BEECH FAMILY 



creamy tinted catkins in a wealth of bloom and proclaims 

 that she, too, belongs to the fruit-bearing race and though 

 late she is not belated. Though she blooms in midsummer, 

 her nuts are ripe in early autumn, and the first frosts open 

 the prickly burs and scatter the shining contents at the feet 

 of any passer-by. 



Wilson Flagg speaking of the Chestnut says, : " On this 

 continent it is a majestic tree remarkable for the breadth 

 and depth of its shade. It displays many of the superficial 

 characters of the red oak so that in winter we cannot read- 

 ily distinguish them. The foliage bears some resemblance 

 to that of the beech but displays more variety. The leaves 

 are long, lengthened to a tapering point and of a bright ^and 

 nearly pure green. Though arranged alternately like those 

 of the beech on the recent branches, they are clustered in 

 stars, containing from five to seven leaves, on the fruitful 

 branches that grow out from the perfected wood. When the 

 tree is viewed from a moderate distance the whole mass 

 seems to consist of tufts, each containing several long, pointed 

 leaves, drooping divergently from a common centre." 



The relation between the American Chestnut and the 

 Sweet Chestnut of Europe has long puzzled botanists. Lou- 

 don considers ours but a variety of the European ; Professor 

 Sargent prefers to consider it a distinct species. The dif- 

 ference between them in any case is slight and ours has the 

 sweeter nut. 



Chestnut trees attain enormous size and great age. Lou- 

 don says that the Tortworth Chestnut tree in Gloucester- 

 shire, England, which is still in a healthy condition, was 

 remarkable for its great size in the reign of King Stephen, 

 1 135 A.D., and is probably more than a thousand years old. 

 The species has the peculiarity of sending forth vigorous 

 shoots from a stump and these, growing in a sort of brother- 

 hood, finally unite into a' single tree. The famous Chestnut 

 of a Hundred Horsemen on Mt. Etna in Sicily is believed to 

 have been formed in this way by a group of five. A hundred 

 years ago it had the circumference of two hundred feet at 



3QO 



