THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES 



inches long and i inch broad and have a thin red- 

 brown shell and a sweet-flavoured reddish-brown 

 kernel. They are borne in clusters of from three to 

 twelve, each is contained within a thin, brittle, dark 

 brown, 4-angled husk which is coated with yellow hairs 

 and when ripe splits nearly to the base. The next in 

 importance is the Shagbark Hickory (C. ovata) which 

 is distinguished by its thin-shelled nut, its leaves 

 of five, rarely seven, leaflets, its scaly bark, and other 

 less obvious characters. It is a Northern tree being 

 distributed from the neighbourhood of Montreal and 

 southern Minnesota southward to the Carolinas, east 

 central Mississippi, southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and 

 eastern Texas, where it is rare. It is common in the 

 New England and other Northern states and in Liv- 

 ingston County, western New York, a natural hybrid 

 between it and the Kingnut (C. laciniosa) named C. 

 Dunbarii occurs. There are several varieties of the 

 Shagbark distinguished by the shape of their leaves 

 or fruit. In the typical form the fruit is short-oblong 

 to sub-globose and depressed at the apex. There are 

 a number of named selected forms of this Hickory 

 valued for the size and quality of their nuts. Of 

 much potential value is C Laneyi a natural hybrid 

 between the Bitternut C. cordiformis and C ovata. 

 It has a nut with the thin shell of the Bitternut 

 and the large, sweet kernel of the Shagbark Hickory 



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