64 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



The Hickory Nut. Carya alba. (Plate Y. fig. 24.) 



The produce of one of the finest forest-trees of North 

 America. The nut is smaller than a walnut : the shell very 

 smooth and light-coloured or whitish ; it is marked longitu- 

 dinally with three or four ridges or sharp angular keels ; it is 

 extremely hard ; the kernel closely resembles the walnut in 

 appearance. The wood of the tree is much valued for its 

 toughness, lightness, and elasticity. The nuts are imported 

 only in very small parcels. 



The Peccan Nut. Carya oliv^eformis, (Plate Y. fig. 23.) 



This, as its name implies, is an olive-shaped nut ; it is 

 also about the size of an olive, but longer and narrower; 

 its colour is a light reddish-brown, and the shell is not so 

 hard as that of the hickory nut ; the kernel is very similar 

 in flavour to the walnut and hickory ; they are not imported 

 in large quantities. One or two other species of the walnut 

 tribe are occasionally imported, such as the Butter Nut 

 [Juglans cinerea) from Canada — a true walnut, — and the 

 Hog Nut [Carya porcina) ; they are however of very rare 

 occurrence. 



The Chestnut. Castanea vesca, (Nat. Ord. Cory lace ce.) 

 This well-known fruit, though a native of Britain and 

 other temperate parts of Europe, does not bring its fruit to 



