XXVIII. 
THE BEECH. 
TuE Beech—Fagus sylvatica (L.)—belongs to the natural order 
Corylacee, and is one of our largest deciduous timber trees. It 
is a native of some of the southern counties in Britain, and it 
is found indigenous on hills of dry calcareous soil throughout 
Europe. In favourable situations the tree generally attains 
the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a trunk five or six 
feet in diameter. Instances are recorded of the tree, when 
drawn up in a close plantation, attaining to a height exceed- 
ing 100 feet, and when allowed to stand alone, with ample 
space, the diameter of its trunk, as well as the spread of its 
branches, are at least equal to that of any other forest tree 
grown in this country. 
The tree is propagated by seed. It blossoms in the month of 
May, yielding male and female flowers, and ripens the seed, 
which is called beech-mast, the following October or Novem- 
ber, when it drops from the tree, and where the ground is 
bare is readily picked or swept up. Sometimes the seeds 
are sown immediately after being collected. In that case, 
the crop appears above ground in April, and is apt to suffer 
from spring frosts. It is therefore advisable to keep the seeds 
spread on a floor, thin enough to prevent fermentation and 
moulding, until the month of March, and then sow them. 
By this means the crop appears aboveground a month later, 
and generally escapes the frosts of spring, and also the rav- 
ages of mice in the ground during winter, which, near to 
hedges, or in sheltered situations, are sometimes very great. 
The ground for a beech crop should be dry and friable ; if 
otherwise, the surface is apt to cake, confine and injure the 
