The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-02-23
Hickory Nuts.


"You have no idea" a Washington
street dealer said, "of the great differ
ences in hickory nuts, or how hard it is
to keep regular ne of them. Some
| of our customers who have passed their
early days in the country are very good
judges of hickory nuts, and they want
them Just so. If they don't get them,
down they come, and then there is war.
There are many individual kinds, al
though | believe there are only four
general classes. The difficulty is that
two trees of the same class may not bear
equally good nuts. Take, for instance,
the shellbarl nuts, which are by far the
best, bringing the highest price. The
shells in some instances are rs thin as
paper, and in others as thick as some of
the nuts belonging TO the other classes,
and to judge there is q very percepti-
BILE difference in tlavor.n
"What are the different kinds of
uutsP"
1.-The shellbark, the mocker nut, the
pig nut, and the bitter nut. The mock
er nut is square nut with very sweet
and delicious kernel Unfortunately, it
is very small and hard to get at, and
for this reason probably was first called
'mocker.' The pig nut has very thick
she'll, and its small kernel has a dsa-
greeable taste. Pig nuts are the most
numerous. The bitter nut nobody ever
thinks of eating, because its kernel Is
well represented by its name. !"
Are there not other nuts which look
very mu Ii like shellbarks, but have
thicker shellsP"
eyes They are, however, d variety
of the shelbark. The kind of nut to
which you refer is most commonly sold
about town. The meat is fairly good,
and is sometimes very large. 1t bears
70 comparison to the real shellbark. "
"What is the appearance of the
genine aud unmistakable shellbarkP"
cit is almost elliptical in shape, and
is pretty flat on the faces, which, how
ever, are not regular plains. The color
is almost white, with tendency to a
very light buff. A light blow on the
side breaks it open, and the kernel
comes out in two pieces. 1t is of a
pretty brown, and looks rich and tempt
inc. AS to their flavor, can only say
that there is no foreign nut which! can
surpass it."
"Why are not more shellbarks
raisedP"
Because of the great difficulty in
grating them. Many nurserymen have
tried it both in this country and in
France, but without any very great sue.
cess. A very bad feature of the nut
trade is that the farmers from whom we
buy often mis- up the good and bad nuts
together, and we have not the time OF
opportunity to sort them out. If you
often eat hickory nuts you will notice
that every once in while you will come
across one which has sweet flavor and
yet seems rancid. That is q pig nut
and is one of the results of the mixing
Hickory nuts often get very dry, and
both the shells and kernels crumble
when they are cracked In that case
we are accused of selling last years
nuts. Not long ago l sold a bag o
nuts to q customer, and few days af
terward he said that they seemed to b.
old nuts, Lecause they went all 10 pieces
when cracked. | asked him if the,
acted that way when he first took then
home. He said they did not, and thei
remembered that the nuts We're kept il
q closet directly over the cellar furnace
The heal had dried them.
There is great science in crackin,
hickory nuts, and there is some differ
ence OF opinion as to the best method q
doing it. guess that there are NOR
crack hickory nut crackers in Westches
ter County than anywhere else. Thirt
!, OF forty years ago the folks had nut
, cracking matches up there. While Sit
, ting around big fire in farm-hous
kitchen they cracked the nuts, eatin
, the meat with apples and cider. The
threw the shells in the fire. The shell
burn very bliskly, and when they ar
! charred glow like rubies. Lots of quee
stories are told about the old hfekor
q nut times. When [ was boy m
y mother who was born in Westcheste
4 County, told me about an old man VIII
/. lived in little house in the woods, an
!. who during the whole winter sat by I'll
n fire and cracked and ate nuts. II
!. cracked so many nuts, they say, that
j re luired no other fuel than the shells
a keep the fire going. can't swear TIL
n he did not use any other fuel but II
i nutshells, but there is no doubt abol
a his having existed, for my mother ofte
j saw his house"
"Now, about cracking them, please.
" II tnlnR bhaG na inner ana MI
J. round eobble stone can crack nuts be
ii ter than anything ell o. Take hold
d the nut between the thumb and for
If finger of the left hand, and rest the sic
a of the nut on the surface of the sion
ID Hold the nut firmly, and then give
N sharp blow with the hammer. If "
At hold the nut + ght and strike it right Il
re Kernel will come out in two piece
As some persons prefer block of ha
De WOOD to a stone, and some use a fl
O. iron. IN I. Sun.
Is -s ----
I'd The value of the willow crop