59 



THE BEECH. 



The next tree on my list^ I see^ is the 

 Beech. Though inferior in elegance and state- 

 liness to the elm^ this tree is by no means 

 without beauty. The leaves are about the 

 size^ and not much unlike, those of the com- 

 mon elm, and they frequently remain on the 

 tree, in a brown decayed state, during the 

 greater part of the winter : although the beech 

 is, properly, deciduousJ^ 



I made a short pause at this word ; and 

 Harry, perceiving my expectation, obliged me 

 by saying, that deciduous plants are those which 

 shed their leaves^ unlike evergreens, which 

 retain them* 



