XXXL 
THE HORNBEAM. 
THE HornBeamM (Carpinus).—This tree belongs to the natural 
order Corylacee. The genus comprehends only three or four 
species, all of which are deciduous trees. They yield flowers 
unisexual ; those of the two sexes are in distinct catkins upon 
the same plant. 
C. Betulus (L.)—The Common Hornbeam, which is the 
principal tree of the genus, is a native of England, of Ireland, 
of the south of Scotland, and of many parts of. central Europe, 
avoiding the extremes of heat and cold. It bears a striking 
resemblance in its leaves to those of the common beech, but it is 
destitute of their glossy varnish or polish, and it presents the 
appearance of a tree intermediate between the beech and the 
elm. It is perhaps cultivated to a less extent than any other 
hardy timber tree adapted to the climate of Britain. It 
attains to a middle size, but is not valuable as an ornamental 
tree, nor as timber. Although instances have occurred of the 
tree attaining the height of eighty or ninety feet, with a trunk 
three feet in diameter, yet trees two-thirds of these dimensions 
are generally reckoned large specimens. In magnitude, there- 
fore, it stands between the beech and the birch, and, like the 
latter, it often produces trunks of a flat and irregular figure. 
As a hedge plant the reputation of the hornbeam is con- 
siderable. Compared with the beech, it endures pruning 
better, and it has the advantage of being much less subject 
to disease, and atmospheric influence, when grown for a long 
time in a confined form, complaints which of late years have 
prevailed to an alarming extent in several districts. It is 
also superior to beech in being less injurious as a hedge plant 
