THE BEECHES 



By Joseph S. Illick 



'T'HERE are only five different kinds of beech in the 

 * world. Three of them are native to Asia, one to 

 Europe, and one to North America. They belong to the 

 beech family, which also includes the Chestnuts, the 

 Oaks, and a few other tree groups. 



The beech family contains some of the most important 

 timber trees of North America and has representatives 

 in nearly all parts of the world. About 600 different 

 kinds of trees and shrubs belong to it. Of this large 

 number 60 are native to North America and usually are 

 classified in the following five groups : 



COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME 



1. The Beeches Pagus. 



2. The Chestnuts. Castanea. 



3. The Oaks Quercus. 



4. The Tan-bark Oaks. Pasania. 



5. The Western Chinquapins. Castanopsis. 



The distribution of the Beeches is restricted to the 



Northern 

 H e m i sphere, 

 where they 

 form some of 

 the most at- 

 tractive and 

 valuable natu- 

 ral and cul- 

 tural forests 

 known to man. 

 Only two of 

 the five spe- 

 cies found in 

 the world are 

 of commercial 

 import ance. 

 One of these is 

 the European 

 Beech. It is 

 one of the most 

 important for- 

 est trees of 

 c o n t i n e ntal 

 Europe. Its sci- 

 entific name is 

 Fagus sylvat- 



ica. It is rather widely distributed in Europe. Pure 

 stands of it are common in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, 

 and parts of Switzerland. It is also found in northern 

 France, where thousands of acres were destroyed by the 

 contending armies during the recent World War. 



The European Beech makes up about 70 or 75 per cent 

 of the forest stand in the famous town forest of Sihlwald, 

 which belongs to the city of Zurich, Switzerland. As 

 early as 1422 the City Council of Zurich decided that not 

 more than 20,000 pieces of timber could be cut annually 

 in the Sihlwald. This is probably the oldest record of 

 a regulation of the forest cut in any public-owned forest. 



nEECH IS THE FOREMOST FUEL WOOD OF ^UjKOPE, PEASANTS EAGERLY COLLECT EVEN 

 THE TWIGS AND CARRY THEM HOME IN BUNDLES FOR GENERAL FUEL PURPOSES 



Beech is unquestionably the greatest fuelwood of con- 

 tinental Europe. It is not only valuable because of its 

 wood-producing capacity, but also because of its cleanli- 

 ness. It has no equal as a fuelwood. In continental Eu- 

 rope it is prized so highly that no other fuelwood is used 

 if Beech is available. The peasants eagerly collect the 

 twigs and small branches, and after bundling them carry 

 the bundles to their homes, where the faggots are used 

 for general fuel purposes. Such an extensive and com- 

 plete utilization of all parts of the tree is responsible In 

 a large measure for the attractive and clean forests so 

 common in continental Europe. They stand in strong 

 contrast with some of our American, debris-laden, fire- 

 scarred and devastated forest areas. 



A number of ornamental varieties of the European 

 Beech have been developed, and are being introduced 



extensively in- 

 to the United 

 States. Among 

 them are the 

 Weeping 

 Beech, the 

 Purple Beech, 

 and Cut-leaf 

 Beech. These 

 three varieties 

 are common in 

 our gardens, 

 lawns, and 

 parks, and will 

 unquestionably 

 continue to 

 hold a promi- 

 nent place in 

 o r n a ni e ntal 

 plantings 

 and general 

 landscape 

 work. 



The Beech 

 produces nuts 

 that are a nu- 

 tritious human food. In ancient times they were used 

 extensively by man for food. They were also a big fac- 

 tor in the pannage industry. Thousands of hogs were 

 formerly fattened upon the Beech nuts, and it is said that 

 the resultant pork was exceptionally delicious to the 

 taste. 



Next to hunting, pannage was, in the early days of 

 forestry, the chief usage of beech forests in Europe. The 

 records of the pannage industry in Germany date to the 

 Twelfth Century. During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth 

 Centuries the people living near the forest divided the 

 pannage areas among their herds and swine, for at that 



