118 
rebellion of that year. The trees were never touched subse- 
quently and have grown up close together in the slanting posi- 
tion just as they were left. 
Very many forms of the Common Beech are recognized — the 
Purple, Copper, Fern-leaf and Weeping being the best known. 
As a matter of fact the Beech is more prolific in varying forms 
than any other broad-leaf tree. And all the Beeches are lovely 
trees in their native haunts. Their wood is similar and makes 
excellent fuel but is not much esteemed otherwise. It is more 
used in France perhaps than in other countries, though in parts 
of Buckinghamshire, England, the manufacture of Beechwood 
furniture constitutes a local industry of some importance. 
T HERE are in England many fine Beech woods celebrated 
in song and story, the most famous perhaps being that 
known as the Burnham Beeches. This is situated some 25 
miles west of London and a few miles from the royal borough 
of Windsor, and is a remnant of vast forest which once stretched 
right across England from the Thames to the Severn. It 
covers now about 226 acres. In 1879 it was purchased by the 
Corporation of London, and is a worthy memorial to the wise 
discretion and public spirit of the city fathers of the time. 
The age of these venerable Beeches is unknown. They are 
pollarded trees with huge, burled boles and far-spreading, 
umbrageous crowns. ’Neath their shade the poet Gray, author 
of the immortal “ Elegy,” was wont to sit and read his Virgil. 
Tradition has it that the pollarding was done by Cromwell’s 
soldiers, but much more likely it was the overt act of some greedy 
lord of the manor at a more remote period, for purposes of tem- 
porary gain. But, by whomsoever the act was committed, the 
effect has been remarkable in presenting a spectacle which, 
taken as a whole, has no parallel elsewhere. In picturesque 
beauty the Burnham Beeches are unique and no tree lover 
should miss a pilgrimage when opportunity offers. It is nearly 
a quarter of a century since I paid my humble tribute to 
this shrine, but the memory of that glorious Saturday after- 
noon is vivid and undimmed notwithstanding that I have 
since seen the forest glories of half the world. 
None of Britain’s many famous specimen Beech trees are 
finer than those in Ashridge Park, Buckinghamshire, where 
stands the majestic Oueen Beech, full 135 feet tall, with a trunk 
straight and branchless for about 80 feet. Except for certain 
Elms this is the tallest deciduous tree in Great Britain. Inci- 
dental mention has been made of the self-layered Beech at 
Newbattle Abbey. This tree is about 105 feet high and 21^ feet 
in girth of trunk at five feet from the ground, and has a total 
circumference of about 400 feet. In Windsor Park, the royal 
domain, are many magnificent Beech trees, one near the Ascot 
Gate being a venerable old pollard 30 ft. in girth which is said 
to be 8co years old. Of “inosculated” Beeches perhaps the 
finest is that at Castle Menzies, Perthshire, Scotland, which is 
95 feet high. A little above the ground it is forked and then 
grown together again leaving an opening through which a youth 
might pass. 
T HE Purple Beech (var. purpurea) is in mv opinion the only 
tree with colored leaves worth planting. One, possibly two 
— but not more — properly placed near the house or buildings, 
with plenty of open space around, will add effective dignity. 
Unfortunately, however, the use of this tree is all too frequently 
abused. The Purple Beech is a natural variety of the common 
kind and so far as is known all of them in cultivation have been 
derived from a single tree discovered in the 1 8th century (and 
still living) in the Hanleiter forest near Sondershausen in Thurin- 
gia, central Germany. Propagation has been effected chiefly 
by grafting. It is also carried on by seeds but only a percentage 
of the seedlings come purple. This tree grows to as great a size 
as the parent form, and there are specimens in England nearly 
100 feet tall. 
It is popularly supposed that the Thuringian tree is the only 
The Garden Magazine, April, 1920 
wild Purple Beech known, but this is not true, neither is that 
tree the oldest of which records exist; but it is the mother tree 
of those cultivated in this country and elsewhere. Trees of the 
Purple Beech grow wild in the Tyrol, and at Buch, a village 
in the Canton Zurich, Switzerland, three specimens that grow 
among a mixture of the common green-leafed type with Oaks 
and other trees have been written about since 1680. At one 
time there were five of these trees and the tradition is that five 
brothers having murdered each other on this spot, five blood 
besprinkled Beech trees sprang up as righteous testimony from 
God and lasting witness to so horrible a deed. The armorial 
shield of the village bears a picture of a Purple Beech and the 
probability is that its name of Buch, which is the German for 
Beech, was derived from these trees. 
The Copper Beech (var. cuprea) is a seedling form of the 
Purple kind, with leaves and shoots of a lighter color. It origin- 
ated about a century ago, presumably in England where there 
are specimens full 90 feet tall and i 5 feet in girth of trunk. In 
the sunshine and when the leaves are ruffled by a gentle breeze 
this tree is strikingly handsome. There is also a variety 
purpurea-pendula, a weeping form of slow growth, another 
(atropurpurea) with leaves darker than those of the typical 
Purple Beech, also a third (tricolor) with leaves dark purplish- 
green, spotted with bright pink and shaded with white. 
The Fern-leaf Beech (var. heterophylla) has relatively small, 
variously cut green leaves and the twigs are often hairy. Its 
origin is unknown. At Newport, R. I., there are fine specimens 
of this distinctly beautiful tree. In England it is known to have 
been in cultivation for a century. There are forms of this 
Beech designated by such names as asplenifolia, comptoniae- 
folia, incisa, laciniata, and salicifolia which indicate the degrees 
of laciniation obtaining. Also there is a form (atropurpurea 
Rohanii) with incised leaves of the same hue as those of the 
Copper Beech. 
T HE Oak-leaf Beech (var. quercoides) has long stalked leaves 
pointed at the base, with long-drawn-out apex and deeply 
incised margins with the individual segments pointed. Other 
forms with green leaves are the Crested-leaf Beech (var. cristata 
or crispa) a curious small tree with small, short-stalked leaves 
crowded into dense tufts which are scattered at intervals on the 
branches; var. macrophylla, with very large leaves; var. ro- 
tundifolia, with small round leaves; var. grandidentata, with 
conspicuously toothed leaves and several others. 
The Weeping Beech (var. pendula) has the main branch very 
irregularly disposed and often the outline is rugged. Trees of 
this Beech may be tall and slender, or low and broad, or quite 
irregular according to the direction of the larger branches, which 
may grow outward or upward or in almost any direction; the 
smaller branches only are uniformly pendulous. The Weeping 
Beech is a natural variety and has been found wild in the forest 
of Brotonne, in Seine- lnferieure, France. Other forms of pen- 
dulous habit are var. borneyensis which was found wild in the 
forest of Borney, near Metz, and is said to have all the lateral 
and subsiding branches weeping; var. pagnyensis found in the 
forest of Pagny, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France; var. remillyensis 
from the forest of Remilly, near Metz; and var. miltonensis with 
only moderately pendulous branches, found wild in Milton Park 
Northamptonshire, England. 
The Parasol Beech (var. tortuosa) is of French origin, having 
been found in the forest of Verzy, near Rheims and elsewhere 
This form has a short twisted trunk and hemispherical crown, 
with all the branches directed downward and often touching the. 
ground. It is seldom more than 10 ft. high and is more curious 
than beautiful. A similar form was discovered in Ireland some 
thirty-five years ago. The Fastigiate Beech (var. Dawyckii) 
is a remarkable variety with all the branches erect. The original 
tree grows at Dawyck, Peebleshire, Scotland, on the estate of 
Mr. F. R. S. Balfour, Esquire. 
Finally, there are variously variegated-leafed forms of no 
particular merit, and the Golden Beech so-called (var. zlatia) 
