Book III. 



HARD-WOODED NON-RESINOUS TREES. 



989 



7088. The beech is the Fagus sylvatica, L, {Eng. Bot. 1846.) Monoec. Polynn. L. 

 , and AmentacecB, J. Hetre, Fr. ; B 'dche, Ger ; and Faggio, Ital. It is a native of Eng- 

 land, and grows in its natural soil and situation to sixty or eighty feet high. It is found 

 congregated in forests, in chalky flinty soils, thrives well in sheltered bottoms : but not 

 where it is exposed to the west. There are fine specimens of this tree at Castle Howard, 

 Woburn, Newbottle, and Dalkeith Park. It is not so long-lived as the elm, nor will it 

 grow in situations so much elevated as will the Scotch elms. 



7089. Use. The timber is brittle, and decays soon in the air ; but under water it is more durable. It 

 is used by the millwright, turner, carver, last and wheel maker, chair and cabinet maker, and more or less 

 in other branches. It is much used by bakers and in glass-houses as billet-wood ; and the stack -wood 

 forms an excellent charcoal. 



7090. Soil and site. Dryness and some degree of calcareous matter are the characteristics of the soil in 

 which the beech delights ; and the declivities of hills facing the east or south are its favorite situations. 



7091. The common hornbeam is the Carpinus Betulus, L. (Eng. Bot. 2032.) Moyiocc. 

 Tolyan. L. and Amentacece, J. It is a native tree, nearly allied in habits and ap- 

 pearance to the beech, but is less lofty, and thrives in colder stiffer soils, and in rather 

 more elevated situations. It flowers in April, and ripens its seeds in November. 

 " Although Evelyn is perhaps too partial to the hornbeam, yet, raised from seed, it forms 

 a tree of the first rate, equalling the common beech in magnificence ; but unfortunately 

 the hornbeam, like several of our best forest trees, may with ease, almost at any period 

 of the year, be propagated from layers, and the usual consequences of this practice, fol - 

 low, — a stinted, bushy, dwarf-like progeny. This tree, however, retaining its decayed, 

 shrivelled, pale-russet leaves during winter, like the common beech, forms mo.st valua- 

 ble shelter planted in hedges." {Cal. Mem. ii. S97.) 



7092. Use. Chiefly in turnery, being white and tough as the name imports. It is frequently used as a 

 substitute for the beech. 



7093. Soil and situation.^ A dry soil is essential, whether cold or chalky. It is a social tree, and found 

 in natural copse-woods, as in Hertfordshire ; but never at any great height above the level of the sea. 



7094. The Spanish chestnut is the Castanea vesca, W. ; Fagus Castanea, L. (Eng. Bot. 

 886.) Monoec. Tolyan. L. and Amentacece, J. It is the Chdtaignier of the French; 

 Castanienbaum of the Germans ; and Castagno of the Italians. It is one of the most 

 magnificent of European trees, exceeding the oak in height, and equalling it in bulk 

 and extent. It is doubtful whether it be a native of Britain, though it ripens its fruit in 

 sheltered valleys even in Scotland. It seems a very long-lived tree, of which the best 

 proof is the specimen on Mount Etna, two hundred and four feet in circumference. 

 Boutcher says, the shade of the chestnut, like that of the ash, is injurious to other plants. 

 The leaves which continue late in autumn are not liable to be eaten by insects like those 

 of the oak. The Spanish chestnut has been already described as a fruit tree. (4745.) 

 As a timber-tree it is used for the same purposes as the oak ; though by some con- 

 sidered as more brittle when old. The roof of Westminster Abbey, and that of the 

 Parliament House in Edinburgh, with many other antient works, are said to be con- 

 structed of it ; but considering that it is not a native tree, this is extremely improbable ; 

 and it is much more rational to suppose, with Professor Martyn and Daines Barrington, 

 that what is by many taken for chestnut, is only oak of a different grain. It is used by 

 the cabinet-maker and cooper ; makes an excellent coppice-tree for poles and hoops ; the 

 bark is equal in astringency to that of the larch and mountain-ash for tanning ; and the 

 leaves and nuts afford food both for men and deer. 



7095. Soil and situation. The soil in which it thrives best is a deep sandy loam, and the situation one 

 somewhat sheltered. In Calabria, and on the Apennines between Florence and Bologna, where we have 

 seen it in abundance, it does not attain a great size on the higher and more exposed parts of those moun- 

 tains, but is, as Sang observes, a surprisingly magnificent tree in the hollows. Pontey says, " on sandy 

 soils, where the oak would make but slow progress, I have seen the chestnut grow extremely quick, and 

 therefore, in such cases, the latter should be used instead of the former." 



7096. The walnut (Juglans regia) has been already treated of as a fruit-tree. (473.) 

 Its timber, when of mature age, is valuable as a cabinet wood, and for gun-stocks, being 

 light, hard, and durable. 



7097. The common sycamore is the Acer Pseudo-]>latanus, L. (Eng. Bot, 303.) Polyg. 

 Monoec. L. and Acerece, J. It is one of our hardiest native trees, and equal in mag- 

 nitude with, though more tame in its outline and form than, the oak. It flowers in 

 April and May, and ripens its keys or seeds in November. Its foliation is earlier than 

 that of most trees, and its decadence is next to that of the ash. It is a quick grower, 

 will endure the sea-breeze better than most trees, and is not liable to grow to one side 

 when exposed to winds that blow chiefly in one direction. 



7098. Use. The timber is chiefly used by the turner and millwright, and formerly, when earthenware 

 was less common, it was in great request for trenchers and other table and household utensils. It affords 

 a saccharine juice, like the sugar and other American maples, from which a wine may be made. 



7099. The Norway maple (A. platanoides) is a tree common in the native woods of Li- 

 thuania ; and in Norway it clothes the hills from the sea-shore to their summits. It 

 grows to a large size, and its leaves die to a golden color. Its timber does not differ ma- 

 terially from that of the sycamore. 



