THE TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 79 



wares. For fuel it is little esteemed, as it snaps 

 most intolerably, almost as much as Hemlock Spruce. 

 But for charcoal it is well adapted, and in this form 

 is extensively used in forges and smithies. 



Botanists deem our Chestnut to be only a variety 

 of the European. The wood is not quite so fine 

 grained, and the nuts are only about half the size of 

 the European, but they are much sweeter and more 

 palatable. On Mt. iEtna is a Chestnut tree (but 

 apparently of five united trunks), 53 feet in diameter, 

 and with a spread of branches' sufficient to shelter 

 100 men on horseback ! There are several trunks 

 near this which are 75 feet in circumference. 



2. Chinquapin. (C. pumila, Michx.) — This ex- 

 tends from the Delaware throughout the South. In 

 this State it is known from the seaboard to Cherokee, 

 and in great varieties of soil. It is usually a shrub 

 from 6 to 12 feet high, but in cool fertile situations it 

 is sometimes 30 or 40, and 12 or 18 inches in diame- 

 ter. The wood is finer grained than the Chestnut 

 and equally durable ; but the stock is too small for 

 extensive use. 



There is a distinct variety of this (var : nana) in 

 our poor forests with slender shoots and extensive 

 runners, bearing fruit at the height of a foot. 



BEECH. (Fagus ferruginea, Ait.) — Common 

 throughout the United States, and the only species 

 in the country. It is a very handsome tree, though 

 rarely seen in cultivation. In the Lower District of 



