Issued January 19, 1907. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



FOREST SERVICE Circular 62. 



GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester. 



FOREST PLANTING LEAFLET. 



SHAGBARK HICKORY (Hicoria ovata). 



FORM AND SIZE. 



The shagbark hickory is a forest tree which commonly attains a 

 height of TO to 80 feet and a diameter of about 2 feet. Under favor- 

 able conditions, a height of 120 feet and a diameter of 4 feet is 

 reached. When grown free the stem often branches near the base 

 and the crown becomes full, though it always remains narrow ; in the 

 forest, the crown is short and small, while the stem frequently has a 

 clear length of from 50 to 60 feet. 



The characteristic feature of the shagbark hickory, from which it 

 gets its name, first appears in the older trees in the long, loose plates 

 or strips of bark which are produced on the trunks. On young trees 

 the bark is very smooth and close. 



RANGE. 



The natural range of shagbark hickory is from southern Maine 

 west through southern Michigan to eastern Kansas, Nebraska, and 

 Texas, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to Florida, Ala- 

 bama, and Mississippi. It reaches its best development on the west- 

 ern slopes of the Appalachians and in the regions drained by the 

 tributaries of the Ohio Eiver. 



The shagbark hickory is generally found in mixture with other 

 trees, although pure stands are not rare. Its principal associates, 

 besides other hickories, are the oaks, maples, and ashes, chestnut, 

 basswood, and yellow poplar. 



The tree is recommended for planting on good soil in the valley of 

 the Ohio River and along its tributaries in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

 Kentucky, and Tennessee, and on fertile hillsides of the Appalachian 

 Mountains. 



SILVICAL QUALITIES. 



Shagbark hickory grows best in a deep, rich, moist loam. It does 

 well in other moderately rich soils which permit the taproot to pene- 

 trate to a moist subsoil, and in the Middle States makes good growth 

 in comparatively well-drained situations wherever it can get the 



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