114 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
is perhaps an error. Lindley says, “ this species is what is 
called Chestnut in our old buildings.” 
Monecia. POLYANDRIA. 
MoNOCHLAMYDES. CORYLACES. 
FAGUS. (Brecx.) 
Generic Character. Barren flower in a globose catkin. Stamens 
ten to fifteen. Fertile flowers in pairs. Calyx six-lobed. Seed- 
vessel three-angled and three-lobed, and enclosed in a spiny, 
four-lobed involucre. Nut one-celled, and one or two-seeded. 
The Beech grows in woods, on a chalky soil, especially in 
the south of England, though scarcely wild in Scotland. 
The wood is employed for many purposes, by carpenters, 
turners, and wheelwrights. 
Facus sytvatica, Common Beech, is a large tree, with 
smooth bark and spreading branches. The nuts are enclosed 
in a prickly calyx, and are eaten by various animals; hogs 
are fattened upon them. The leaves are egg-shaped, slightly 
cut or serrated at the edge. Some botanists class the Spanish 
Chestnut,* Fagus castanea, with the Beech, and mention 
* Esculus hippocastanum. The Horse-Chestnut is a very different tree, 
and not a native of England; but its great beauty, especially when covered 
