258 F, H. Herrich — Abnormal Hickory Nuts, 



Art. XXXY. — Abnormal Hickory Nuts ; by Francis 

 HoBART Herrick. With Plate Y. 



There are preserved in the collections of the Kirtland 

 Society of Natural Science, now incorporated with those of 

 Adelbert College of Western Reserve University, two speci- 

 mens of abnormal hickory nuts of a unique and singular char- 

 acter. They have never been described, but were always 

 regarded with the greatest interest by the pioneer naturalist of 

 the Western Keserve, the late Dr. Jared P. Kirtland. The 

 nuts were kept in a glass case which bore a label neatly written 

 by Dr. Kirtland, giving the only history of them which has 

 been preserved. 



This label reads as follows : "D. G. Streator, M.D., collected 

 in autumn last (1875) a quart of these nuts, under a hickory 

 tree, overspread by a larger black oak, in the town of Wind- 

 ham, Portage Co., Ohio. Externally they resembled hickory 

 nuts, but internally each contained a perfectly formed acorn, 

 stem, and excessively bitter meat, like the numerous acorns of 

 the black oak." 



"The specimens and foregoing facts were furnished me by 

 T. Garlick, M.D. Both he and Dr. Streator are residents of 

 Bedford, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio." 



The persons mentioned by Dr. Kirtland are dead, and there 

 is probably no one now alive who could throw any light from 

 personal knowledge upon the statement just quoted. 



It seemed to me that a careful analysis of the structure of 

 these nuts might prove of interest. Accordingly I have studied 

 their histological structure, and compared it with that of the 

 normal hickory nut, and incidentally with that of the acorn.* 



The general appearance of the two nuts is very similar from 

 without, and when cracked open they show an inclosed acorn- 

 like nut, as is well shown in the photograph (fig. 1, a-e^ Plate Y). 

 The outer husk or exocarp is not preserved, so that nothing is 

 known of its appearance. The endocarp or nut proper of the 

 abnormal specimens consists of a thick and very dense outer 

 shell, which is moulded upon a smaller inner nut. This inner 

 nut resembles an acorn in form, and is attached to a distinct 

 stem (fig. 1, a) which separates readily from the rest of the 

 nut. The stem is fastened to the acorn-like body by an 

 expanded cup-shaped end, which recalls the cupule of the oak. 

 The wall is less dense over the area of attachment than in the 

 other parts of the nut, forming a circular hilum which resem- 

 bles that of an acorn. These facts are illustrated by fig. 1, 



* I am much indebted to my colleague, Professor H. P. Gushing, for the skillful 

 preparation of thin sections of all the nuts examined. 



