58 HISTORY OF FKU1TS. 



An oil, equal in flavour to the best olive oil, with the 

 advantage of keeping longer without becoming rancid, 

 may be obtained from the nuts by pressure. It is very 

 common in Picardy and other parts of France, where the 

 masts abound; in Silesia, it is used by the country 

 people instead of butter. The cakes which remain from 

 the pressure are given to fatten swine, oxen, or poultry. 

 A bushel of masts is said to produce a gallon of clean 

 oil ; but the beech-tree seldom produces a full crop of 

 masts oftener than once in three years. 



A few years ago an attempt was made to introduce the 

 making of beech-oil in this country, and a patent was 

 granted to the projector ; but the difficulty of bringing 

 the country-people into any new measure, however bene- 

 ficial to them, is so great, that it often destroys the best- 

 concerted projects. In this instance it was found, that 

 they would rather let the swine consume the masts, than 

 suffer their children to collect them for sale to the 

 patentee ; and thus failed the making of salad oil in 

 England. 



In the reign of George the First, we find a petition was 

 made for letters patent for making butter from beech- 

 nuts. At the beginning of the last century Aaron Hill 

 had a project for paying off the national debt with the oil 

 of beech nuts ! We conclude that he intended to have 

 used it with a spunge ! 



The finest beech-trees in England are said to grow in 

 Hampshire. The forest of St. Leonard, near Horsham, in 

 Sussex, abounds with noble beech-trees. The cottagers 

 of this forest inform you, that when St. Leonard wished 

 to rest beneath these trees, he was disturbed during the 

 day by the biting of vipers, and that his repose was bro- 

 ken in the night by the warbling of nightingales, and on 

 that account they were removed by his prayers, since 

 which time tradition says of this forest, 



