THE BEECH. 



315 



grafted on tlie Chestnut, and that its wood was 

 converted into bowls, a use which is alluded to 

 by other poets. No other tree with which we 

 are acquainted accords with this description. But 

 this is not all, for Pliny, the Latin naturalist, 

 gives an accurate description of the Fagus, which 

 cannot fail to identify it with our Beech, Of 

 the various kinds of mast, that of the Fagus is 

 the sweetest, on which Cornelius Alexander says, 

 that some men, who were besieged in the town 

 of Chios, lived for some time. It resembles a 

 nut, and is enclosed in a triangular rind. The 

 leaf is thin and exceedingly smooth, shaped like 

 the Poplar, decaying, after it has fallen to the 

 ground, long before any of the other mast-bear- 

 ing trees. The mast is much eaten by mice, 

 which abound at the season of its ripening ; it 

 also entices dormice, and is much sought after 

 by thrushes. Hogs fattened on it are lively, and 

 their flesh is digestible, light, and wholesome. 

 The bark is used for making baskets and panniers, 

 but the timiber is not durable." 



The above description, though wanting the pre- 

 cision of modern science, is sufficiently conclusive 

 that the Fagus of Italy is the Beech of Great 

 Britain, for the account is not true of any other 

 known tree. The only statement which demands 

 further notice is that of Virgil, that the Beech 

 is often grafted on the Castanea or Chestnut. 



and finally invented blocks of lead and tin, and printed books. 

 Among his workmen was John Faust, who, having been initiated 

 in the art, although sworn to secrecy, decamped, carrying with him 

 his master's stock in trade, and set up as a printer on his o^^ti ac- 

 count at IMayence. I should add, that, although many literary men 

 have credited this account, it bears, on close examination, internal 

 evidence of being a fabrication, either of Hadrian or his informant. 



