USES OF THE BEECH. 6l 



of Scio were once enabled to sustain a memo- 

 rable siege^ by the beech mast which their 

 island supplied. It has been roasted, as a 

 substitute for coffee. When pressed, the nuts 

 yield an excellent oil, for the lamp or the 

 table. It is used by the lower classes in Sile- 

 sia, instead of butter ; and the cakes, which 

 remain after pressure, are far from being des- 

 picable food, for man or beast. The leaves, in 

 some countries, are collected and used, instead 

 of feathers, for beds : so, you see, a beech tree 

 has many uses." 



Indeed it has," said Frederick. I sup- 

 pose the timber will build a man a house ; the 

 roots and branches supply him with firing ; 

 the fruit gives him coffee for breakfast, cakes 

 for supper, and oil to light him to his chamber, 

 where he has beech wood for a bedstead, and 

 beech leaves for a bed !" 



