~12 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
BEECH 
The beech is called by the German foresters the 
“Mother of the Forest” on account of its tendency to 
enrich the barren souls with its fertile leaf mulch. The 
early Colonists, in selecting homesteads, chose level land 
upon which beech or maple was growing, as they knew 
the soil would be very fertile. 
BEECH 
Fagus americana 
BARK 
Thin, steel gray and very smooth. 
LEAVES 
215” long, coarse teeth and with 
long slender poimts 
FRvItT 
A burr containing one or two triangu- 
lar nuts. 
RANGE 
Northern New England to Northern 
Wisconsin South to Northern 
Florida and Eastern Texas. 
There is only one kind of beech native to this country 
although there are several varieties of Huropean beech 
planted for ornamental purposes. In Europe the beech 
nuts are highly prized for cattle feed and large droves 
of hogs fatten upon the beech “mast” in the German 
forests, 
