Am.  Jour.  Pharm.") 
January,  1896.  J 
Beechnut  Oil. 
1 1 
BEECHNUT  OIL. 
By  Charges  H.  L,aWai,i,. 
The  American  beech  tree,  Fagus  atropunicea,  Marshall,1  Fagus 
ferruginea,  Aiton,  natural  order  Cupuliferae,  has  been  the  subject 
of  much  controversy  as  to  whether  the  variable  forms  which  it 
assumes  have  a  right  to  be  considered  distinct  species  or  merely 
varieties.  Gray's  Botany  of  the  Northern  United  States,  1889,  rec- 
ognizes but  one  species,  Fagus  ferruginea.  The  existence  of  at 
least  two  distinct  species  was  claimed  by  Michaux2,  who  brought 
forth  numerous  points  of  difference,  which  will  be  referred  to  later. 
Cut- leaved,  weeping  and  other  varieties  of  beech  have  been  in- 
troduced by  cultivation.  They  do  not,  as  a  rule,  form  permanent 
varieties,  but  show  a  tendency  to  revert  to  the  original  species, 
which,  in  the  cut-leaved  variety,  is  often  noticed  by  a  single  spray  of 
leaves,  going  back  to  the  original  form.3  The  beech  has  been  the 
subject  of  much  literature,  and,  except  where  direct  mention  is 
made  of  the  American  beech,  the  references  will  be  understood  to 
apply  to  the  European  beech,  Fagus  sylvatica. 
The  name  beech  is  derived  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  boc,  bece  or 
beoce ;  German,  Buche;  Swedish,  bok,  the  words  meaning  at 
once  a  book  and  a  beech  tree.  The  allusion  to  books  is  doubtless 
derived  from  the  knowledge  that  the  ancient  Runic  tablets  were 
formed  of  thin  boards  of  beechwood.  The  origin  of  the  word,  ac- 
cording to  Prior  ("  Popular  Names  of  British  Plants  ")  is  identical 
with  the  Sanskrit  Boko  letters,  Bokos  writings.4  The  generic  name 
Fagus  is  the  classical  Latin  name,  which  is  derived  from  cf>djco,  to 
eat,  in  allusion  to  the  esculent  nuts.5 
The  beech  is  a  large,  stately  tree,  thriving  on  sandy  or  chalky  soil, 
according  to  some  writers,  while  others  claim  that  it  prefers  a  light 
loamy  soil,  mixed  with  pebbles.  It  is  a  handsome  tree  in  all  stages 
of  its  growth,  the  graceful  spread  of  the  straight,  tapering  branches 
1A  change  proposed  at  the  meeting  of  the  Botanical  Section  of  the  A.  A.  A. 
S.,  1893. 
2 1819,  North  American  Sylva,  Vol.  III. 
3 1882,  F.  B.  Hough,  "Report  on  Forestry,"  United  States  Department 
Agriculture. 
4 1890,  Encyclopedia  Brittannica. 
5 1889,  Gray's  "Botany  of  the  Northern  United  States. 
