=Gum.= The name given to several trees in America and Australia: (a) The BLACK-GUM, one of the largest trees of the Southern States, bearing a small blue fruit, the favorite food of the opossum. Most of the large trees become hollow. (b) A tree of the genus _Eucalyptus_. See Eucalyptus. (3) The SWEET GUM tree of the United States, a large and beautiful tree with pointedly lobed leaves and woody, burlike fruit. It exudes an aromatic juice. The wood is now extensively used in cabinet work and interior finish.
=Hemlock Tree= (_Tsuga_), is a genus of the Pine family containing about four species which are native to North America. The COMMON HEMLOCK is a large tree sometimes attaining a height of one hundred and ten feet, and growing from Nova Scotia to Alabama and west to Wisconsin and Minnesota. The wood is light and soft and is extensively used in building. The bark is largely used in tanning and hemlock oil is distilled from the branches and leaves. There are many cultivated varieties which are very ornamental. The CAROLINA HEMLOCK is a tree attaining a maximum height of eighty feet, and growing in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.
=Hickory= (_Carya_), is represented by ten species, exclusively of North America. Their timber is very heavy, strong, and tough, and is much used in the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages, and hoops for casks. The fruit is a hardshelled nut, which in some species has an excellent flavor. The SHAGBARK or SHELLBARK HICKORY is a large tree, sometimes one hundred and twenty feet high, growing in rich soils from Ontario and Minnesota south to Florida, Kansas and Texas. The nuts form an important article of commerce, though less used than the pecan. The WHITEHEART HICKORY or MOCKERNUT is a large tree seventy-five to one hundred feet high, growing from Ontario to Florida, occasionally to Missouri and Texas. It has a thick-shelled, edible nut. The PIGNUT HICKORY, a tree seventy-five to one hundred and sometimes one hundred and twenty feet high, ranges from Ontario to Florida, westward to Nebraska and Texas. See also PECAN.
=Horse-Chestnut= (_Aesculus_), is rarely found in forests, but frequently in pleasure-gardens. This beautiful tree, of sixty feet and over, has large leaves, and splendid yellow-and-red colored blossoms forming large pods. The brown chestnuts are enveloped by a prickly cover, which bursts open in the autumn. The OHIO or FETID BUCKEYE, reaching a height of about fifty feet, grows from Pennsylvania to Alabama, west to Michigan and Oklahoma. The wood is used for making artificial limbs and wooden ware. The SWEET or BIG BUCKEYE is a large tree eighty to ninety feet high, growing from Pennsylvania to Georgia, west to Iowa and Texas, and often planted as an ornamental tree. The CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE is a small tree thirty to forty feet high, native of California, and sparingly planted for ornament.