The Walnuts and the Hickories 



Flowers: staminate in catkins, 3 to 4 inches long, brownish pubes- 

 cent, densely flowered, in threes; pistillate terminal, greenish, 

 solitary or few, scurfy pubescent. Fruit small, with sweet kernel, 

 in very thick shell, smooth, rounded, pointed at both ends, in thin, 

 scurfy, hairy, 4-valved husk, with winged sutures that open almost 

 to base at maturity. Preferred habitat, rich, moist soil of swamps, 

 or river banks; sometimes dryer hillsides. Distribution, coast 

 regions of South Carolina, central Carolina, central Alabama and 

 Mississippi, southern Arkansas. Uses: Cultivated sparingly in 

 Eastern States. Beautiful ornamental tree. Locally used as 

 fuel and lumber. 



It is the lustrous foliage that makes this tree the most beauti- 

 ful of all the hickories. The deep, perpendicular roots that make 

 transplanting a difficult matter among all the hickories have prob- 

 ably kept this one from the full recognition it deserves at the hands 

 of nurserymen and planters. Its narrow range in sections that 

 do not lack beautiful trees is another cause. In fact, the tree 

 itself was not really discovered by a competent observer until 

 1890, although the nuts were seen by Michaux as early as 1802. 

 The tree is rare in the Southeast, but is common in southern 

 Arkansas. The fine specimen in the garden of the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington proves its hardiness in that latitude, 

 and brings its good qualities to the attention of the public. 



Since we have all the hickories here in our Eastern States, it 

 certainly behooves us to foster them, and share them with the 

 rest of the world. The first step is to learn how best to propagate 

 and transplant the various species. The next is to plant them 

 freely, and so set forth their superior merits to all who see these 

 plantations. There are few species which do not repay the cost 

 in returns substantial as well as aesthetic. Hickory nuts and lum- 

 ber are in constant demand, so each year adds to the value of the 

 trees. 



Pecan {Hicoria Pecan, Britt.) Large, thick-trunked tree 

 with broad top; 100 to 170 feet high, 4 to 6 feet in diameter at 

 base. Bark light reddish brown, broken into small, scaly plates; 

 branches smooth, twigs pubescent, with orange-coloured lenticels. 

 IVood light brown, compact, heavy, hard, not strong. Buds small, 

 yellow, pointed, pubescent, with narrow scales that elongate 

 slightly in spring. Leaves 12 to 20 inches long, of 9 to 17 leaflets, 

 short petioled, often falcate, lanceolate, serrate, bright yellow- 



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