l6o 
F A 
three-celled, with two rudiments of feeds in each cell; 
ftyl.es three, (or one three-cleft, G.) ftigrhas awl-fhaped, 
and nightly hooked, yellowifh and fniooth ; at the top of 
the germ there are al.fo fix whitifh villofe fegments, fliorter 
than the fty'.es. The fruit is compofed of two nuts joined 
at the bafe, covered with an almoft globular four-valved 
involucre, with foft fpineson the outfide, but within very 
fmooth and filky : the nuts when ripe are one-celled and 
triangular ; and contain one or two angular feeds. 
The beech is native of the greater part of Europe, and 
the fouthern provinces of the vaft Ruffian empire ; but 
it is not fond of very high or cold fituations, nor is it 
found in the northern provinces of Sweden. Mr. Light- 
foot doubts whether it be indigenous in Scotland ; and 
Mr. Marfhall thinks it is' not a native of the northern 
counties in England ; it profpers in a chalky and rocky 
foil, but net in light lands. It thrives prodigioufly in 
flickered bottoms, and of all expofures mod diffikes the 
weft. In feme parts of Hertfordfhire, where the foil is a 
ftrong clay full of flints, this tree grows to a great fize, 
and is extremely beautiful. Mr. Arthpr Young (Travels 
in France, p. 7.) fpeaks of a beech at Chantilly, as the 
fined he ever faw ; ft might as an arrow, and not lefs than 
eighty or ninety feet high ; Forty feet to jhe firft branch, 
and four yards in diameter at five feet from the ground. 
In Ireland feveral fine beeches are mentioned, though it 
is not fuppofed to be a native of the ifland. As at Tiny- 
park, the feat of fir Skeffington Smyth, bart. three noble 
trees together, the fmalleft fourteen feet round, the next 
fifteen teet fix inches at the butt, and fourteen feet eight 
inches at feven feet from the ground, the third is fixteen 
feet three inches round, and continues nearly of the fame 
girth, for thirty-fix feet. 
C as far’s affertion that the fagus was not in Britain when 
lie vifited the ifland, can hardly be got over but by fup- 
pofing that his fagus is not the beech. Beech, fays the 
late Mr. White, is one of the mod grand and lovely of all 
the foreft trees, whether we confider its {lately trunk, its 
{mooth filvery rind, its gloffy foliage, or graceful, fpread- 
ing, pendulous boughs. No tree, fays another, is more 
beautiful when {landing fingly in parks or ornamental 
grounds, as it throws out its branches very regularly, and 
feathers almoft to the ground. In-woods or groves it 
grows clear of branches to a great height. Mr. Gilpin 
is not inclined to rank the beech much higher in pic- 
turefque beauty than in utility. Its trunk, he allows, is 
often highly pifturefque, being ftudded with bold knobs 
and projections, and having fometimes a fort of irregular 
fluting, which is very charafteriftic. The bark, too, 
wears often a pleafant line ; it is naturally of a dingy 
(.live, but is overfpread, in patches, with a variety of 
modes and lichens : its fnioothnefs alfo contraffrs agreeably 
with thefe rougher appendages. This is all the merit 
Mr. Gilpin allows to the beech : for we rarely fee it well 
ramified ; and in full leaf it lias the appearance of an 
overgrown bnfn. Virgil, indeed, was right in choofing 
the beech for its fliade, for no tree forms To complete a 
roof, but its bufhinefs gives it a great heavinefs. The 
beecn is 1110ft plea ling in its juvenile ftate. A light airy 
young tree, with its fpiry branches hanging in eafy 
forms, is often beautiful. Some of the fined: oppofitions 
of tint in the autumn, arife from the union of this tree 
with the oak. 
The beech is very well adapted to form lofty hedges, 
to un round plantations or large wiidernefs quarters, or 
for frreens where there is not room for trees to extend 
their branches naturally. Although the timber of this 
tree is not fo valuable as th.it of many others, yet as it 
grows very faff: in chalky or ftony ground of little value, 
with a clear frnooth bark, and ftraight trunk ; as it will 
thrive on fuch foils and in fuch fituations as better trees will 
icarcely grow in ; and, as it will refill winds on the decli¬ 
vities of hills better than mod other trees ; the planting 
of it ftiould be encouraged, efpecially as it affords an 
agiee.ible fliade, and the leaves both make a fine appear- 
3 U S. 
ance in fummer, and continue green is long In autumn as 
any of the deciduous trees ; when they turn brown or 
orange, and frequently hold on all the winter. In parks, 
therefore, and other plantations for pleafure, this tree 
deierves to be cultivated among thofe of the firft clafs, 
efpecially where the foil is adapted to it. But though 
the wood of the beech be'brittle, and decays foon in the 
air, yet it will endure long under water, and ferves for a 
great variety of ufes, as will appear from the following 
account. It is of great ufe to turners for making trench¬ 
ers, difhes, trays, buckets, &c. to the joiner for ftools, 
bedfteads, and other furniture ; to the wheeler and mill¬ 
wright. It makes {hovels and fpade-grafts for the htif- 
bandman, and is ufeful to the beliows-inaker. Floats for 
fifher’s nets, inftead of corks, are made of its bark. It is 
good for fuel, billet, bavin, and coals, though one of the 
lead lading; and its very (havings are good for fining of 
wine. If the timber lie altogether under water, it is little 
inferior to elm. Bafkets for ftrawberries, &c. are made 
of the bark. Of the thin lamina or fcale of the wood, 
fcabbards for fwords, band-boxes, hat-cafes, See. The 
leaves are ufed abroad, on account of their elaftic qua¬ 
lity, inftead of draw for the paillcrjfe to lay under their 
mattraffes. To this enumeration of ufes by Mr. Evelyn, 
we may add many others. It is now in much ufe among 
the cabinet-makers for chairs, both plain and painted, 
for bedfteads, with the polls frequently ftained the colour 
of mahogany. It is ufed in the country for rafters in 
building. Much of it is cut out into quarters and planks 
for various purpofes ; and barn-floors are frequently laid 
with it. The millwright ufes it for cogs, See. and the 
wheelwright for fpokes and fellies. It goes to the dock¬ 
yards for wedges, and may be ufed in ffiip’s bottoms from 
the keel to the floor-heads ; and to the coal mines under 
the name of Newcaftle.railing. Being of an even grain, 
and without knots, it makes beautiful benches and rail¬ 
ing for public rooms, and many forts of infide work in 
houfes. It is formed into gun-flocks, tool-handles, mal¬ 
lets, carpenter’s planes, &c. heel-pieces, and pegs for 
heels, and is ufed for the founding-boards of harpfichords, 
&c. It is cut into pipe-ftaves for dry goods, efpecially 
by the foap-cafk coopers, for vvhofe ufe a confiderable 
quantity is imported in ballaft from Bremen and Dantzic, 
in flabs and clapboards about five feet in length. It is 
faid that thefe coopers consume from twenty to thirty 
thoufand of thefe clapboards yearly, except in time of 
war, when the importation is flopped. It is excellent 
fuel, and in burning affords a large quantity of pot-afti. 
Much of it is fent to the metropolis under the name of 
London billet, for the ufe of the bakers, glafshoufes, 
&c. The ftackwood, which is made up of the branches, 
is burnt chiefly into charcoal. The nuts, or mail, as 
they are commonly called, fatten {wine, but the fat is not 
firm; and they are greedily devoured by mice, fquirrels, 
and birds ; they are faid to occafion giddinefs and head- 
ach ; but when dried and powdered to make wholefome 
bread : roafted,. they are fometimes fubftituted for coffee : 
the poor people in Silefia ufe the exprelfed oil inftead of 
butter. At the beginning of thiscentury Aaron Hill had 
a project for paying off the national debt with the oil of 
beech-nuts. But they feem to yield little oil in northern 
countries ; in Sweden, Linnaeus informs us, fcarcely tiny 
can be expreffed from them. 
If the foil be tolerably good, beech will become fit to 
be felled in twenty-fi ve years. The woods are then drawn, 
as it is called ; that is, the trees fit for fire-wood or bil¬ 
let, poles, timber, &c. are taken down, and no crooked 
trees 1 are fuffered to remain. Formerly it was the cuftotn 
to leave the uid (fools to produce new trees, but as thefe 
feldom grow well arid handfome, now during the winter 
tli.e old (tools are grubbed up, and the plants which fpring 
fpontaneoufly from the malt are encouraged to fup.ply the 
places of the trees which are taken down. Once in fix or 
{'even years this operation of drawing the woods may b.e 
repeated ; and thus there is a conftan-t and regular fuc. 
ceffion 
