48 THE NUT CtTLTUElST. 



Species and Varieties of the Beech. — In the 



Dictionary of Gardening, edited by George Nicholson, 

 of the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, the fol- 

 lowing species of Fagns are briefly described, viz : 



F. antarctica. — Leaves ovate, blunt, glabrous, atten- 

 uated at the base, doubly dentate, alternate, petiolate, 

 one and a half inches long. A small deciduous tree or 

 shrub, with rugged, tortuous branches. Native of Tierra 

 del Fuego, S. A. 



F. betuloides (birch-like). Evergreen beech. — 

 Leaves ovate, elliptic, obtuse crenulate, leathery, shining 

 glabrous, round at the base or short footstalks. An 

 evergreen tree, native of Tierra del Fuego, S. A. 



F. ferruginea (rusty). American beech. — Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, thickly toothed, dovs^ny beneath, cili- 

 ate on the margin. A large deciduous tree, very closely 

 resembling the common European species, from which 

 it is distinguished by its longer, thinner and less shin- 

 ing leaves. 



F. ohliqua (oblique). Chile beech. — Leaves ovate, 

 oblong, oblique, somewhat rhomboid, blunt, doubly ser- 

 rated, entire at the base, attenuated into the petiole, and 

 somewhat downy. A hardy deciduous tree, native of 

 the cooler elevated i-egions of Chile, S. A. 



F. sylvaticd (sylvan). European beech. — Leaves ob- 

 long, ovate, obscurely toothed ; margin ciliate. A well- 

 known large deciduous tree, widely distributed in Europe 

 from Norway southward to Asia Minor. From this spe- 

 cies a large number of ornamental varieties have been 

 produced, many of them merely accidental variations of 

 the wild forms of the forests, while others have origi- 

 nated in the seedbeds of nurserymen. But so far as I am 

 aware, no variety has ever been introduced bearing 

 superior or improved forms of nuts. 



Our American beech {F. ferruginea) is a widely 

 distributed tree, extending from Nova Scotia in the 



