THE BEECH. . 



THE Beech is a common tree in all our woods, where it 

 is distinguished by the length and size of its smooth clean 

 shaft, which is often perceptibly ribbed or fluted. In 

 dense assemblages these columns, rising to the height of 

 sixty or seventy feet, are very striking, and the more so 

 when the land is covered entirely with Beech timber. 

 The suckering habit of this tree and its vigorous consti- 

 tution are the important cause of its predominance in 

 any tract that is occupied by it, and the close matting 

 of leaves that covers the ground under a beechen wood 

 prevents any abundance of undergrowth. The same in- 

 convenient habit is the cause of its rareness in dressed 

 grounds. George Barnard says of the English Beech : 

 " In no tree are the decaying hues of autumn more beau- 

 tiful than in the Golden Beech, its foliage changing from 

 green to the brightest orange, then to glowing red, and 

 eventually to a russet brown, in which state the leaves 

 remain on the tree through the winter." The leaf of the 

 American Beech, on the contrary, is remarkably dull in its 

 autumnal tints. It turns to a rusty yellow in the au- 

 tumn, gradually fades to a leather-color, and drops from 

 the tree near midwinter. 



The style and spray of the Beech, as observed in its de- 

 nuded state, are worthy of particular study. The lower 

 branches of the tree are generally very long and rather 

 slender. They take an almost horizontal direction when 

 they start from the tree, but soon make a curvature by 

 turning regularly upwards, and causing a peculiar prim- 



