Hazelnut.—The hazelnut grows on a small tree or large shrub (Corylus avellana L.). The species which grows wild in the United States is known chiefly as Corylus america Walt. It is from this shrub that the common wild hazelnut is obtained. There is also another variety grown in this country, Corylus rostrata Ait. The hazelnut is a small, nutritious, and palatable nut of a brown color and grows over a very large area of the United States, especially in the northern part of the country. It is quite an article of commerce, but is not cultivated to any great extent. The cultivated variety, as has already been stated, is known as the filbert.
Composition of the Hazelnut.—
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| | | | | Total | |
| Refuse. | Water. | Protein. | Fat. | Carbohydrates. | Ash. | Calories.
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| Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Per pound.
Edible portion, | | 3.7 | 15.6 | 65.3 | 13.0 | 2.4 | 3,432
As purchased, | 52.1 | 1.8 | 7.5 | 31.3 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 1,644
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Hickory-nut.—The hickory-nut is another one of the nuts which sometimes is classed with walnuts and grows very extensively wild throughout the United States, having the same geological distribution as the walnut and butternut. The hickory tree (Hicoria ovata (Mill.) Britton) produces a nut of highest quality. On account of the character of the bark, which becomes detached and often widely separated from the trunk, it is known as the shagbark or shellbark hickory.
Another variety of the hickory tree is known as the pignut (Carya glabra). The nut produced by this tree is much less prized than the other hickories, often containing a sufficient amount of tannin to make it distinctly bitter. The wood of the hickory is very tough and elastic and is used extensively in the manufacture of spokes for wagon-wheels, axe-handles, etc. The young hickory trees grow thickly together and have a slender reed-like growth. They are used extensively in the manufacture of hoop-poles. The hickory has suffered from the advance of the farmer much in the same manner as the walnut and other valuable timber trees. The original trees have almost entirely disappeared. The young trees grow vigorously and in a few years will bear nuts, and in some localities the care and cultivation of the wild tree has been established for the purpose of securing new forests of nut-bearing trees. The hickory-nut is even more highly prized for eating purposes than the butternut and walnut, but should be eaten under the same conditions, namely, before the passing of the first winter after their production. They, also, on account of their high content of oil, tend to become rancid when they are kept through the warm summer.
