SYLVICULTURAL NOTES ON BEECH. 231 



latitude, also in western Asia ; it is apparently indigenous 

 in England, and found planted in Scotland and Ireland. 

 It is a tree of the lower mountains and plains ; going up to 

 about 700 feet in Norway, 1200 feet in Derbyshire, 4500 

 feet in the Alps, and over 6000 feet on Mount Etna. 



c. Locality. 



Climate. Beech is fairly .hardy as regards winter 

 frost, but very sensitive to late spring frosts, which, 

 during early youth, frequently injure or even kill it. It 

 stands more shade than any other indigenous broad-leaved 

 species, but somewhat less than Silver Fir. It requires 

 a fair amount of moisture in the air, hence it grows well 

 in the vicinity of the sea and on northern and eastern 

 slopes, while it disappears in the eastern part of Europe 

 owing to the drier continental climate. It is liable 

 to be thrown by strong winds, but not to any excessive 

 extent. 



Soil. Beech requires a soil which is at least of 

 middling* depth, of a moderate degree of porosity, 

 fresh and fertile ; it thrives best on loamy soils, and 

 especially on marls, and on calcareous soils generally ; 

 also on sandy soils, provided they are thoroughly fresh, 

 and contain water at a moderate depth in the subsoil. 

 Wet soils are unsuited, and inundations fatal, to Beech. 



d. Shape and Development. 



The stem of the Beech divides, as a rule, only in the 

 upper part ; the crown remains oval until towards the 

 end of the principal height-growth, when it becomes 



