I92 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 
quite slender. The anthers are yellow. There are 
three styles. The pollen is abundant, and is distri- 
buted by aid of the wind. 
The fruit is dry and edible, with a hard pericarp, 
and is liable to be distributed by such rodents as the 
squirrel, dormouse, etc. Birds and other animals 
also feed on them. They may also be scattered by 
children who collect them. 
The Beech is also named Bulk, Buck’s Mast, 
Hay Beech Mast. Buckmast—was so named because 
‘deere delight to feed thereon.” It was supposed 
to be proof against lightning. 
Crack WILLOW (Salix fragilis). 
Well known in most parts of the country, the 
Crack Willow is absent from some counties in 
England and Wales and in Scotland. In North- 
umberland it grows at an altitude of 1300 ft. It is 
not a native in Scotland or Ireland. 
Wherever the Crack Willow grows it is a sign of 
marshy ground. For it is a tree that requires damp, 
moist ground, and is associated with the Alder and 
other willows in this type of habitat. It is found 
beside marshy ground by the sides of ponds, on the 
banks of a lake, stream, river. As a rule it is there- 
fore found at low levels. 
The trunk is tall, and like the poplars has often a 
slight list. The branches are widely divergent, and 
curved upwards, spreading horizontally. Though 
