67 



a petition was made for letters patent for 

 making butter from beech-nuts. 



The finest beech-trees in England arc 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 broken 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, 



The viper has ne'er been known to sting, 

 Or the nightingale e'er heard to sing. 



The shade of the beech-tree is very in- 

 jurious to most sorts of plants that grow near 

 it, but is generally believed to be very salu- 

 brious to human bodies. The leaves of the 

 beech are collected in the autumn, to fill 

 mattresses instead of flock or straw, as they 

 remain sweet, and continue soft, for many 

 years. To chew beech-leaves is accounted 

 good for the gums and teeth. The Romans 

 used beech-leaves and honey to restore the 

 growth of hair, which had fallen off in sick- 

 ness. 



F 2 



