Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-05-28
THE PECANNUT HICKORY.
From MichauXs "Thc North America
SYLVIA


sylvia"
This species, which is found in Upper
Louisiana. is called, by the French of
Illinois and New Orleans. Pac0nies and
its fruit PdcdReS. This name has been
adopted by the inhabitants of the
United States, who call it peanut. On
the borders of the rivers Missouri.
Illinois. st Francis, and Arkansas. it is
most abundantly multiplied: it is also
common on the river Wabash: on the
Ohio it is found for 200 miles from it,
junction with the MissiSsippi; higher
than this it becomes more rare. and is
not seen beyond Louisville. NY father.
in traverSing this country, learned from
the French inhabitants. who ascend the
Mississippi in quest of furs. that it is not
found on that river beyond the mouths
of the Great Mackality, which discharges
itself in the latitude of ~ degrees } min
uteS.
This tree grows most naturally in cold
and wet grounds. There is swamp of
500 acres, situated on the right bank of
the ONO. opposite to the river Cumher-
land. which is said to be entirely cover
ed with it. and which is called. by the
French L0Fncunicre.
The peanut is Il beautiful tree with
Il straight and well-Shapcd trunk: in the
forest it reaches the height of sixty or
seventy feet Its wood is coarse-grained
and. like the other hickories. heavy and
compact: it possesses also great strength
and durability: but in these respects it
Is inferior TO some species hereafter to be
described. Its buds. like those of the
black walnut and butternut. are uncover
ed. The leaves are from II to Is inches
in length, and are supported by petioleS
somewhat angular. and slightly downv
in the spring. Each leaf is composed of
six or seven pair of sessile leaflets and
terminated by a petiolated odd one.
which is commonly smaller than the
pair Immediately preceding. The leaf
lets on flourshing trees are from two to
three inches long, ovate. serrate and re-
markable for the circular form of the
upper edge, while the lower one is less
rounded. 1t is also to be noticed that
the main rib is placed a little below the
middle of the leafiet.
The nuts, which are usually abundant,
are contained in husk from one to two
lines thick and have four lightly-promi-
nent angles corresponding to their inter-
nal divisions. They vary in length from an
inch to an inch and half, are pointed at
the eXtremities, of cylindrical form and
of yellowish color, marked at the
period of perfect maturity with blackiSh
or purple lines. The shell is smooth and
thin. though too hard to be broken by the
fingers. The kernel is full. and not be-
ing divided by ligneous partitions. is
easily extracted. These nuts. which are
of very agreeable taste, form an object
of petty commerce between upper and
lower Louisiana. From New Orleans
they are exported to the West Indies
and to the ports of the United States.
They are not only better than any other
species of American walnuts, but they
appear to me to be more delicately flavor
ed than those of Europe. And, besides,
wild varieties of the peanut are found,
the fruit of which is much larger than
that of the European walnut unimprov-
ed by culture. | am of opinion, then,
that this tree merits the attention both of
Americans and Europeans, and that by
assiduous cultivation it may be brought
to high degree of perfection. These
advantages, it is true, are balanced in
part by the slOwness of its growth; there
are trees in France which have been
planted more than 30 years and which
do not yield fruit
If the practice should be successfully
adopted of grating the peanut on the
black walnut, or on the common walnut,
its vegetation would be incomparably
more rapid and no motive should dis
= IT,, L.,