316 FAGUS. 



clayey loam, with a calcareous substratum, it grows re- 

 markably well, and at Dunstan Hill, near Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne, in a fine free loam, there are thriving Beeches, with 

 boles from twenty-five to thirty or forty feet in height, 

 many of which measure ten and twelve feet in circum- 

 ference at the base. 



The Beech, with the exception of the varieties, is pro- 

 pagated entirely by seed, and the mast or nuts are gathered 

 when they fall from the trees, in the months of October 

 and November. They may either be sown immediately, 

 or, which we deem the preferable plan, mixed with dry 

 sand till March or April, as, by sowing in spring, germi- 

 nation commences immediately, and they are thus more 

 likely to escape the destructive ravages of mice and other 

 vermin. The earth of the seed beds should be of a light 

 nature, rich, and well pulverized, as the young plants 

 are rather tender, and the seed should not have a covering 

 of more than one inch. After remaining two years in the 

 seed bed, they may be run into nursery rows, taking care 

 not to prune or trim either the roots or stems too much ; 

 in these rows they may remain two or three years, when 

 they will be large enough to put out, unless required of an 

 extra size, in which case they should again be transplanted, 

 increasing the distance between the plants and rows, ac- 

 cording to the size it is intended the plants should attain 

 before they are finally put out. The Beech requires to be 

 planted by the pitting method, as the roots are numerous, 

 and too large to be easily inserted by the slitting or T 

 system. In a year or two afterwards, when the plants 

 appear dead in their tops or are making little progress, it 

 may be advisable to cut them over, either near to the 

 ground or where a young and healthy shoot appears, and 

 it is necessary to attend to their growth for some years 



