TREES OF AMERICA. 68 



three bitter kinds, besides the pignut, and 

 another that you have not mentioned at all ; 

 the pecan-nut." 



" The pecan, Uncle Philip ! what, that long 

 nut, as big round as a finger, with pointed 

 ends, and a thin smooth shell ? Is that one 

 of the hickories ?" 



" It is one of the walnuts, and the proper 

 name of it is the pecan-nut hickory." 



"Why, Uncle Philip, I thought those pecan- 

 nuts were brought from the West Indies." 



t-7 



" Yes, I know that many people think so ; 

 but instead of that, they are taken to the 

 West Indies from New-Orleans. You must 

 know that it is not common in the Eastern 

 or Atlantic States ; but it is amazingly plenty 

 at the West, all along the Mississippi as far 

 north as Louisville." 



" Did you ever see one of the trees, Uncle 

 Philip T 9 



" Oh yes, a great many ; but there are 

 none about here, that I know of: it is a very 

 beautiful tree, sixty or seventy feet high, and 

 very straight, like the hickories we have; 

 there is one objection though, to its cultiva- 

 tion, and that is its slow growth : there are trees 

 in France that have been planted more than 



