TREES OF AMERICA. 183 



together in a brown husk, about as big as a 

 hickory nut, and covered with little sharp 

 prickles : this husk, when it is ripe, splits into 

 four parts and lets out the nuts. Here are 

 some of the nuts. Uncle Philip : you see they 

 are three-cornered and sharp pointed, and not 

 near as large as a chestnut. The shell is brown, 

 like the shell of a chestnut, but a great deal 

 thinner ; they are very good to eat, and taste 

 something like a butternut." 



" Very well, my dear ; now the nut of the 

 red beech is very much the same, but sharper 

 and larger ; and the husk is thicker and has 

 more prickles. But the greatest diiference 

 between the two kinds is in the wood ; that 

 of the white beech is white, and not very good, 

 although the bark is used in tanning ; but the 

 wood of the red beech is strong, tough, and 

 compact, and is employed for a great variety 

 of purposes. In some parts of the country it 

 is used in ship-buildmg ; but it is more gene- 

 rally esteemed for making lasts for shoe- 

 makers, and the handles of planes and other 

 carpenters' tools. If properly seasoned, and 

 not exposed to changes of wet and dry, it lasts 

 a very long time ; and in Europe, where there 

 are not so many trees that furnish durable 



