TREES HAVING SIMPLE LEAVES 99 
50. The Beech. The difference in the leaf forms of 
the birch and beech is very marked. Both have toothed 
edges, but in the beech the spaces between the teeth are 
so remarkably shallow that one has to search for them. 
Fic. 108. A Remarkable Growth of Beeches in Greater New York 
There has been a common belief for generations that 
the beech is proof against lightning, and recent experi- 
ments prove that beech wood offers considerably greater 
resistance to the electric current than oak, poplar, or 
willow ; so our ancestors were partly nght. The wood 
is hard, strong, and tough, and will take a high polish. 
