48 THE NUT CULTURIST. 



Species and Varieties of the Beech. In the 

 Dictionary of Gardening, edited by George Nicholson, 

 of the Koyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, the fol- 

 lowing species of Fagns are briefly described, viz : 



F. antarctica. Leaves ovate, blunt, glabrous, atten- 

 uated at the base, doubly dentate, alternate, petiolate, 

 one and a half inches long. A small deciduous tree or 

 shrub, with rugged, tortuous branches. Native of Tierra 

 del Fuego, S. A. 



F. betuloides (birch-like). Evergreen beech. 

 Leaves ovate, elliptic, obtuse crenulate, leathery, shining 

 glabrous, round at the base or short footstalks. An 

 evergreen tree, native of Tierra del Fuego, S. A. 



F. ferruginea (rusty). American beech. Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, thickly toothed, downy beneath, cili- 

 ate on the margin. A large deciduous tree, very closely 

 resembling the common European species, from which 

 it is distinguished by its longer, thinner and less shin- 

 ing leaves. 



F. obliqua (oblique). Chile beech. Leaves ovate, 

 oblong, oblique, somewhat rhomboid, blunt, doubly ser- 

 rated, entire at the base, attenuated into the petiole, and 

 somewhat downy. A hardy deciduous tree, native of 

 the cooler elevated regions of Chile, S. A. 



F. sylvatica (sylvan). European beech. Leaves ob- 

 long, ovate, obscurely toothed ; margin ciliate. A well- 

 known large deciduous tree, widely distributed in Europe 

 from Norway southward to Asia Minor. From this spe- 

 cies a large number of ornamental varieties have been 

 produced, many of them merely accidental variations of 

 the wild forms of the forests, while others have origi- 

 nated in the seedbeds of nurserymen. But so far as I am 

 aware, no variety has ever been introduced bearing 

 superior or improved forms of nuts. 



Our American beech (F. ferruginea) is a widely 

 distributed tree, extending from Nova Scotia in the 



