PHYTOLOGY. 



THE EDIBLE WILD PKUITS OF SCOTLAND. 



By F. BUCHANAN WHITE, M.D., F.L.S. 

 ( Continued from p. 28. ) 



THE remaining plants which have any claim to be included 

 among those that produce in this country edible wild 

 fruits aspire more or less to the dignity of forest trees. Most 

 notable of these are the graceful Beech and the sturdy Oak — 

 often indeed termed the king of the forest — but we would 

 rather bestow that title on the Scots Fir. Let the Oak — noble 

 tree that it is — hold sway over the forests of the south; but of 

 all the trees in Scotland's woods the native Pine is the un- 

 doubted chief. See him standing amidst the crags of a rocky 

 hill on a glowing summer day, his thick and blue-green crown 

 shining out clear against the glorious azure sky, and his sturdy 

 and rugged stem planted firmly amongst the cold grey rocks, 

 and lighting them up with its warm redness; or see him dead, 

 but still a king, stretching aloft his gaunt and whitened limbs 

 through the weird-like mists which roll down the corries, and 

 trail, like the funeral procession of some hero of old, along the 

 mountain side. 



But to proceed with the proper subject of this paper. 



The Beech (Fagus sylvatica ~L.). Though not a native, the 

 Beech is yet so extensively planted in our woods, and is withal 

 .so beautiful a tree, that I think it should not be passed by 

 without notice. Though we " of the north countrie " do not 

 know the Beech in its full glory, yet we have sufficiently large 

 specimens to be able to appreciate the combination of strength 

 and gracefulness that is exhibited by this tree. Its smooth and 

 polished stem, its spreading branches,' here spiring up towards 

 heaven, there feathering in sweeping curves towards the ground, 

 and its delicate foliage, which, especially in spring, is unsur- 

 passed for colour and texture, all unite to make the Beech a 



