¡I ? ■ I
u nhea lthy aspect. The re are also varieties with th e leaves striped or
blotched witli white only, and o th e rs with only golden-striped leaves.
Î F . s. 5 heterophylla. F . s. laciniàta L o d d . Cat. ed. 1836 ; F . s. asplenifòlia
Lodd. Cat. ed. 1836 ; F . s. in c ìsa Hort. ; F. s. salicifòlia
Hart. ; H ê tre à Feuilles de Saule, F?\ ; th e various, o r cut, leaved
IG92. f. s. heteiophÿlla. 1G'J3. F. s. heterophjlU.
Beech. — T h e leaves variously cut, as in fig . 1692.; sometimes in
narrow slireds, so as to resemble a fern, as i n / g . 1693.; and, at
o th e r times, in shreils o f greater bread th , like th e leaves o f a willow.
This variety, which may be designated as more curious th an beautiful,
is very ap t to retu rn to
th e normal form.
¥ F . .S-. 6 cristàta Lodd. Cat. ed.
1836. F. s. crispa Hort. ;
H ê tre C rête de Coq, Fr. ;
th e crested, o r curled-leaved
Beech. (T h e plate o f this
tre e in Arb. B rit., 1st edit.,
vol. viii.; and o u r / g . 169-1-.)
— This variety is a monstrosity,
with th e leaves
small, and almost sessile,
and crowded into small
dense tufts, which occur at
intervals along th e branches.
The tre e never attains a
large size, as may be expected
from its deficiency
in foliage.
¥ F . fi. 7 pendida Lodd. Cat. ed.
1836. H ê tre P a ra so l, Fr. ;
th e weeping Beech.— When
this variety is grafted s tan dard
high, it forms a very
1G94. F . s. cristàta.
singular an d highly beautiful object, well deserving a [ilace in
collections o f weeping trees. T h e re is a splendid n a tu ra l specimen
in one o f th e plantations bordering Milton P a rk , in Northamptonshire,
o f which a plate is given in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. viii.
9 0 7
1G95. s. americàna.
¥ F . S . 8 americana. F . sylvéstris ' Michx. N .
Amei'. Syl. t. 107. ; white Beech, Amer.
(O u r fig . 1695.) — Generally considered
by botanists as identical with th e common
E u ro p e an beech. In N o rth America, it
forms one o f th e ta lle st an d most majestic
trees o f th e forest, abounding in th e middle,
western, and so u th e rn sta te s, in deep
moist soil, and in a cool atmosphere. The
tru n k s o f th e tre es are frequently 8 ft., 9 ft.,
and 11 ft. in circumference, and more than
1 00ft. high. T h e tre e is less branchy than
F . ferruginea, o r red beech o f America ;
and th e perfect wood bears b u t a small
p roportion to th e sap, frequently occupying
only 3 in. in a trunk 1 ft. 6 in. in diameter.
The E u ro p e an beech is a handsome umbrageous tre e , combining magnificence
with beauty ; an d being, as Mathews observes, a t once th e Hercules
and Adonis o f o u r sylva. T h e ro o ts do n o t descend deeply into th e soil,
but extend to a considerable distance close u n d er th e surface. T h e ro o tlets
and fibres are n o t nearly so numerous as in th e ash and th e elm. T h e plants,
under nursery cu ltu re , do n o t grow so rapidly as th o se o f th e ash and th e
elm; hut, under favourable circumstances, th ey will attain th e height o f
10 ft. in 5 years, and 20 o r 25 feet in 10 years. In general, th e tre e atta in s its
full growth, in En gland, in 60 o r 80 years, when it is fit to be cu t down for
timber purposes ; and, on good soils, it is more than d o ubtful whether it will
live much more than 100 o r 150 years. T h e wood, which, when green, is
harder than th a t o f any o f o u r B ritish timber trees, weighs, when in this
state, 65 lb. 13 oz. p e r cubic foot ; half-dry, it weighs 56 lb. 6 oz. ; and quite
dr)? 501b. 3 o z . The wood, when th e tre e has grown in good soil, and on
plains, has a somewhat reddish tin g e ; b u t in poor soils, and on mountains, it
is whitish. T h e durability o f th e wood is said to be increased by steeping
it in water ; and, according to some, by disbarking th e tre e while standing.
In England, a t th e p resen t time, th e beech is principally employed in making
bedsteads and chairs ; and it is also in g reat demand for panels for carriages, and
for various purposes in jo in ery , cabinet-making, and tu rn e ry . Screws, wooden
shovels, peels for b ak e rs’ ovens, and rims for sieves, are also made o f it, and
in France sabots. As fuel, th e wood o f th e beech is superior to th a t o f m ost
other trees, and th e green wood is generally preferred to th a t which is dry, because
it burns slower, th ough it does n o t give o u t so much h ea t ; an d hence,
in many places in F ran c e , tre e is frequently cu t down in th e summer
season. The beech, b u rn t green, produces h e a t and light relatively to th e
beech b u rn t dry, as 1181 is to 1540. F o r useful plantations, th e beech is not
highly prized ; th e tre e n o t being o f much value when young, nor forming a
permanent coppice wood, and th e bark being o f little value. Beech o f small
size, or of short and crooked stem, is th e le ast valuable o f all timber. Oh dry
chalky soils, it may be planted as a timber tre e ; b u t here, as in many oth e r
cases where a straight clean tru n k is wanted, th e plants req u ire to be drawn
up, either by o th e r tre es o f th e ir own species, o r by tre es o f a different species,
which advance a t nearly th e same ra te o f growth ; such, for example, as th e
sweet chestnut. T h e beech succeeds b e s t in plantations by its e lf; and,
))erhaps, th e re is no membranaceous-leaved tre e which, in a wild s ta te in
forests, is found so little intermixed with o th e r species. I t is one o f th e
worst o f all trees for hedgerows, n o t only injuring th e fence and th e adjoining
crops by th e density o f its shatle, b u t its tru n k , when grown in this situa tion,
being neither long, clean, n o r straight, is o f little value ex c ep t for fuel. As
undergrowth, th e beech is n o t o f long d uration, seldom pushing from th e
stools after 40 o r 50 years. F o r hedgerows for shelter, and especially for
tliose lofty narrow hedges which were formerly much in use for enclosing and