90 
PLANTS AND INSECTS 
meets tlie needs of his creatures in every land. Speaking personally, we 
are very fond indeed of the bread-fruit, and are very thankful that it 
is obtainable at nearly all seasons of the year. —Nellie Olson . 
THE BEECH-TREE IN WINTER 
I N the winter, trees, bare as they look, have a peculiar beauty that, by a 
little study, reveals facts and peculiarities that we can not see during 
any other season. 
Each family of trees has definite characteristics of its own which 
distinguish it from any other family. It is a few of these traits that we 
will consider now. 
By observing the peculiarities of the different kinds of trees we are 
able to distinguish one kind from another at a distance, by the shape, 
the branches, the bark, and the many other details that go to make up 
a tree. 
Few well-known trees are more beautiful in shape and the nature 
of their branches than the beech. When you once familiarize yourself 
with its peculiarities, you will always recognize it, even at a distance. 
When it grows in a thick wood, it has very few branches of impor¬ 
tance except at the top; but when it grows in the open, its branches 
spread out in a very beautiful Way. Another fact is that when it grows 
in a thicket, its roots spread out from the base of the trunk and do not 
root deep in the earth; while when it grows alone, it sends its roots 
downward. 
The average height of a well-developed beech is from sixty to one 
hundred feet. Its branches and twigs are smooth and slender. Its 
bark is clean and close-fitting, a reddish brown on twigs and branches 
and a. prominent gray on the main trunk. 
The wood is hard, very close-grained, and not easy to split. It is 
valuable in the manufacture of tool-handles, shoe-lasts, and chairs. 
The fruit of the tree, called the beech-nut, is enclosed in a prickly 
bur, containing one or two (rarely three) triangular-shaped nuts. The 
nuts are palatable and nutritious. They not uncommonly hang on the tree 
till very cold weather. Squirrels consider them among their delicacies 
and sometimes, store large quantities of them in hollow trees. 
The beech is common in the eastern and central portions of the 
United States and is said to grow as far north as Nova Scotia. 
