176 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
nut is flattened on one side, of a woody texture, and contains a 
small kernel which tastes somewhat like a chestnut. 
When growing by itself, in open ground, the hombeam is a 
low tree, with a broad, round, crowded, leafy head, the lower 
branches bending nearly to the ground on every side. Its gen- 
eral aspect and figure are like those of the beech, and it is 
more uniform in its appearance than any other tree. 
It is found in every part of the State and in almost every 
variety of soil except the most barren; but flourishes only in 
rich moist land. It is never a large tree. I measured one by 
the side of the Agawam River, near Chester Village, which was 
three feet nine inches in circumference above the bulging of the 
roots, and about thirty feet high; one in Brookline measured 
two feet six inches at two feet from the ground; and I have 
often seen it of similar dimensions. It is usually five or six 
inches in diameter and about twenty feet high. From the situ- 
ations in which it iscommonly found growing, on the steep sides 
of river banks, and cold, clayey hills, it is rarely erect, but 
generally inclined obliquely upwards, with very large, spread- 
ing branches. 
It is of slow growth, and is supposed to live to a great age. 
The wood is white, close-grained and compact, and has great 
strength. It is used for beetles, levers, and for other purposes, 
where strength and solidity are required; and it is well fitted 
for the use of the turner. ‘T‘he corresponding species in Europe 
is much esteemed as fuel, and in France its charcoal is preferred 
to most others. ‘The hornbeam is a tree of considerable beauty. 
Its smooth, fluted trunk is an interesting object to one curious 
in forest history; its foliage is remarkable for its softness, and 
the fruit is unlike that of every other tree. The crimson, scar- 
let and orange of its autumnal colors, mingling into a rich pur- 
plish red as seen at a distance, make it rank in splendor almost 
With the tupelo and the scarlet oak. It is easily cultivated and 
should have a corner in every collection of trees. 
According to Michaux, this tree is found in Nova Scotia, and 
Pursh found it in Florida. It is common in all the New Eng- 
Jand States, in New York and Pennsylvania, and in Carolina 
and Georgia. 
