346 



tance to the southerly. Just as this last branch forks, 

 the one to the right (easterly) as you go northeasterly, 

 you will find this hickory. It is a medium sized tree and 

 stands just beyond a sugar maple. You can pick it out 

 at once by its compound leaves made up of five and 

 seven leaflets. The leaflets are long pointed, finely ser- 

 rated and rather lance oblong in form. They are quite 

 smooth and rather glandular beneath. This tree, on 

 account of its bark, which is often shaggy, has been 

 called the false shagbark. But its winter buds are very 

 different from the shagbark's, being small and ovate, 

 while those of the shagbark are fairly large, with 

 strong, blackish outer scales, very pubescent on both 

 the entire bud and the end twigs. The fruit of the 

 microcarpa usually splits only about half way down the 

 husk. As I have said before, the winter buds have a 

 story of their own, in the identification of the trees. 

 Learn to read their story. Especially interesting is it 

 in the oaks and hickories. The bud of the shagbark 

 has distinct, almost blackish, outer scales, which run 

 out into what appear to be small snail-like horns as you 

 see them against the winter's sky. The pignut proper 

 has egg-shaped buds, rather pointed, of a smooth red- 

 dish brown, not having the conspicuous outer black 

 scales of the shagbark. The buds of the microcarpa are 

 small and roundish. So you can distinguish these hick- 

 ories by the buds alone. The shaggy, ragged bark of 

 the shagbark is of itself quite enough to identify this 

 tree, when noted, but between the pignut and the micro- 

 carpa it is sometimes confusing to discriminate. If it is 

 winter, look at the buds ; if summer, the leaves. The 



