746 



HICKORY -NUT 



Leaming.-Uo. A large nut of fine Havor and exeellent craok- 

 ing quality, the kernel coming out in unbroken^halves. 



Meriden. — Conn. Large, ol.lnng, -^.-.'..i. 



and of good quality: shell rathei- tlii 



Milford.—Mnii^. A compressed ovate nut, medium to largo 

 in size, with large, plump kernel of excellent quality: cracks 

 well: one of the best nuts yet brought to notice. Fig. 1050. 



(impressed: kernel large 

 k, but cracks well. Fig, 



1060. FoliaR^e and pistillate flowers of Hicoria Pecan. 



Rice.— Ohio. Angular, ovate, medium to hirge in size: kernel 

 plump, bright and of fine quality: shell thin and of good crack- 

 ing quality: tree regularly produ*dive. 



Woodbourne. — Pa. LouK.compresspd ovate, large and smontli : 

 kernel tender and of very liigli quality: shell rather thick, but 

 crju-ks well. 



i^iONUT: Of the somewhat numerous sweet-flavored forms 

 found in this species, the tollnwing <<uf ;i.t least lias been deemed 

 worthy of perpetiuilioit bfi-anse ul' its delicate rta\T)r, tliin shell 

 and excellent cracking quality. 



Bracki'lt. — Iowa. Roundish compressed, sinontli :ind of ii^rny- 

 ish color, medium to large in si/.e: kc 

 delic'te flavor: shell very thin, a,nd ca.s 



■ncl plnnip, sweet and u 



ily freed from the kernel 



Wm. a. Taylok. 



HICORIA (from its aboriiLcina! name) Syn., Cih-i/a. 

 J ut/landdcem. Hickory. Hardy ornamental trees, with 

 rather large, deciduous odd-pinnate Ivs.. small tureen 

 isli rts.,the staminate ones in conspicuous pendulous 

 racemes, and with rather large, green, deliiscent friiits 



HICORIA 



enclosing a mostly edible nut. The Hickories are 

 amoDfr the most beautiful and most useful trees of the 

 American forest, and are all very ornamental park trees, 

 with a straij^ht, sometimes high and slender trunk and 

 a large, graceful, pyramidal or oblong head of generally 

 light green foliage, turning from yellow to orange or 

 orange-brown in fall. They are hardy North except i/". 

 Pecan, aquatica and mynsticceformis, but II. Pecan 

 thrives rarely in Massachusetts in sheltered positions. 

 Most of the species have heavy, hard, strong and tuugh 

 wood, much valued for many purposes, especially for 

 handles of tools, manufacture of carriages an<l wagons, 

 also for making baskets and for fuel. The nuts of some 

 species, as //. Pecan and K. ovafa, also //. laclniata and 

 some varieties of U. glabra and R. alba are edihle, and 

 are sold in large quantities, mostly gathered from the 

 woods, though in later years orchards of improved va- 

 rieties have been planted. A large number of insects 

 prey upon the Hickory, attacking the wood, foliage and 

 fr., for which see the Fifth Ann. Rep. of the U. S. 

 Entom. Com., p. 28.'!i-329. There are also some fungi, 

 causing sometimes an early defoliation of the trees. 



The Hickories generally grow best in rich, moist soil, 

 but some, especially H. glabra, R. alba and H. 

 ovala, grow equally well in drier localities. They are 

 of rather slow growth, and difficult to transplant if taken 

 from the woods; therefore the seeds are often planted 

 where the trees are to stand, but if grown in the nur- 

 sery and transplanted several times when 

 young, trees 6-10 ft. high may be transplanted 

 successfully. Prop, usually by seeds stratified 

 and sown in spring in rows about 3 in. deep; 

 named varieties may be grafted in .spring in 

 the greenhouse, on potted stock of R. minima, 

 which seems to be the best species for this pur- 

 pose, veneer- or splice-grafting being usually 

 emploved ; sometimes also increased by root- 

 gprouts. For futber horticultural advice, see Hlckory- 

 nnt and Pecan. 



There are about 10 species of Hickory, all in E. N. 

 America from Canada to Mexico. Branches with solid 

 pith: Ivs. alternate, without stipules, with 3-17 serrate 

 Ifts. : lis. mona'cious, apetalous, appearing with the Ivs. ; 

 staminate Hs. in axillary, slender, pendulous catkins, each 

 fl. with 3-10 stamens, borne in the axil of a 3-lobed 

 bract; pistillate fls. in a terminal, 2-10-fid. cluster or 

 spike, consisting of a 1-celled ovary enclosed by a 4- 

 lobed involucre: fr. globular to oblong, with a husk 

 separating into 4 valves and a bony nut, incompletely 

 2-1-celled. See also Rep. Missouri Bot. i^ard. 7, p.28- 

 42, pi. 1-23. and Rep, of U. S. Dept. of Agric. Oiv. 

 of Poraol. Nut-Culture (I89fi), cited below as U.S.N.C 

 (the first number referring to the plate, the second and 

 third to the figure). 



A. Scales of buds valvate, 4-6 : fr. with winged siUurei!; 

 nut usuallij thin-shelled : Ifts. 7-2S, usualhj falcate. 



B. Nut wosfhj elongated, almost terete: hiisk thin, 

 splitting to the base: kernel stveet. 



Pec6,n, Britt. {Cclrya olivwformis, Nutt.). Pecan. 

 Fig. lOGO. Tall tree, to 170 ft., with the branches pubes- 

 cent when young : bark deeply 

 furrowed, grayi.sh brown: Ifts. 

 11-17, short - stalked, oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, serrate 

 or doubly serrate, tomentose 

 and glandular when young, usu- 

 ally glabrous at len.g-th, 4-7 in. 

 hjng: staminate catkins almost 

 sessile : fr. 3-10 in clusters or 

 spikes, oblong, 1^2-3 V^ in. long; 

 nut ovoid or oblong, smooth, 

 brown, irregularly marked with 

 dark brown, 2-celled at the 

 itase; kernel sweet. Prom Iowa 

 ;ind Ind. south to Alab. and 

 Tex.; also in Mexico. S.S. 7: 

 3;{8-39. A. (-J. 12:273-75. U. S. 

 N.C. 1,8, 9. -This species is the most important as a 

 fruit tree, an i many named varieties are cultivated in 

 the southern states, but it is tender North. The wood 

 Is less valuable than that of the other species. Hy- 

 brids of this species are known with R. minima, alba 



1061. One form of Pignut 

 — H. glabra. 



Natural size. 



