786 Ho]ME Nature-Study Course. 



THE BEECH. 



A winter lesson on tree-trunks, twigs and winter buds will be doubly 

 interesting if it is preceded by a knowledge of a few facts concerning the 

 uses and value to mankind of the tree under observation. The very name 

 of the beech family means " good for food " and is derived from the 

 Greek verb to eat. The wild folk of the wood know the tree for a friend. 

 In our northern forests its leaves furnish forage for the deer even in the 

 winter and its fruit or "mast" helps them to grow fat in autumn; and 

 the squirrels, mice, partridges and jays are almost equally dependent upon 

 it. The black bear loves the beech-mast and gorges himself eagerly be- 

 fore tucking himself away to sleep through the winter. " Beech nut 

 bacon "' is said to be the best of all and droves of pigs are still turned 

 into the beech forests of the Southwest where the tree is said to reach its 

 tallest and finest growth. In Europe the sweet, three-cornered nuts are 

 used for food and an oil is pressed from them for table use. 



Beech wood is hard and heavy and durable under water, therefore, it 

 is used for piles and for foundation timbers in damp places. It also 

 makes excellent fuel. Furniture, shoe-lasts and the wooden parts of tools 

 are turned from the heart-wood. 



Lesson XXVII. 



THE BEECH TREE IN WINTER. 



Purpose. — To make the children so familiar with the characteristics of 

 the tree that they may identify it with certainty at any season of the year. 



Material. — If possible, visit a tree in its natural surroundings, but if 

 not, secure some large twigs, preferably those which have retained leaves 

 and "burs" in winter. Sections of bark and wood may often be ob- 

 tained at " Coal and Wood " yards where wood is sold for open fires. 



Observations by pupils: 



(i). What is the general color of the trunk of the beech tree? 



(2). Is the bark thick or thin; is it wrinkled or grooved, scaly or lined 

 and blotched in any way? 



(3). Are the limbs darker or lighter than the trunk? Are they large 

 and strong and comparatively few or slender and graceful and quite 

 numerous ? 



