AMERICAN FOREST TREES 627 



feet. In this form of growth branches appear on the body very close to 

 the ground, and then- ends often trail upon it. In its forest form, where 

 trees of any sort are of commercial importance, it often attains a height of 

 ninety or 100 feet, with smooth rounded bole as symmetrical as the pillar 

 of a cathedral, with a diameter of from two to four feet. Its time to 

 bloom is April or May, and its nuts ripen in October. The bark is a 

 light bluish-gray, and remarkably smooth; the leaves are simple, alter- 

 nate, with very short petioles, oblong with pointed apex and rounded 

 or narrowed base. The ribs are straight, unbranching, and terminate in 

 remote teeth. The fruit is a pair of three-sided nuts with a sweet and 

 edible kernel which grows in a four-celled prickly burr, splitting when 

 ripe. 



Beech is an excellent fuel and it has long been used for that pur- 

 pose. It is so regularly dispersed over the country that most neighbor- 

 hoods were able to get it in the years when families cut their own fire- 

 wood. Later, when charcoal was burned to supply primitive iron 

 furnaces, before coke could be had, beech was always sought for. Still 

 later, when large commercial plants were built to carry on destructive 

 distillation of wood, beech was still a favorite. Its modern uses are 

 many. There is scarcely a plant east of the Rocky Mountains, engaged 

 in the manufacture of hardwood commodities, which does not use beech. 

 In Michigan alone nearly 30,000,000 feet a year are demanded by box 

 makers, and more than that much more by manufacturers of other 

 commodities. It is widely employed for furniture, filing cabinets, 

 vehicles, interior finish, agricultural implements, woodenware, and 

 musical instruments. It is one of the heaviest and strongest of the 

 common hardwoods, and gives long service when kept dry, but does not 

 last well in damp situations. 



Beech is strictly a forest tree. This does not mean that it will not 

 grow in the open, but when it does grow there it makes poor lumber, 

 short and limby. The seedlings must have shade if they are to do any 

 good, but after they attain a certain size they can endure the light. The 

 roots lie close to the surface of the ground, and the trampling of cattle 

 often kills large trees. 



BLUE BEECH (Carpinus caroliniand) is not in the beech family, 

 but the name by which it is commonly known, and its resemblance to 

 beech, justify its consideration with beech. The bluish color of the 

 bark is responsible for its common name, but it is known by several 

 others, among them being water beech, because it often grows on or near 

 the banks of streams, and it seldom seems more at home than when it is 

 hanging over the bank of a creek where shade is deep and moisture 

 plentiful. It is often called hornbeam and ironwood, and it is closely 



