SHELLBARK HICKORY. 
81 
peculiarity in its appearance, and that by which it is most easily distin- 
guished, is the surface of the trunk. The exterior bark is divided into a 
great number of long, narrow plates, which bend outward at the ends, 
and adhere only in the middle. Bristling in this manner with projecting 
points, the Shellbark Hickory attracts the attention of the most careless 
observer. This remarkable exfoliation of the epidermis takes place only 
in trees which exceed 10 inches in diameter, though it is much earlier in- 
dicated by seams. This characteristic, by wTich the tree may be recog-' 
nised in winter when stript of its leaves, does not exist during the 7 or 8 
first years of its growth; and during this period, it may easily be confounded 
with the Mockernut Hickory and Pignut Hickory, if recourse is not had 
to the buds. In these two species, and generally in all trees, the buds are 
formed of scales closely applied one upon another; in the species which 
we are considering, the two external scales adhere for only half the length 
of the bud, and leave the upper part uncovered. It is my opinion, that 
in this disposition of the scales, which is peculiar to this and the following 
species, should be sought the origin of the exfoliation of the bark. 
When the sap begins to ascend in the spring, the outer scales fall, and the 
inner ones swell and become covered with a yellowish silky down : after 
a fortnight, the buds, which are already 2 inches long, open and give birth 
to the young leaves. The growth of the leaves p,ré so rapid, that in a 
month they attain their full length, which on young and vigorous trees is 
sometimes 20 inches. They consist of 2 pair of leaflets with a sessile odd 
one. The leaflets are very large, oval-acuminate, serrate, and slightly 
downy underneath. The male flowers, w^hich in the State of New York 
appear from the 15th to the 20th of May, are disposed as in the preceding 
species, on long, glabrous, filiform, pendulous aments, of which three are 
united on a common peduncle, attached at the base of the young shoots ; 
the female flowers, of a greenish hue, and scarcely apparent, are situated 
at the extremity. The fruit of the Shellbark Hickory is ripe about the be- 
ginning of October. Some years it is so abundant, that several bushels 
may be gathered from a single tree. It varies in size, according to the soil 
and the exposure in which it is produced, but 5J inches may be assumed 
as the average of its circumference. The shape is uniformly round, with 
four depressed seams, in which the husk opens at the season of perfect 
maturity, dividing itself completely into equal sections. The entire sepa- 
ration of the husk, and its thickness disproportioned to the size of the nut, 
form a character peculiar to the Shellbark Hickories. The nuts of this 
species are small, white, compressed at the sides, and marked by four dis- 
tinct angles, which correspond to the divisions of the husk. 
The Shellbark nut contains a fuller and sweeter kernel than any American 
Walnut, except the Pecannut. The shell, though thin, must be cracked 
before being brought upon the table, as it is too hard to be crushed in the 
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