THE PURPLE BEECH TREE. 
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the pistils, so as to form a prickly hollow case, which completely encloses the 
nuts ; at last the case rends open spontaneously into three or four woody pieces, 
and makes room for the nuts, or mast, to fall out. As in the oak one of the 
ovules destroys all the others, so that out of six young" seeds but one is found in 
the ripe nut : here, however, you may generally find the five that have perished 
remaining- like little brown specks sticking- to the top of the cell of the nut." 
It will be apparent that the more simple classification of Linnaeus teaches the 
student to examine the structure of the flower, and apparent organs of fructification, 
and it has contrived to establish a set of characters with wonderful precision, 
whereby a person, very slightly acquainted with plants, may be able to judge of 
the systematic relationship of any subject that he sees for the first time. But it 
instructs him no farther. The natural system enters into anatomical details ; it 
dissects minutely, and, to be appreciated, requires a patient assiduity of research, 
and a considerable acquaintance with physiological structure : it is the system of 
the learned, and combines the sciences of vegetable physiology and botany. 
The purple beech, the immediate object of our remarks, is a variety of the 
common forest beech, and is propagated by inarching upon that stock. It is 
introduced occasionally, but by no means so extensively as, for its grace and 
beauty, it ought to be. Every development, from the first enlarging of the buds, is 
striking : the involution of the numerous tender leaves under the external covering 
ought to be closely investigated, as a subject of admiration and praise. When in 
full foliage the leading tint is a profound purple, with a glossy metallic lustre, 
hence the vulgar term of copper-beech. But a deep green prevails equally with 
the purple ; and, under certain angles of light, this green tint predominates. If a 
person place himself before a well-formed tree, and between it and the sun, and 
look steadily at every part of the tree upon which the sun's rays fall, he will behold 
the various and varying shades in all their beauty. The leaves on the spray, most 
enlightened, will exhibit the utmost intensity of the purple, illuminated with a 
golden lustre. The internal branches, those in shadow, but which still present 
their foliage in the direction of the sun, will appear green, with occasional lines 
and patches of brown and purple, which afford a striking relief to the prevailing 
tint. At certain periods, at the approach of autumn, green predominates ; but the 
veins of the leaves are always purple, or of a full dark hue. 
The figure of the tree is extremely graceful, and it may be so trained as to 
overarch a considerable space of a lawn, the extremities of the branches nearly 
touching the surface, and forming a bowery shade to which we may appositely 
apply the first line of the pastoral Latin poet, 
" Tityre, tu pattilae recubans sub tegmine fagi." 
It is generally supposed that the shadow of the beech is inimical to grass ; but 
we have now before us a fine specimen on a lawn, the herbage of which forms an 
unbroken green covering : the texture and substance of the grass are lax and 
somewhat feeble, but there is no want of verdure. The soil is a sandy loam over 
chalk ; a soil which the beech alfects. We, this spring, sifted soot and Bath-coal 
ashes over the grass, and there has been a manifest improvement. 
