178 Deciftuous Urees. 



extensively, both for pleasure and profit. In the South the 

 live oaks form the feature of many a wood, on rather moist 

 and rich ground. They are comparatively low and broad 

 in outline, and on the spreading branches the Spanish moss 

 grows in abundance. In northern latitudes, the oak woods 

 are remarkable for the rich and varied herbaceous flora that 

 finds a shelter beneath the fallen leaves in winter, and a 

 pleasant shade in summer. This is partly because the roots 

 of the oak go deep and do not rob the surface soil of its 

 nutriment, while the fallen leaves make it richer year after 

 year. 



Chestnut, Oastamea. — The chestnuts are very beautiful 

 trees when young, and in old age they become rugged and 

 picturesque. The leaves are very long, lanceolate, sharply 

 toothed, smooth, and green. The crown is generally more 

 broad than high, with an irregularly rounded outline, the 

 stem stout and tapering in old trees. The chestnuts grow 

 in deep, fertile woods on undulating ground, sometimes 

 among rocks and stones; when cultivated, a sandy loam 

 with well-drained subsoil suits them best. The innumerable 

 white flowers, produced in long catkins, make the trees 

 beautiful in summer. 



Beech, Fagus. — The beech is the most beautiful of all 

 forest-trees ; it forms large woods in middle and northern 

 Europe, chiefly on high and rocky ground and hillsides. 

 The stem is smooth and grayish. The spray light, hori- 

 zontal, and the crowns almost globular. In spring, when 

 the silky leaves unfold, the beech woods are in their most 

 attractive condition. Unlike the oak, the l>eech casts a 

 very heavy shade, and the abundance of flowering plants of 



