212 



THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



BEECH 



The beech is called by the German foresters the 

 "Mother of the Forest" on account of its tendency to 

 enrich the barren soils with its fertile leaf mulch. The 

 early Colonists, in selecting homesteads, chose level land 

 upon which beech or maple was growing, as they knew 

 the soil would be very fertile. 



BEECH 

 Fagus americana 



BARK 

 Thin, steel gray and very smooth. 



LEAVES 



2|"-5" long, coarse teeth and with 

 long slender points. 



FRUIT 



A burr containing'one or two triangu- 

 lar nuts. 



RANGE 



Northern New England to Northern 

 Wisconsin. South to Northern 

 Florida and Eastern Texas. 



There is only one kind of beech native to this country 

 although there are several varieties of European beech 

 planted for ornamental purposes. In Europe the beech 

 nuts are highly prized for cattle feed and large droves 

 of hogs fatten upon the beeeh "mast" in the German 

 forests. 



