84 AMERICAN HANDBOOK 



nent, enlarging, and becoming leafy. Nut 

 ovate, slightly flattened. 



C. AMERICANA, Michaux. Leaves oblong 

 ovate, acuminate, unequally serrate. Ameri- 

 can hornbean, water-beech. Northern and 

 Middle States. 



A small tree, of about twenty-five feet 

 high. Like the birches, it is useful for 

 planting in barren soil, especially if on a 

 clay bottom. It is fond of being near to 

 moisture, as on the margin of streams. It 

 is a very handsome small twiggy tree, the 

 leaves changing in the fall to various shades 

 of crimson, scarlet, and orange, and very 

 often, after they are killed by the frost, are 

 retained on the plant till the spring. The 

 best Bartram specimen is thirty -two feet 

 high, and twenty-six inches in circumference. 



It is generally raised in the nurseries by 

 layers ; seedlings make finer plants, but are 

 longer in coming on. The seed should be 

 sown as soon as ripe, in a rather moist but 

 light soil, and transplanted when a year old. 

 Unless they are moved a time or two when 

 young, they are difficult of removal after- 

 wards. 



