152 



THE BEECH. 



The name Beech is of northern origin ; bece being the 

 Saxon, bak the Swedish and Eussian, and buche the 

 German name. Its mast was formerly called luck in this 

 country. " In some parts of France," says Evelyn, " they 

 grind the buck in mills." Buck-wheat, the seed of Poly- 

 gonum Fagopyrum, derives its name from its similarity in 

 shape to the mast of the Beech. The wood of the tree 



FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS OF THE BEECH. 



having been formerly used for forming the sides of 

 volumes, the word "book" came to be applied to the 

 volume itself. 1 



1 It is worth noticing how many words connected with literature 

 bear allusion to the materials anciently used in writing, &c. The 

 substances first employed were tables of stone and metal ; from 

 this source we derive the expression " Tables of "Weights and 

 Measures." Tables of wood were afterwards employed, covered 

 with wax, which were written on by means of an instrument 

 pointed at one end for forming the letters, rounded at the other for 

 the convenience of erasing : this was called a style, a word which 

 we retain with an altered meaning. Paper is derived from the 

 Egyptian papyrus : we still speak of the leaves of a book, though 

 the leaves of the palm-tree are no longer used for the purpose of 



