en used, for the tree is generally known as the
white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
to be whiter than that of any of the others,"

"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"

"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
them can be gathered from one tree."

"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.

"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
them 'pignuts,'"

"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
what that species has to say for itself?"

"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves g