434 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



in the days of the fathers of the Indians then 

 living. In many parts of tlie higlilands and 

 western islands of Scotland, where there is now 

 hardly a tree, or, at most, only coppice, along 

 the shores of the lochs, or arms of the sea, there 

 are found not only the trunks and roots of trees 

 in the soil of the bogs, but the roots of oaks of 

 large dimensions standing on the surface; nor 

 can the period at which they were growing have 

 been very remote, for, in some of the wild and 

 almost inaccessible glens, many large trunks still 

 lie mouldering and neglected. 



The Beech (fagus syhatica). Natural family 

 amentaceos; moncecia, polyandria of Linnaeus. 

 The beech is a stately and beautiful tree, attain- 

 ing a large size. The trunk is massive, and 

 covered with a smooth shining bark, which sel- 

 dom cracks into fissures; the branches spread out 

 horizontally, thus affording "the cool shade," so 

 often alluded to by the poets. The leaves are 

 rather small, of a soft silken texture, and deli- 

 cate green colour when young, and becoming 

 harder and darker as they come to maturity. 

 After they have lost their verdure they still ad- 

 here to the branches, and thus continue for the 

 greater part of the winter. In this way the 

 trees planted in hedges or other fences afford a 

 good shelter for tender plants. 



A variety called the purple heech, with foliage 

 of a deep brown or purplish hue, forms a very 

 beautiful and striking contrast among other green 

 foliage. This variety may readily be propagated 

 by engrafting. The ferruginea is of a still deeper 

 red, and is common in America. 



The buds of the common beech begin to ex- 

 pand about the 15th of April, and the leaves 

 come out about the 21st. The flowers appear 

 about the 12th of May, and by the first week 

 of June they are in full blossom. The mast or 

 seed, which is an angular nut contained in a 

 prickly capsule, is ripe in autumn. This tree 

 tlii'ives best in a chalky or strong soil, the bark 

 upon such soils being clear and smooth, a sign 

 of healthy vigour in the tree. When planted 

 upon strong or chalky cliffs, the beech will resist 

 the winds better than most other trees; and in 

 this case the plants should be taken from a nur- 

 sery of a similar soil. 



The wood is brittle, and not well adapted for 

 those purposes where strength and durability 

 are required. It is, however, well suited for 

 the turning lathe; and beechen bowls seem to 

 have been in early use among the Roman peas- 

 antry. The mast is found to be a very nutritious 

 food for swine, and is much used for this purpose. 

 In North America two species of the beech are 

 common. The white and red beech. The white 

 beech, /. syhestris, is more slender and less 

 branching than the red; but its foliage is superb, 

 and its general appearance magnificent.* The 

 * Miohaux. 



leaves are oval, acuminate, smooth, shining, and 

 bordered in the spring with a soft hairy down. 

 The sexes are borne by different branches on the 

 same tree. The barren flowers are collected in 

 pendulous, globular heads; and the others are 

 small, and of a greenish hue. The perfect wood 

 of this species bears a small proportion to the 

 sap, and frequently occupies only three inches 

 in a trunk, eighteen inches in diameter. Not- 

 withstanding the beauty of this tree, its wood is 

 of little use but for fuel. The red beech, /. fer- 

 ruginea, is almost exclusively confined to the 

 north-eastern parts of the United States; and to 

 the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and 

 Nova Scotia. It bears a close resemblance to 

 the common European species. Its wood is 

 stronger, tougher, and more compact than that 

 of the white kind, and is accordingly more use- 

 ful. It is so liable to the attacks of insects, that 

 its use in domestic furniture is rai-e. Experience 

 has shown the advantage of felling the beech in 

 summer; while the sap is in full circulation; cut 

 at this season it is very durable, but felled in 

 winter it decays in a few years. The logs are 

 left several months in the shade before they are 

 hewn, care being taken that they do not repose 

 immediately on the ground, after which they 

 are fashioned according to the use to which they 

 are destined, and laid in water for three or four 

 months. They are said to be rendered in this 

 way inaccessible to worms. The beech is very 

 durable when preserved from humidity, and in- 

 corruptible when constantly in the water; but 

 it rapidly decays when exposed to alternations 

 of dryness and moisture. When burnt the wood 

 ash affords a large proportion of potass. 



Hedges are frequently constructed of the beech, 

 and when trimmed close afford an excellent 

 shelter, especially in the winter and spring 

 months, in consequence of the old leaves still 

 remaining in a withered state on the stems. 



In Belgium, between Ghent and Antwerp, very 

 solid and elegant hedges are made with young 

 beeches, planted seven or eight inches apart, and 

 bent in opposite directions, so as to cross each 

 other and form a trellis, with apertures five or 

 six inches in diameter. During the first year 

 they are bound with osiers at the point of inter- 

 section, where they finally become gi-afted and 

 grow together. As the beech does not suffer in 

 pruning, and sprouts less luxuriantly than most 

 other trees, it is perfectly adapted for this pur- 

 pose. 



The beech is reared easily from the seed, which 

 may be sown at any time between October and 

 February; but the best season is about two weeks 

 after they drop from the tree. In France and 

 Germany an oil is extracted from the beech nut 

 little inferior to olive oil. 



The forests in the department of the Oise 

 have yielded in a single season more than two 



