

 rise to its popular name. The leaves in the fall turn to a 

 blackish yellow, and are not so handsome as most of the 

 others. The timber is least valued of the whole tribe ; though 

 in the matter of its eatable nuts, it has the preeminence. It is 

 readily distinguished by its fruit, which is a little sunk in at 

 both ends like an apple, has a thick covering, which opens all 

 the way doion, a nut with, four angles, and a thin shell, easily 

 broken. It seems to grow best in pretty much the same sit- 

 uations as the last. 



3. Illinois hickory (C. olivcpfbrmis), a tall growing species, 

 having at a distance more the appearance of an ash than a 

 hickory. The fissures in the bark are narrow and close to- 

 gether, precisely as in the ash. In the fall the leaves with us 



