THE BEECH. 



93 



Beech Fagus sylvatica. 



turned, it is not well adapted for bowls and hollow 

 vessels, as it is apt to split when suddenly dried 

 after being wet. 



It has been doubted whether the beech be a 

 native of Britain. If it be the fagus of the Ro- 

 mans, this is not probable. Cfesar, who was an acute 

 observer, mentions that he did not find it in the 

 country; and as he was in the warmest and richest 

 parts of it, he was exactly in those in which the 

 beech was the most likely to be found. It is possible, 

 however, that the fagus of the Romans, which ob- 

 viously got its name from the edible quality of its 

 fruit, may have been either the Italian oak or the 

 chesnut ; or the phegos of the Greeks may have been 

 the former, and that of the Romans the latter. 

 Whether the beeeh be or be not a native of England, 

 its introduction has been prior to the .commence- 

 ment of the written or traditionary history of British 

 trees. 



When sheltered, the beech grows to a great height, 



