requisite amount of sunlight. It will not thrive in a hard clay soil, 

 or in pure sand, or where a layer of hardpan lies near the surface. 



It is intolerant of shade and does well only in the open or when 

 surrounded by other trees which only slightly obstruct the light. 

 When overshadowed, it grows very slowly. Under right conditions 

 the rate of growth is fairly rapid, comparing favorably with that of 

 white oak. 



The tree is subject to the attacks of fungi, which do considerable 

 damage to the leaves and twigs, and numerous insects feed upon it. 

 In recent years a large number of trees have been attacked by the 

 hickory bark beetle, which in some sections has killed nearly all of 

 them. The tree is valuable enough, however, to be worth planting 

 in spite of these dangers. 



ECONOMIC USES. 



The wood is heavy, hard, very strong, tough, flexible, but not 

 durable in contact with the soil. It is used extensively in the manu- 

 facture of carriages and agricultural implements, and for ax and 

 tool handles. There is, in consequence, a good demand for the lum- 

 ber, at a high price. Second-growth hickory, or that which is largely 

 sapwood, is especially esteemed. The wood of the young sprouts is 

 used in making baskets, barrel hoops, and other articles in which 

 flexibility and toughness are required. The wood is also valuable 

 for fuel. 



PROPAGATION. 



Shagbark hickory reproduces itself both from seeds and from 

 sprouts. Natural reproduction by seed, however, is seldom good, 

 because squirrels eat a large percentage of the nuts, or in mixed 

 stands in the forest the light-loving seedlings are suppressed by other 

 species. 



Sprouts from young hickory stumps grow rapidly, and the sprout 

 method of reproduction is advised where an existing plantation or a 

 natural grove of small trees is to be renewed. If good trees are to 

 be produced from stump sprouts, the stumps should be cut low and 

 left smooth and slanting on top. The low stump compels the shoots 

 to start close to the ground, where they can soon form a root system 

 of their own and become self-supporting ; while the slant causes rain 

 to run off, and thus prevents decay. All but two or three of the best 

 sprouts should be removed from each stump at the end of the first 

 season. The sprout method is particularly well adapted to the pro- 

 duction of small-sized material for hoop-poles and carriage stock. 



PLANTING. 



On account of the strong taproot which shagbark hickory develops, 

 the cultivation of seedlings in a nursery is advisable only where nuts 



[Cir. 62] 



