Chapter 7
HICKORY THE KING
The acknowledged autocrat of all the native nuts is the hickory. Perhaps
not all the experts admit this leadership but it is certainly the
opinion held by most people. Of course, when I speak of the hickory nut
in this high regard, I refer to the shagbark hickory which, as a wild
tree, is native as far north as the 43rd parallel in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, and somewhat farther in the eastern states.
Wild hickory nuts have been commercialized only to a slight extent. Its
crops are almost entirely consumed in the locality in which they are
grown by those people who find great pleasure in spending fine autumn
days gathering them. The obvious reason why hickory nuts have not been
made a product of commerce lies in the nut itself, which is usually very
small and which has a shell so strong and thick that the kernel can be
taken out only in small pieces. The toughness of the shell makes
cracking difficult, too, and since only rarely is one found that can be
broken by a hand cracker, it is necessary to use the flatiron-and-hammer
method. It is quite possible, though, that some day the hickory will
rival or exceed its near relative, the wild pecan, in commercial favor.
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