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The Garden Magazine, April, 1920 



rebellion of that year. The trees were never touched subse- 

 quently and have grown up close together in the slanting posi- 

 tion just as they were left. 



Very many forms of the Common Beech are recognized — the 

 Purple, Copper, Fern-leaf and Weeping being the best known. 

 As a matter of fact the Beech is more prolific in varying forms 

 than any other broad-leaf tree. And all the Beeches are lovely 

 trees in their native haunts. Their wood is similar and makes 

 excellent fuel but is not much esteemed otherwise. It is more 

 used in France perhaps than in other countries, though in parts 

 of Buckinghamshire, England, the manufacture of Beechwood 

 furniture constitutes a local industry of some importance. 



THERE are in England many fine Beech woods celebrated 

 in song and story, the most famous perhaps being that 

 known as the Burnham Beeches. This is situated some 25 

 miles west of London and a few miles from the royal borough 

 of Windsor, and is a remnant of vast forest which once stretched 

 right across England from the Thames to the Severn. It 

 covers now about 226 acres. In 1879 it was purchased by the 

 Corporation of London, and is a worthy memorial to the wise 

 discretion and public spirit of the city fathers of the time. 

 The age of these venerable Beeches is unknown. They are 

 pollarded trees with huge, burled boles and far-spreading, 

 umbrageous crowns. 'Neath their shade the poet Gray, author 

 of the immortal "Elegy," was wont to sit and read his Virgil. 

 Tradition has it that the pollarding was done by Cromwell's 

 soldiers, but much more likely it was the overt act of some greedy 

 lord of the manor at a more remote period, for purposes of tem- 

 porary gain. But, by whomsoever the act was committed, the 

 effect has been remarkable in presenting a spectacle which, 

 taken as a whole, has no parallel elsewhere. In picturesque 

 beauty the Burnham Beeches are unique and no tree lover 

 should miss a pilgrimage when opportunity offers. It is nearly 

 a quarter of a century since I paid my humble tribute to 

 this shrine, but the memory of that glorious Saturday after- 

 noon is vivid and undimmed notwithstanding that I have 

 since seen the forest glories of half the world. 



None of Britain's many famous specimen Beech trees are 

 finer than those in Ashridge Park, Buckinghamshire, where 

 stands the majestic Queen Beech, full 135 feet tall, with a trunk 

 straight and branchless for about 80 feet. Except for certain 

 Elms this is the tallest deciduous tree in Great Britain. Inci- 

 dental mention has been made of the self-layered Beech at 

 Newbattle Abbey. This tree is about 105 feet high and 2 1| feet 

 in girth of trunk at five feet from the ground, and has a total 

 circumference of about 400 feet. In Windsor Park, the royal 

 domain, are many magnificent Beech trees, one near the Ascot 

 Gate being a venerable old pollard 30 ft. in girth which is said 

 to be 800 years old. Of "inosculated" Beeches perhaps the 

 finest is that at Castle Menzies, Perthshire, Scotland, which is 

 95 feet high. A little above the ground it is forked and then 

 grown together again leaving an opening through which a youth 

 might pass. 



THE Purple Beech (var. purpurea) is in my opinion the only 

 tree with colored leaves worth planting. One, possibly two 

 — but not more — properly placed near the house or buildings, 

 with plenty of open space around, will add effective dignity. 

 Unfortunately, however, the use of this tree is all too frequently 

 abused. The Purple Beech is a natural variety of the common 

 kind and so far as is known all of them in cultivation have been 

 derived from a single tree discovered in the 18th century (and 

 still living) in the Hanleiter forest near Sondershausen in Thurin- 

 gia, central Germany. Propagation has been effected chiefly 

 by grafting. It is also carried on by seeds but only a percentage 

 of the seedlings come purple. This tree grows to as great a size 

 as the parent form, and there are specimens in England nearly 

 100 feet tall. 



It is popularly supposed that the Thuringian tree is the only 



wild Purple Beech known, but this is not true, neither is that 

 tree the oldest of which records exist; but it is the mother tree 

 of those cultivated in this country ind elsewhere. Trees of the 

 Purple Beech grow wild in the Tyrol, and at Buch, a village 

 in the Canton Zurich, Switzerland, three specimens that grow 

 among a mixture of the common green-leafed type with Oaks 

 and other trees have been written about since 1680. At one 

 time there were five of these trees and the tradition is that five 

 brothers having murdered each other on this spot, five blood 

 besprinkled Beech trees sprang up as righteous testimony from 

 God and lasting witness to so horrible a deed. The armorial 

 shield of the village bears a picture of a Purple Beech and the 

 probability is that its name of Buch, which is the German for 

 Beech, was derived from these trees. 



The Copper Beech (var. cuprea) is a seedling form of the 

 Purple kind, with leaves and shoots of a lighter color. It origin- 

 ated about a century ago, presumably in England where there 

 are specimens full 90 feet tall and 1 5 feet in girth of trunk. In 

 the sunshine and when the leaves are ruffled by a gentle breeze 

 this tree is strikingly handsome. There is also a variety 

 purpurea-pendula, a weeping form of slow growth, another 

 (atropurpurea) with leaves darker than those of the typical 

 Purple Beech, also a third (tricolor) with leaves dark purplish- 

 green, spotted with bright pink and shaded with white. 



The Fern-leaf Beech (var. heterophylla) has relatively small, 

 variously cut green leaves and the twigs are often hairy. Its 

 origin is unknown. At Newport, R. I., there are fine specimens 

 of this distinctly beautiful tree. In England it is known to have 

 been in cultivation for a century. There are forms of this 

 Beech designated by such names as asplenifolia, comptoniae- 

 folia, incisa, laciniata, and salicifolia which indicate the degrees 

 of laciniation obtaining. Also there is a form (atropurpurea 

 Rohanii) with incised leaves of the same hue as those of the 

 Copper Beech. 



THE Oak-leaf Beech (var. quercoides) has long stalked leaves 

 pointed at the base, with long-drawn-out apex and deeply 

 incised margins with the individual segments pointed. Other 

 forms with green leaves are the Crested-leaf Beech (var. cristata 

 or crispa) a curious small tree with small, short-stalked leaves 

 crowded into dense tufts which are scattered at intervals on the 

 branches; var. macrophylla, with very large leaves; var. ro- 

 tundifolia, with small round leaves; var. grandidentata, with 

 conspicuously toothed leaves and several others. 



The Weeping Beech (var. pendula) has the main branch very 

 irregularly disposed and often the outline is rugged. Trees of 

 this Beech may be tall and slender, or low and broad, or quite 

 irregular according to the direction of the larger branches, which 

 may grow outward or upward or in almost any direction; the 

 smaller branches only are uniformly pendulous. The Weeping 

 Beech is a natural variety and has been found wild in the forest 

 of Brotonne, in Seine- Inferieure, France. Other forms of pen- 

 dulous habit are var. borneyensis which was found wild in the 

 forest of Borney, near Metz, and is said to have all the lateral 

 and subsiding branches weeping; var. pagnyensis found in the 

 forest of Pagny, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France; var. remillyensis 

 from the forest of Remilly, near Metz; and var. miltonensis with 

 only moderately pendulous branches, found wild in Milton Park 

 Northamptonshire, England. 



The Parasol Beech (var. tortuosa) is of French origin, having 

 been found in the forest of Verzy, near Rheims and elsewhere 

 This form has a short twisted trunk and hemispherical crown, 

 with all the branches directed downward and often touching the 

 ground. It is seldom more than 10 ft. high and is more curiou: 

 than beautiful. A similar form was discovered in Ireland some 

 thirty-five years ago. The Fastigiate Beech (var. Dawyckii) 

 is a remarkable variety with all the branches erect. The original 

 tree grows at Dawyck, Peebleshire, Scotland, on the estate of 

 Mr. F. R. S. Balfour, Esquire. 



Finally, there are variously variegated-leafed forms of no 

 particular merit, and the Golden Beech so-called (var. zlatia) 



