THE BEECHNUT. 49 



north, south to Florida, and westward to Wisconsin and 

 Missouri. Formerly it was exceedingly abundant, but 

 like many other of our most valuable forest trees, it is 

 disappearing before the axe of the woodman, who has 

 always found a ready sale for beech timber. It is used in 

 the manufacture of plane stocks, shoe lasts, handles for 

 paring chisels, and hundreds of similar articles. Beech 

 wood is hard, firm, and takes a good polish, but is not 

 very flexible. It makes excellent fuel, and ranks next 

 in value to hard maple and hickory for this purpose. 

 In the more northern States and where the beech grows 

 to its largest size, the heartwood is usually of a reddish 

 color; but here in New Jersey and farther south, the 

 wood is usually white almost to the center of the tree, 

 no matter how large it may be. The color of the wood, 

 however, does not in any way detract from its value, for 

 fuel and many other purposes, although some European 

 dendrologists have been deceived into supposing that the 

 white beech was almost or quite worthless. Loudon, in 

 Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, Vol. Ill, in re- 

 ferring to our beech, says: "The wood of the white 

 beech is little valued in America, even for fuel; and 

 the bark is used for tanning, but is little esteemed," etc. 

 But if any one, in these later years, has had occasion to 

 purchase beech timber for any purpose, he has probably 

 learned, from the price charged, that it is esteemed, 

 even for such base purposes as firewood. 



I am not, however, attempting to ^extol the Ameri- 

 can beech as a timber ti'ee, but ask that it be given a 

 place among the select ornamental nut-bearing kinds. 

 And I think every farmer who has a pasture lot could 

 afford a place for at least one beech tree, and if there is 

 a low, moist spot in the field, or a stony corner, this 

 will be a suitable place for such a tree ; and the horses, 

 cattle or sheep out in pasture during hot days in sum- 

 mer will be very grateful for the shade which a wide- 

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