AMERICAN AGRlOftLftfJUST 
167 
NOTES ON SOME SPECIES OF HICKORY. 
BY THOS. MEHAN, GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA. 
I was so much interested in some remarks 
you made in your magazine last fall on 
“ our neglected American trees,” that I 
could not resist the temptation of troubling 
you with a note in relation to Celtis occident- 
alis. Beyond the “ neglected,” as you have 
them enumerated, the hickories may also be 
mentioned, as especially worthy of note in 
both an utilitarian and ornamental point of 
view, and, with your permission, I beg to 
draw attention to them ; at least so far as to 
those with which I am well acquainted. 
In Pennsylvanian forests the first change 
of color which give them such an interest¬ 
ing appearance in the fall, is due to the hick¬ 
ories. Long before the sassafras appears in 
its variegating hues, the hickories are bril¬ 
liant with every shade of yellow and orange. 
The first white frost, or unseasonably cold 
night, changes their dark green hue in a few 
hours. The depth of shade varies with the 
species. Some kinds fade as pale as a tulip 
tree ; others have frequently the deep scarlet 
hue, which often gives such a richness to the 
orange of the sugar maple. 
That they have not hitherto received any 
attention from the landscape gardener, in his 
efforts to improve country residences, is 
probably not because he has been insensible 
to the beauties they are capable of enabling 
him to effect in his operations, as on account 
of their never being found in a nurseryman’s 
collection ; from whence it is almost indis¬ 
pensable for him to procure his materials. 
And why are they not kept on hand by the 
nurseryman? Simply because he is una¬ 
ware that the landscape gardener requires 
them. It is not the business of a nursery¬ 
man to point out beauties ; his duty is to 
supply the demands and wants of his cus¬ 
tomers, for whom he would as soon keep on 
hand a supply of hickories as of any other 
tree. 
There are two other circumstances which 
may in some degree operate against the 
cultivation of hickories ; they are not as 
easily transplanted, nor in many cases do 
they grow so fast as some other trees. A 
hickory, transplanted directly from the woods, 
will very rarely succeed, and it requires a 
warm sun and dry atmosphere to make a 
good summer’s growth. In a cold, humid 
climate, such as England, for instance, with 
even the most careful culture, they can 
scarcely be made to grow; but there are few 
places in the States, where, with about the 
same attention as is bestowed on the mag¬ 
nolia, they may not be made to grow as fast, 
and thrive as well. 
The hickorys (Carya) were classed origi¬ 
nally with the walnuts (Juglans). They 
were separated by Rafinesque under the 
name of Hickories, and subsequently by 
Nattall under the name above given and 
usually adopted. The principal distinction 
resides in the fruit: the walnut having its 
nut inclosed in a somewhat fleshy covering, 
without any opening valves, and the nut it¬ 
self being woody, rough and irregularly fur¬ 
rowed ; while the hickory has its covering 
somewhat leathery, more or less opening by 
valves, and its nut bony and smooth. 
The only kinds that we have about Phila¬ 
delphia are: 1. The common or White 
hickory {C. tomentosa); 2. Shellbark hick¬ 
ory (C. alba)-, 3. Illinois hickory or Peccan 
nut (C. olivceformis)-, 4. Pignut hickory (C. 
porcina or C. glabra of Torrey); 5. Bitternut 
(C. amara); 6. Small Fruited hickory (C. 
microcarpa). 
1. The Common White hickory (C. tomen¬ 
tosa) is the largest growing kind with us, and 
the most valuable for timber, but, in its 
habits and^appearance, the least ornamental. 
The leaves are larger and coarser than any 
other kind, and in the fall have frequently a 
tinge of scarlet mixed with the deep orange 
they always present. The bark of the old 
trees is ususlly cleft with deep fissures, and 
has a very coarse and heavy appearance. It 
is readily distinguished by its fruit, which 
has a very thick covering, often one-quarter 
inch, with the valves opening when ripe half 
way down; the nut itself is very hard, and 
the shell thick, so much so, that it takes a 
very heavy blow to crack them. It seems to 
attain its greatest dimensions in rich wood¬ 
land soils, (that rest on a substratum of 
clay. 
2. Shellbark hickory ( C. alba) does not 
grow as tall as Nos. 1, 3, or 5, but has 
a more spreading habit than any of the rest. 
Indeed, it will occasionally come near ri¬ 
valling in that respect either the British or 
white oaks. The bark often, though not al¬ 
ways, peels off in large flakes, which has 
given rise to its popular name. The leaves 
in the fall turn to a blackish yellow, and are 
not so handsome as most of the others. The 
timber is least valued of the whole tribe; 
though in the matter of its eatable nuts it 
has the preeminence. It is readily distin¬ 
guished by its fruit, which is a little sunk in 
at both ends like an apple, has a thick cover¬ 
ing, which opens all the way down, a nut 
with four angles, and a thin shell, easily 
broken. It seems to grow best in pretty 
much the same situations as the last. 
3. Illinois hickory (C. Olivceformis), a tall 
growing ^species, having at a distance more 
the appearance of an ash than a hickory. 
The fissures in the bark are narrow and close 
together, precisely as in the ash. In the fall 
the leaves with us turn black, and are in no 
ways ornamental. Considerable interest is 
attached to its cultivation through the supe¬ 
rior excellence of its nuts, which, however, 
are only produced in this region. It is readi¬ 
ly distinguished by its fruit, which is long or 
olive shaped, with a thin covering, scarcely 
opening but a little at the apex. The nut 
has a thin shell, frequently marked by faint 
purple lines or dots. It grows well in a dry 
loamy soil, and I have seen good specimens 
in rocky situations and on gravel. 
4. Pignut hickory (C. porcina). A very 
ornamental kind, having more sprayey 
branchlets and more numerously dividing 
branches than the others. It has the smooth¬ 
est bark, with numerous small fissures, of any 
of the tribe. The leaves turn to a rich yellow 
in the fall. It is but a middle-sized tree, but 
the timber is highly valued for its toughness. 
It grows best in rather moist clayey situa¬ 
tions. It is easily distinguished by its fruit, 
which is pear-shaped, and slightly flattened. 
The covering of the nut does not open, or 
but very partially, and is thin. The nut has 
no angles, is a little heart-shaped at the apex, 
and also has a thin shell. 
5. Bitternut (C. amara) is my favorite as 
an ornamental tree. In favorable situations 
it is lofty, often 80 or 90 feet high. I have 
seen it in open situations in rich alluvial 
river bottoms, form a perfect cone. The 
branches, like those of the Pignut, are dense¬ 
ly clothed with fine sprays, and in the fall the 
the leaves turn to rich golden yellow. It is 
very readily distinguished by its fruit, which 
is the smallest of the kinds mentioned. The 
covering is very thin, may almost be said to 
be papery, and opens half way down into four 
divisions, each division tapering to a point. 
The nut also tapers suddenly to a very sharp 
point, has a thin shell, and an intensely bit¬ 
ter kernel. 
6. Small Fruited hickory (C. microcarpa). 
A middle-sized tree, ornamental in its out¬ 
lines, but not equal to the two last. It is 
coarser in its appearance than 4 and 5 ; but 
not near so much so much so as 1 and 2. It 
would be more liable to be mistaken for the 
Pignut, at first sight, than any of the others; 
but is well distinguished by its fruit, which, 
though it varies much in size, is always 
roundish, the covering not opening, and thin, 
the nut slightly four-angled, and thin shelled. 
I have endeavored to describe these so that 
any one may distinguish them, who is inter¬ 
ested in arboriculture, without the use of 
botanical terms, and shall be happy if I have 
succeeded. 
To cultivate themsuccess fully, sow the 
nuts in the fall, or save them in a cool place 
till spring. Cover them an inch deep at 
least. When they are one year old, take 
them up and transplant into nursery rows, 
previously shortening the tap root to en¬ 
courage the productions of laterals. They 
may be successfully transplanted even at 
some years afterwards, if moved at or just 
before the fall of the leaf, and care being 
taken to prevent the few fibers they possess 
from becoming dry in the operation.— Maga¬ 
zine of Horticulture. 
COCKROACH RIDDANCE. 
The Scientific American says—“ Common 
red loafers, scattered about the haunts of cock¬ 
roaches, will often drive away, if not destroy 
them.' 1 ' 1 
These wafers, like candies, are colored 
red by oxide of lead; a most deadly poison, 
and so is the acetate of lead, or sugar of 
lead, as it is sometimes called, on visiting 
cards, which being a little sweetish, has 
been known to destroy young children to 
whom they were handed, to be amused with. 
Fashion for once acts sensibly in discarding 
glazed cards, using instead, Bristol board, 
more pliant, less cumbersome, and really 
more delicate. And while we are speaking 
of one of the pests of housekeepers, it may 
be well to know, 
How to get rid of Rats, old, young, and 
middle aged, with the shortest possible suf¬ 
fering to them, and with small probability of 
their dying in their holes, or other uncome- 
atable places. 
Spread a level teaspoon of flour or corn- 
meal on a chip or small piece of dirty board, 
sprinkle over this half a grain of strychnine; 
it kills the rat before he can get to his nest. 
It would be wrong to let this statement 
pass, in a journal like this, without caution¬ 
ing the reader that strychnine is a fine white 
powder, much like flour, made from the seeds 
of a fruit which looks like an orange, grow¬ 
ing on a moderate sized tree in the East In¬ 
dies, in the Island of Ceylon and neighbor¬ 
ing islands. A sixth of a grain of pure 
strychnine will kill a dog in half a minute. 
One grain, which would easily lie on a three 
cent piece, or even less, may prove fatal to 
a man. Hence the reason for not mixing 
more than half a grain at a time, and by put¬ 
ting it on a chip or dirty board, it would not 
be likely that children would taste it, al¬ 
though the mixture with flour, looks very 
much like white pulverized loaf sugar. As 
it is such a deadly and instantaneous poison, 
no more than half a grain should be pur 
chased at a time ; it should not be allowed 
to pass out of the hands of the head of the 
family for a single moment. The mixture 
should be placed in a room the last thing at 
night, the door locked, the key put in the 
pocket, and removed the first thing in the 
morning, by throwing chips and all into the 
fire, washing the hands well after doing so, 
as also after first mixing it, for a great deal 
less than a grain would kill a man, if it hap 
pened to fall on a sore or cut finger.— Hall's 
Journal of Health. 
“ I have very little respect for the ties o 
this world,” as the chap saidwhen the ropef 
was around his neck. 
