A BEECH OF MILWAUKEE 



Another historic beech stood, some years ago, near the corner of 

 13th and Wells Streets, Milwaukee, Wis., and was evidently a relic 

 of very early times. Upon its trunk was carved the figure of an 

 Indian holding in one hand an arrow pointing toward the Menominee 

 River, in the other hand a bow pointing toward the Milwaukee. The 

 tree is no longer standing, and its loss is much to be regretted. 



BEECHES OF CAMP ROBINSON 



Standing in Riverside Park, Indianapolis, Ind., a handsome 

 grove of beech trees recalls the days of the Civil War. Nearly sixty 

 years ago, the grove was known as Camp Robinson, the spot selected 

 by General Wallace, (widely known as the author of "Ben-Hur") , as 

 the rendezvous of the Eleventh Indian regiment while it was being 

 fitted for service. 



The trees occupy an elevation above White River, and when the 

 camp was established there, the surrounding country was heavily 

 wooded, an ideal place for concentration upon the task in hand. Some 

 of the spare time of the soldiers was spent in carving names and 

 initials on the beech trunks, and during the long years that have 

 followed, the bark has grown over the letters in such a way that they 

 stand out as if embossed, and are more clearly legible today than 

 when they were cut. 



ORIGIN OF WEEPING BEECHES 



On the Jackson Place at Flushing, N. Y., is a magnificent weep- 

 ing beech to which is attached an interesting bit of history. Over a 

 century ago, Baron De Mar, a Belgian noble, was watching the 

 transplanting, on his estate in Belgium, of several European beech 

 trees. Noticing one whose branches were hanging so that it appeared 

 almost deformed, he directed the gardener to throw it out. The latter, 

 however, considered the odd looking specimen worth attention, and 

 proceeded to care for it until it repaid his efforts by developing into 

 the graceful tree, that is now known as the drooping or weeping beech. 

 When Baron De Mar saw the novel specimen he was delighted, and 

 shoots from it were sent to his friends in France. 



In 1847, Samuel B. Parsons, a nurseryman of Flushing, while 

 traveling in Europe in search of unusual plants, purchased a descen- 

 dant of the De Mar beech. He planted it in a flower pot and brought 

 it back to Flushing as part of his personal luggage. There it grew 

 and matured into the beautiful tree that stands at present on the 

 Jackson Place, in all probability the first weeping beech of America. 



BLACK WALNUT OF STONY POINT 



Occupying literally, "the centre of the stage," with no companion 

 near, to bear an equal share in dignity of years or of historic associa- 



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