VOLUME 



THH 



ORGANIZED^ 



KNOWLEDGE^ 



GDK 



y lfKSTORY 

 AND' PICTURE 



TWO 



BEECH, a forest tree, beautiful in summer 

 'because of its spreading symmetrical branches 

 and thin, silky leaves; in autumn because of 

 the rich gold to which its leaves turn with the 

 frost; and in winter by reason of its smooth 

 gray trunk and its wealth of shining brown 

 twigs with their polished leaf buds. Europe 

 has one species and North America another, 

 the two differing chiefly in size, for while the 

 American beech attains a height of from fifty 

 to seventy-five feet, that of Europe may be 

 100 or 120 feet. The beech has one advantage 

 over many other trees its seedlings grow 

 well in dense shade and are thus able to 

 spring up in sufficient numbers to choke out 

 other trees. 



The flowers of the beech are of two kinds, 

 both small and inconspicuous, and it is by 

 those hidden near the ends of the twigs that 

 the bur-sheathed nuts are produced. 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 



THE BEECH 



The form of the tree, as seen in winter, the 

 prominently-ribbed leaf, and beechnuts, the fruit 

 of the tree. 



The hard, brittle wood is liable soon to de- 

 cay if exposed to the air, but under water it 

 lasts well, and is accordingly much used for 

 piles or dams. It is an excellent firewood. 



BEECHER, HENRY WARD (1813-1887), one of 

 the most effective and powerful pulpit orators 

 42 657 



that the United States has produced. He was 

 born in Litchfield, Conn., the third son of 

 Lyman Beecher, also a great preacher, and he 

 was the brother of 

 Harriet Beecher 

 Stowe (which 

 see). As a child 

 he was diffident 

 and sensitive, 

 loved the ocean 

 and was only pre- 

 vented from go- 

 ing to sea by his 

 admission to the 

 Church in 1826. 

 He studied the- 

 ology under his 

 father's instruc- 

 tion in Lane Sem- 

 inary, for a time 

 was pastor of a Presbyterian church in Law- 

 renceburg, Ind. (1837-1839), and from 1839 to 

 1847 preached in Indianapolis. In 1847 he 

 took charge of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn; he 

 remained here until his death. 



Beecher was original in choice and treat- 

 ment of subjects for his sermons, and his de- 

 livery was eloquent, dramatic, pathetic and 

 witty. Tender-hearted and charitable himself, 

 any form of injustice called from him bitter 

 denunciations. He was a Republican and 

 aided the cause of that party by pen and 

 speech, taking a specially active part in the 

 campaign of 1856. During the War of Seces- 

 sion he visited England, and there showed his 

 wonderful power over men by controlling 

 clamoring mobs and forcing them to listen to 

 him. He did much to enlist British sympa- 

 thy for the Northern rather than the South- 

 ern cause. During his life in Brooklyn he 

 contributed much to the Independent, of which 

 he became editor in 1861 ; he also edited the 

 Christian Union and was a frequent contrib- 

 utor to. the Ledger. Among his works are a 

 novel entitled Norwood; Lectures to Young 

 Men and A Circuit of the Continent. 



