iI5ut J0eartng %xtt& 



WHAT memories of chestnutting parties, 

 of fingers stained with the dye of wal- 

 nut hulls, and of joyous tramps afield 

 in the very heart of the year, come to many 

 of us when we think of the nuts of familiar 

 knowledge! Hickory -nuts and butternuts, too, 

 perhaps hazelnuts and even beechnuts — all 

 these American boys and girls of the real 

 country know. In the far South, and, indeed, 

 reaching well up into the Middle West, the 

 pecan holds sway, and a majestic sway at that, 

 for its size makes it the fellow of the great 

 trees of the forest, worthy to be compared with 

 the chestnut, the walnut, and the hickory. 



But it has usually been of nuts to eat that 

 we have thought, and the chance for palatable 

 food has, just as with some of the best of the 

 so-called "fruit" trees — all trees bear fruit! — 

 partially closed our eyes to the interest and 

 beauty of some of these nut -bearers. 



159 



