THE ANCESTRY OF THE BEECH 77 



glacial period, although their continuous range had already been 

 interrupted by the formation of mountain ranges like those of the 

 western United States or those of central Asia which by their 

 interference with the climatic equilibrium caused the develop- 

 ment of vast stretches of arid or semi-arid country like that of the 

 present day in central and southwestern Asia and in our own 

 western and southwestern states. 



The Pleistocene records of the beech include the remains of 

 wood, of an abundance of leaves as well as of nuts and husks, 

 the latter almost always present in buried swamp deposits. 

 These records embrace an extinct species in Japan, remains of 

 the still existing Fagus japonica, and other leaves in that country 

 which are distinguished with difficulty from the European beech. 

 The latter, Fagus sylvatica, occurs in England, Germany and 

 southern Europe at this time and is often associated with traces 

 of Neolithic man. The American beech, variously denominated 

 {e.g., Fagus ferruginea Alton, Fagus americana Sweet, Fagus 

 atropunicea (Marsh) Sudworth, and Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart), 

 is widespread in Pleistocene deposits. It is found in the Port 

 Kennedy bone cave in Pennsylvania; in the bluffs of the Mis- 

 sissippi in western Kentucky; in the high river terraces of West 

 Mrginia, and in buried swamp deposits in Maryland, Virginia, 

 North Carolina and Alabama. 



In the foregoing brief sketch I have refrained from saying 

 much about the utility of the beeches or of the surpassing beauty 

 of their light smooth bark and glossj^ S3''mmetrical foliage. Beech 

 woods are the common heritage of the Anglo-Saxon race and 

 are intimately associated with our ancestors during the time that 

 the}' were slowly emerging from barbarism. Ages later they 

 furnished the best fuel for the open hearth heating and cooking 

 of our more immediate ancestors and along with the oaks fur- 

 nished the mast for the swine that roamed the forests of the 

 feudal barons. 



The mist of tradition and history that clothes the beech should 

 inevitably awaken some of the thrill corresponding to that awak- 

 ened by a visit to some scene of ancient romance or tradition 

 such as Kenilworth Castle, Palestine or the scenes of classic 

 Greece or imperial Rome. 



