200 DICOTYLEDONS OI7PULIFER.& OONIFEB^S DIAGRAM 16 



not so thick as in other trees. The birch-bark flakes off out- 

 side, but is very solid, and when a large branch is cut into 

 lengths, very strong boxes can be made of the bark. 



The edible, or Spanish chesnut, although a native of Asia, is 

 abundant throughout Central and Southern Europe, and in 

 South Europe the fruit forms a most important article of food. 

 It is also not rare in England. Each fruit generally contains 

 two chesnuts. The flowers are inconspicuous, like those of all 

 the family of Oupuliferae, and are simply composed of small 

 scales. They are remarkable for their very powerful and sickly 

 odour. Chesnut wood is valuable, and it is said that insects 

 will not attack it. The branches are always straight and flexible, 

 and are used, when split, for barrel-hoops. 



The horse- chesnut does not belong to this family, and is a 

 foreign tree which has been introduced into Europe, like all 

 trees which bear handsome flowers, and are not fruit trees. It 

 is also a native of Asia. It is extensively grown in England 

 for ornament, and is much more frequently seen than the Spanish 

 chesnut. It is a hardy tree of very rapid growth, and presents 

 a beautiful appearance in the spring, when in full flower, but 

 the fruit is not eatable, and the wood is of little value. 



FAMILY CONIFERS, DIAGKAM 16. 



This family may be known at once by the very peculiar ap- 

 pearance of the trees which compose it, such as the pine, the fir, 

 the cedar, the -birdt, and the jumper. They resemble no other 

 plants. Their leaves are hard, slender, with parallel fibres, like 

 the leaves of monocotyledons ; and they do not fall off annually ; 

 in other words, the trees of this family are all everyreem. 



