The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-06-08
NUT-BEARING TREES.
The Many Specimens of the Hickory
Pecan of the South and Walnut.

The Many Specimens of the Hickory.
Pecan of the south and Walnut
From the Indiana Farmer.
Among our nut bearing trees the hick-
cries are perhaps the best known. They
are strictly North American trees; none
now grow in any other part of the world
There are fourteen known species: one
Mexican, while the other thirteen grow
east OF the Rocky Mountains Our own
State boasts OF six species. of which the
shagbark or shellbark is most noted be-
cause OF its nuts and fits peculiar bark
The wood OF most species is tough.
strong and hexible-especieily valuable
for farm implements. tool handles. &C.
There is no other kind Of fuel that excels
dry hickory for heat and brilliancy OF
fame. No other Of our shade trees bear
such valuable nuts. No finer shade trees
are TO be found. But because OF the
value Of the wood for implements and
fuel the finest trees OF the forest have
been sacrificed and as a consequence the
crop of wild nuts is decreasing while the
demand is increasing. Nurserymen are
now experimenting to find the best meth
cd of propagating the trees and improv-
ing the varieties.
The Creek and Algonquin tribes OF
Indians made drink from the pounded
nuts, shells and all. and called II pow
cohickora." Recent botanists have
adopted the latter part Of the Indian
name. with q slight change (hicoria) as
the name OF the genus. which seems very
fitting.
We scarcely think Of the pecan as a
hickory, yet it is the largest OF our hick-
cries 1t is native of the Southern and
Southwestern counties OF the State and
grows to perfection In the rich. moist
soils Of river bottoms The wood Of the
pecan is hard. brittle, of a light reddish
brown and is the least valuable Of all the
hickories, except for fuel. and for its
nuts which are collected and sold in all
the markets Of the North. What the
pecan is TO the river valley people the
shellbark, shagbark and mockernut hiclk-
cries might, with a little forethought and
care. become TO the people living on the
uplands further North.
The black walnut is a grand tree
growing IN river bottoms and on HILL
sides west from Western Massachusetts
to Minnesota and southwark 10 Georgia.
Florida, Mississippi and Texas. The
trunk is tall and straight The branches
are stout and spreading. forming a round
topped tree when grown In the open.
The flowers of the walnut are much
like those OF the hickory except that the
pistillate flowers. instead OF being yell
lowlsh green are Of rich red. The pis-
ills as in the case OF the hickory divide
into two plumy heads.
The nutriment which nature provides
for baby walnuts and l1ickories is stored
In the seed leaves. While the pollen ls
flying from the boughs the forming nut
has four communicating chambers in
which one embryo plant lives ali alone.
AS the seed leaves are packed with oils
and starches for the sustenance OF the
young tree they soon swell and stretch
and soon occupy the entire four roomed
apartment. When they have attained
their growth they are lobed and folded
so as TO Ill every Granny of the nutshell
in which they lie. This IS the reason
that the kernels show such irregular sur
faces when taken from the shells.
The family's botanic name, Jugians. is
derived from Jovis glans-Jove's nut.
Roman writer's applied this name to the
European walnut on account of the ex-
cellence Of It's nuts. Jove's acorn was
the walnut Of commerce. for curiousIy
enough it was this nut, not the fruit OF
the oak. which the Romans called an
acorn