FOREST TREES. 



145 



the summit of a scaly-bracted peduncle. The fruit, a pair of 

 triangular-shaped nuts, enclosed in a prickly involucre. 



Fa^ns ferruginea, Ait. — American Beech. — Leaves oblong- 

 ovate, silky on both sides when young, becoming smooth with 

 age, except on the veins ; edges serrate or distinctly toothed. 

 Nuts well known for their rich and delicate flavor. The beech 

 is one of our most noble and valuable forest trees, and of a 

 graceful habit. The leaves remain green until quite late in the 

 season, seldom changing color until cut by frost, when unfor- 

 tunately they do not drop at once, but remain attached to the 

 branches for weeks or months, a few dropping at a time, all 

 through the winter. This habit of retaining the dead and dry 

 leaves in winter is an objection to the beech as a lawn tree, 

 because there is a constant littering of the grounds until the new 

 foliage pushes in spring. Bark on the stem and branches 

 smooth, and of a grayish-white color, in fact, the beech may 

 be termed one of the cleanest-looking trees of our forest, and it 

 is seldom attacked by insects. Wood very hard and firm, sus- 

 ceptible of a very fine polish, and is next to the hickory in 

 value for fuel. In some soils, the wood Is white even in quite 

 large trees, but in others it is of a rich brown or reddish, and I 

 have seen trees in our northern woods that were over two feet 

 in diameter that did not have more than two inches of white 

 wood on the outside, all the rest being of a brown color. Wood 

 extensively employed for making plane stocks, handles for 

 tools, cabinet work, hewn timber, and other purposes. The 

 roots of the beech do not usually go deeply in the ground, but 

 keep close to the surface, especially in moist, stony soils, which 

 it frequents. It is an excellent tree for planting in rocky, 

 exposed situations, as its slender, tough branches withstand 

 high winds and cold storms. The nuts may be treated the same 

 as recommended for the chestnut, but almost any quantities of 

 the natural seedlings can be procured in our northern woods, and 

 they can be readily transplanted without much loss. A com- 

 mon tree in Nova Scotia, Canada, and all of our Northern 

 States and southward, along the mountains and valleys in rich 

 soils to Florida. 



The European Beech {F. sylvatica) is very similar to the 

 American, but distinguished by shorter and broader leaves, 

 with somewhat wavy margins. Of this species there are many 

 varieties in cultivation, and among the best known are the fol- 

 lowing, aU of which are large trees : Purple-leaved (F, var. pur- 



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