238 THE HORNBEAM. 



bignesses of ciches (vetches), in which is contained the 

 fruit or seed. The root is strong and thicke." 



Evelyn is loud in his praises of the Hornbeam ; for the 

 tree being, as it is called, "tonsile," or very patient of 

 being clipped by the shears, it was highly prized in the 

 formal gardens of his day. 



The taste for forming " labyrinths," " stars," " alcoves," 

 and " arcades " happily having now passed away, the 

 Hornbeam is only admitted into gardens for the purpose 

 of forming hedges to shelter tender plants ; and for this 

 its numerous branches, and the property which it possesses 

 of retaining its withered leaves during winter, well adapt 

 it. Another recommendation is, that it grows well in 

 the coldest and hardest soils, and may consequently be 

 employed where other trees would not thrive. 



The wood of the Hornbeam is white and close-grained, 

 and, though not elastic, surpasses in toughness the timber 

 of any other British tree. The unevenness of the trunk 

 described above is, however, communicated to the fibre of 

 the wood, and hence it does not take a good polish. This 

 defect does not exist in the young wood, which is ex- 

 ceedingly well adapted for the yokes of cattle and all 

 kinds of wheelwright's work, especially mill-cogs. Selby 

 recommends that it should be planted extensively in cold, 

 stiff, clayey soils, for the staves of fish-barrels. It ranks 

 among the best of fuels, burning freely, and giving out 

 a great deal of heat; it is highly inflammable, lighting 

 easily and making a bright flame. This property was 

 known to the ancients, for Pliny speaks of its being used 

 for marriage torches. Its charcoal is highly prized, not 

 only for ordinary purposes, but for the manufacture of 

 gunpowder. The inner bark is also used, according to 

 Linnaeus, for dyeing yellow. 



The Hop Hornbeam, occasionally met with in gardens 

 and pleasure-grounds, approaches the common Hornbeam 

 in character, but belongs to the genus Ostrya. It is not a 

 native of Britain. 



