i68 THE TREE BOOK 



green, and so unobtrusive that you may never 

 see them at all unless you look closely. Most 

 of the smooth-bark hickories, such as the swamp 

 hickory and the pignut, have very bitter nuts 

 which are highly prized by pigs and the wild 

 animals of the woodland. 



The hickories are slow-growing trees. Their 

 wood is hard and tough and strong as wrought 

 iron. Even the youngest fibers are like threads 

 of steel, as many a lad has discovered when he 

 sought to break a hickory branch for a fish pole. 

 Hickory is not an ornamental wood, but wher- 

 ever strength and suppleness is needed it is just 

 the thing to choose. It is a favorite for making 

 parts of carriages, for agricultural implements, 

 and for the handles of pitchforks and axes. 



