IMPORTANT FOREST SPECIES 391 



, . . beech, especially if mixed with other species, is unsuitable for coppice; it 

 rarely grows suckers. 



Leaves. — Leaves are alternate . . . they vary in size according to altitude; 

 the higher the altitude, the smaller the leaves. At 3,900 feet the leaves are one-half 

 the size they attain at sea level. An acre of high forest, fully stocked, produces as 

 early as the 30th year practically equal quantities of litter until the end of the rota- 

 tion — a yearly average of 3,664 pounds of air-dried leaves (to be reduced 20 per cent 

 if oven dried). (Ebermayer.) This weight in litter is a good deal greater than that 

 of the kilndried timber grown on an acre in the same time and under identical condi- 

 tions. The above quantity of leaves would cover ten times the area they are grown on; 

 decomposition is fairly slow and the accumulated leaves would form a thick laj^er on 

 the ground. 



Seeding. — Beech produces seeds only at an advanced age, about 60 to 80 years in 

 closed stands, 40 to 50 when in the open; it bears abundant masts only every 5 to 6 

 years under the most favorable circumstances, but sometimes only every 15 to 20 years. 

 In the latter case, between full seed crops partial ones take place. A remarkable fact 

 about seeding is that, in certain years, there is such a scarcity of beech nuts that one 

 could not gather a liter full even on a considerable area. Full seed crops are more 

 common in the plains and on moderately sloping ground than in mountainous districts. 

 Flower buds are formed as early as August and are easily distinguished from foliage 

 buds by their more plump shape. The abundance, scarcity, or lack of flower buds in- 

 dicates almost to a certainty what the next mast crop will be. Consequently, the 

 effect of spring frosts is not a satisfactory explanation of the irregular seed crops observed 

 for this species. Obviously, the temperatures during the year when the buds start 

 have a preponderating influence on bearing capacity. 



Beech nuts are very difficult to preserve even until the next spring; therefore it is 

 better, as a rule, to sow them in the autumn; they keep perfectly in pits, however, if 

 they are properly established. A kilogram contains about 1,600 seeds. 



Germination. — When sown in autumn, beech nuts germinate very early in the 

 spring, toward the end of April. The tigella extends immediately under the cotyledon, 

 pushing the latter about 4 inches above the ground. The two cotyledons, folded 

 irregularly one over the other, develop into two wide, opposite, pulpy, reniform, full 

 leaves (the upper side of these leaves is green and the under side silky white). This 

 early germination, coupled with a rapid development of the tigella and cotyledon, and 

 the tenderness of these rapidly grown tissues, render the young plant very hable to be 

 affected by temperature variations, especially by spring frosts. 



Growth. — During the first years after sowing the plant grows slowly (about 4 

 inches in height a year) but after 5 years it shoots up. At 40 to 45 years it reaches its 

 maximum annual growth; but when 100 years old the tree does not increase appreciably 

 in height. 



Each annual ring is from two to three times thicker near the top of the bole and at 

 the beginning of the main branches than at the base; this fact, which is true to a lesser 

 degree for all the other species, enables beech to keep its cylindrical shape to a con- 

 siderable height. 



Root System. — During the first few years of growth the tap root grows below the 

 ground to about the same extent as the stem grows above it. At about 3 years from 

 two to three oblique laterals, well provided with root hairs, are developed; at about 

 12 to 15 years they grow rapidly (at the expense of the tap root, which remains in- 

 active); at 30 years of age the laterals cease growing and are gradually replaced by 

 superficial, shelving roots, which sometimes protrude out of the ground for some dis- 

 tance from the base of the tree. In rocky soil these roots frequently interlace with 



