slightly bitter. It was the decidedly
bitter kind that I found lying temptingly clean and white under the
tree. The thin outer husk of the pignut is not much larger than the nut.
It is broader at the top than at the stem, where it narrows almost to a
point. The husk does not open as freely as that of the other
hickory-nuts. It is inclined to cling to the nut; in some cases it only
partially opens and drops with the nut.

[Illustration: SHELLBARK HICKORY NUT

PIGNUT

Hickory nuts, sweet and bitter.]

=Beechnut=

One of the sweetest and most delicately flavored of our native nuts is
the little, triangular _beechnut_. The tree is common and widely
distributed, but few people know anything about the nut. In Kentucky the
nuts used to be plentiful, but I have seen none in New York. It is said
that a beech-tree must be fully forty years old before it will bear
fruit, and that may be the reason the nuts are not oftener found.

The soft-shelled nut is very small, no larger than the tip of your
little finger. The color is pale brown, and it is three-sided with sharp
angles. It is contained in a small, prickly husk and grows both solitary
or in clusters of two or three. When touched by frost the burr opens and
allows the nut to fall out while the burr remains on the tree.

The bark of the beech-tree is ashy gray, and the leaf is oblong, pointed
at the tip, toothed on the edge, and strongly veined.

=Chestnut=

I find that the _chestnut-tree_ is not as well known as its fruit, which
is sold from stands on the street corners of most American cities. A
round, green prickly burr is the husk of the nut, and this is lined
inside with soft, white, velvety down. Nestled closely in this soft bed
lie several dark-brown nuts with soft, polished shells. The first frost
opens the burrs, and the sweet nuts fall to the ground.

You may recognize the tree in midsummer by its long-tasselled,
cream-white blossoms, which hang in profusion from the ends of the
branches. The chestnut is the only forest-tree that blossoms at that
time, so you cannot mistake it. Later you will know it by the prickly
green burrs, which develop quickly. The tree is large and common to most
States. The leaves are from six to eight inches long; they are coarsely
toothed at the edges, sharply pointed at the end, and are prominently
veined on the under side. They grow mostly in tufts drooping from a
common centre.

[Illustration: Nuts with soft shells. Beec