THE EUROPEAN BEECH 



type, Oak, and other trees, have been written about 

 since 1680. At one time there were five of these trees 

 and the tradition is that five brothers murdered one 

 another on this spot, and five blood-besprinkled Beech- 

 trees sprang up as righteous testimony from God as a 

 lasting witness to so horrible a deed. The armorial 

 shield of the village bears a picture of a Purple Beech 

 and the probability is that its name of Buch, which is 

 the German for Beech, was derived from these trees. 



The Copper Beech (var. cuprea) is only a seedling 

 form of the Purple kind with leaves and shoots of a 

 lighter colour. It originated about a century ago, 

 presumably in England where there are specimens 

 fully 90 feet tall and 15 feet in girth of trunk. In 

 the sunshine and when the leaves are ruffled by a 

 gentle breeze this tree is strikingly handsome. There 

 is also a weeping form (var. purpurea pendula) which is 

 of slow growth, and another (var. atropurpurea) with 

 leaves darker than those of the typical Purple Beech; 

 also a var. tricolor with leaves dark purplish green, 

 spotted with bright pink and shaded with white. 



The Fern-leaf Beech (var. heterophylld) has rela- 

 tively small, variously cut green leaves, and often 

 hairy twigs. Its origin is unknown. At Newport, 

 Rhode Island, there are fine specimens of this dis- 

 tinctly beautiful tree. I n England it is known to have 

 been in cultivation for a century. There are forms of 



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