186 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



giniana) abundant on those barren places in the pastures 

 and grass fields, which will scarcely bear any grass. They 

 seem almost confined to such places : probably where the 

 grass is luxuriant, it chokes them out. . 



F. Here is the tardy Beech (Fagus Ferruginea) just 

 beginning to open its leaf buds. This, and the brown ash 

 usually contend which shall be the latest in leafing. The 

 red beech is probably the most beautiful tree we have ; its 

 bark is remarkably smooth, of a pale blue colour, often 

 marbled with large spots of white. Its leaves are of a 

 graceful shape, of a deep glossy green ; its general outline, 

 when growing in a clearing, is often very round, and always 

 beautiful, its lower branches spreading horizontally; and 

 its foliage possesses that rich and massy character, common 

 to the maple. It has the singular property of retaining a 

 great portion of its leaves all through the winter, though 

 they are sere and dry, as the leaves of other deciduous trees. 

 The roots spread out to a great distance on the surface of the 

 earth, and are generally very tangled and contorted ; they 

 often begin to diverge from the trunk some distance above 

 the ground. In the forest, in which the beech holds a pro- 

 minent place, the trunk is tall and straight, with a wide and 

 branchy top : its twigs are slender, and minutely ramified : 

 its buds are spindle-shaped, and long; and become much 

 longer when they approach their expansion. The perules 

 are coriaceous and tough, but thin, and are lined with a 

 silky down. The leaves do not acquire their glossy appear- 

 ance for a considerable time. 



C. What are the uses to which the wood of the beech 

 is applied ? 



F. It is a hard, close-grained, and firm wood, and is 

 used for carpenters' tools, brushes, and many other small 

 articles ; but the chief use we make of it is as fuel : a prin- 

 cipal part of the firewood used in this country is beech, as it 



