aciniosa_).
The shellbark hickory is much less common and far less well known than
is the shagbark. In its native range it appears in certain counties of
central New York, eastern Pennsylvania and in parts of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
According to Nut Culture in the United States,[B] this species attains
its "greatest development along the streams of southern Kansas and
Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma."
[Footnote B: Published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1896.]
The nuts of this species are considerably larger than those of the
shagbark and of much thicker shell, and commonly do not have as plump
kernels. Exceedingly few have been propagated.
THE AMERICAN HAZELS (_Corylus Americana; Corylus rostrata_).
Shrubs of these two species are often seen growing together throughout
the greater portion of the area under discussion. The former (_C.
americana_) is of somewhat the better quality. Neither has been
propagated asexually or cultivated to any extent, but it is doubtful if
any native species of the nut tree offers a more inviting field for
improvement than do these two species of hazels. The same methods of
searching out the individuals of superior merit to that of the general
average for propagation by grafting and budding by which other nut trees
are being improved should be followed with the hazels.
THE CHINKAPIN (_Castanea pumila_).
Except as a wild product, this nut has perhaps the least commercial
importance of any species mentioned in this paper. A few cultivated
varieties are in existence but the nuts are commonly looked upon by
experienced growers as novelties rather than as products worthy of
special attention. The species is merely that of a dwarf chestnut
growing as a shrub instead of as a tree. It is less hardy than the
chestnut, being evidently best adapted to the climatic conditions of the
southern portion of the chestnut area and even farther south.
FOREIGN NUTS.
THE EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC CHESTNUTS (_Castanea sativa_; _Castanea
japonica_).
It is probable that within the area under discussion greater attention
has been paid to the introduction of European and Asiatic chestnuts than
to any other foreign species. The former is a moderately strong grower
usually, with a low, rather broad top. The latter makes a small tree
chiefly of value for ornamental purposes. Both are grown principally
from second genera
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