80 THE TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



the State it occurs rather sparingly and of no great 

 size. In the Middle District it is more common and 

 luxuriant ; but it is in the Mountains that it is found 

 in greatest abundance and of proper dimensions, be- 

 ing there from 50 to 80 and even 100 feet high, with 

 a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. The wood is compact 

 and tough, and of very uniform texture, by which it 

 is well adapted for plane-stocks, shoe-lasts, and the 

 handles of mechanical implements. When perfectly 

 seasoned it is not liable to warp. " It is easily affected 

 by variations of moisture and dryness, but is very 

 durable, when kej)t constantly dry, or when perma- 

 nently immersed in water. The bark is sometimes 

 used for tanning, but is not equal to that of Oak, 

 The nuts are a fine mast for hogs, and a valuable oil 

 can be expressed from them. 



The old Saxon word for Beech is BucJi or Buck, 

 and hence our' word Buckwheat (i. e. Beechwheat) 

 from the similarity of their triangular fruit. 



BUCKEYES. — These handsome productions, ad- 

 mired both for their foliage and blossoms, as well as 

 for general elegance of form, are of the same genus 

 with the Asiatic Horse Chestmit {M. Hippo castanum), 

 so much prized as an ornamental tree in Europe and 

 parts of this country. The leaves are what is called 

 digitate; i. e. the leaflets spread, like the fingers 

 of a hand, from the end of a common leaf-stem, a 

 character which belongs to no other of our forest 

 trees. There are four species in the United States, 



