HICKORY -NUT 



growing species at best, tliey should not 

 be planted on other thuu fertile soil. The 

 Shellbark is native to river bottoms, and 

 requires richer land than the others, which 

 endure a rather wide range of soil charac- 

 teristics, provided there is sufficient depth 

 and good drainage. Deep, well-drained, 

 fertile loams, either of sandy or clayey 

 nature, are acceptable to all the species. 



Propagation. —All the species are propa- 

 gated by seed. Planting is frequently done 

 in autumn, but, to lessen the destruction 

 by rodents, is more safely done in early 

 spring. In such case the freshly gathered 

 nuts, after removal from the hulls, should 

 be stored in slightly dampened sand dur- 

 ing the winter, or stratified, as other tree 

 seeds. Uniformity of growth is promoted 

 by planting nuts where trees are to stand, 

 as the transplanting process in ordinary 

 seasons is accompanied by a considerable 

 loss. If trees must be transplanted, it is 

 probably best to transplant annually in 

 nursery rows, in rich soil, to promote 

 growth of fibrous roots and to lessen the 

 shock of final transplantation to the per- 

 manent location. 



The propagation of the Hickories by 

 budding and grafting is exceedingly diffi- 

 cult, even the most experienced propaga- 

 tors of woody plants failing to secure more 

 than a small percentage of success. Most 

 growers favor cleft crown-grafting in the 

 spring, on established stocks of the same 

 species. The operation is performed just 

 as stocks are starting into growth, using 

 dormant cions with terminal buds and 

 moundingup to thetop bud with fine earth. 

 As the stocks are in condition only for a 

 few days, the process is uncertain and ex- 

 pensive. 



One of the most successful propagators 

 of woody plants, Jackson Dawson, of 

 Arnold Arboretum, recommends the use 

 of the Bitternut {H, minima) as a stock, 

 growing seedlings in boxes 4 in. deep for 

 one or two years, until of sufficient size 

 for grafting. Under this plan the seed- 

 lings should be transferred to pots in the 

 autumn and taken into the greenhouse 

 about January 1. He advises side-grafting 

 these close to the collar. As soon as the 

 roots begin to start, the grafted trees in 

 pots must be plunged in sphagnum to the 

 top bud and left until March to callusf 

 Root-grafting, as commonly practiced, has 

 rarely been found to succeed. 



One promising method of root-propaga- 

 tion suggested by Fuller consists in the 

 "turning up or exposing at the surface of 

 the ground of side roots, severed from the 

 parent tree." Their lower extremities are 

 left in place for one or two seasons, until 

 a distinct top has been formed through 

 the agency of adventitious buds on the ex- 

 posed portions. Though a slow and ex- 

 pensive process, this is probably more cer- 

 tain than any other method yet developed. 

 In some instances, where the tops of trees 

 have been killed, the varieties have been 

 perpetuated through this practice by 

 promptly turning up and staking roots 

 that were yet alive. 



Planting should be done in autumn, or 

 as early in spring as the ground can safely 

 be worked. An abundance of rich soil 

 should be used in the holes, as much of 

 the success in transplanting depends upon 

 a prompt and vigorous root-growth. If 

 clean cultivation cannot be practiced, a 

 heavy mulch should be applied, and be 

 maintained for several years, until the 

 tree is well established. After this, little 



HICKORY -NUT 



745 



1059. Forms of Hicoria ovata. 

 1. Ovate form. 2. Long-ovate 

 form. 6. 6a. Mfriden. V.Jack- 

 son. 8,8a. Milford. Nat. size. 



care is needed, except to guard against 

 the attacks of leaf-eating insects. 



Production and i/se. — Large quantities 

 of Shagbarks are consumed in our cities, 

 but the supply is mainly from the forests. 

 In some sections, choice second-growth 

 trees have been preserved along fences 

 and roadsides, and these are usually 

 found to yield larger crops and finer nuts 

 than the forest trees. In portions of south- 

 eastern Pennsylvania there is a large pro- 

 duction of nuts from such trees. In that 

 section the nuts are marketed in the form 

 of kernels free from shells, for use by 

 confectioners and bakers. The cracking of 

 the nuts is done by women and children on 

 the farms, this work constituting a do- 

 mestic industry of some importance at cer- 

 tain seasons. As the use of Shagbarks in 

 cooking is apparently increasing, it is im- 

 portantthat trees oearing choice nuts shall 

 be preserved and cared for. The charac- 

 teristics that determine 

 commercial value are : 

 first, cracking quality ; 

 second,thinness of shell; 

 third, size; fourth, 

 plumpness and flavor of 

 kernel; fifth, productive- 

 ness. 



Numerous apparently 

 natural Hickory hybrids 

 have been brought to 

 notice, but those thus 

 far discovered have 

 given little evidence of 

 cultural value. The most 

 important are the Nuss- 

 baumer and McCallister nuts, which are 

 described under Pecan. 



V^arietieti. — lu consequence of the diffi- 

 culty with which the Hickories are propa- 

 gated by budding and grafting, few nur- 

 series offer other than seedling trees. 

 Several choice varieties of Shagbark have 

 been described and named because of 

 desirable characteristics, however, and 

 several of these have been propagated 

 in a small way by crown-grafting on estab- 

 lished trees. Grafted trees of one vari- 

 ety, the Hales, can be obtained in small 

 numbers at one or two nurseries. No va- 

 rieties of the Shellbark have been offered 

 by nurserymen. The illustrations {Fig. 

 1059) are adapted from the Nut-Gulture 

 Bulletin of the U. S. Dept. of Agric. 



The more important varieties are the 

 following: 



Shagbark: Curd's.— Conn. A smooth nut 

 of medium size, slightly compressed: kernel 

 plump, light in color and of good quality: shell 

 thin: cracking quality good. 



Dover.— Pa. A medium-sized angular nut. 

 rather broad at the base, but having a long and 

 sharp basal point: shell moderately thin; crack- 

 ing quality good: quality good. 



Sliot.— Conn. Of medium size, compressed, 

 angular, ovate, with prominent tip : kernel 

 plump: flavor mild and pleasant: shell thin; 

 cracking quality good. 



Hales (Hale's Papershell) . — N. J. Large, 

 quadrangular, slightly compressed, with a pe- 

 culiar wavy surface: kernel rather deeply cor- 

 rugated, but plump and of good quality, re- 

 tainins its sweetness for two years or more : 

 shell thin and of fair cracking quality. The 

 Hales nut is the first named variety of Hickory, 

 having been described and illustrated by A. S. 

 Fuller in "The Rural New-Yorker'' in 1870. 

 It is probably the only sort now oi»tainable at 

 the nurseries. The original tree bears a fair 

 crop annually, and numerous younger trees 

 grafted from it are now in bearing. 



Jacksoii.— Ohio. A compressed oval nut of 

 large size: kernel large, plump, and of excellent 

 qualitv: shell thin; cracking quality medium. 

 Fig. 1059. 



