1954

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUAI.

PART III.

white when fully exposed to the air. The leaves are shining, thin, changingto a brown or russet colour in autumn; and, on soil somewhat moist, or inwet autumns, remaining on the tree throughout the winter. On young trees,and on trees planted in hedgerows and pruned, the leaves are more certainof remaining on during the winter, than on large, old, and detached trees.The head of the beech is, in general, so dense, that plants do not readily growunder it; which is also partly owing to the leaves requiring a long time todecay after they fall. The branches of the beech, whether in old or youngtrees, generally take an upright direction, and form acute angles with thestem; though, in old trees, the lower branches are often horizontal, and some-times bent down in the middle, and curving upwards at the extremity. Thebranches are very numerous, and the smaller shoots much divided; but thedirection both of the branches and spray is always more or less straight, ascompared with that of the branches and spray of the oak, the ash, and someother trees. The roots do not descend deeply into the soil, but extend to aconsiderable distance close under the surface. The rootlets and fibres arenot nearly so numerous as in the ash and the elm. The barren flowers arein round, stalked, drooping heads, or catkins, of a light brown colour,and 3 or 4 in each head. The fertile ones are placed above them on thebranch, and are solitary, and on stouter stalks than the male catkins. Thecalyx of the fruit is 4-cleft, clothed with simple pliant prickles. Thestigmas are 3 in each flower; spreading, acute, and downy. Nuts 2, with 3equal very sharp angles, and crowned with the inner calyx. The flowersappear in May, and the fruit ripens in October. The fruit, when ripe, opensat the upper extremity, in four divisions; and, after a short time, the nutsfrequently drop out, leaving the calyx, or cup, which contained them, attachedto the tree. The nut contains a white oleaginous substance, agreeable to eat.The seedlings of this tree, Sir J. E. Smith observes, when newly sprung up,with their pale cotyledons, look not unlike some kinds of fungus. Theplants, under nursery culture, do not grow so rapidly as those of the ash andthe elm ; but, under favourable circumstances, they will attain the height of10 ft. in 5 years, and 20 ft. or 25 ft. in 10 years. The height of the tree, whenfull grown, and in a situation where it is allowed to spread, may be consideredas from 00 ft. to 80 ft. In Germany, according to Willdenow , it is from SO ft.to 00 ft.; but, when drawn up by other lofty-growing trees, it sometimesattains the height of from 100 ft. to 120 ft., as may be seen in the figures of theKing and Queen Beeches, at Ashridge, given in our Statistics, in a future page.A spreading beech, at Studley Park, of which fig. 1878. is a portrait to ascale of 30 ft. to 1 in. (drawn for us by H. W. Jukes, Esq., by the permissionMrs. Lawrence), is ll4ft. high, and exhibits, in respect to general formand ramification, the common character of the tree when growing detachedfrom all others. The life of the beech tree, in its native habitats in Ger-many, according to Willdenow , extends to 200 years, and upwards. Theoldest beech tree iu England is probably that in Windsor Forest, whichis supposed to have been in existence before the Norman Conquest , andwill be hereafter figured and described. In general, the tree attains itsfull growth, in England, in 60 or 80 years, when it is fit to be cut down fortimber purposes; and, on good soils, it is more than doubtful whether it willlive much more than 100 or 150 years. When the tree is cut, the woundsheal quickly over, so as to leave but very slight scars; and, when branches arecut off close to the trunk, it is not liable to throw out fresh shoots. Accord-ing to German authors, the beech, when treated as coppice-wood, will continueto send up shoots till it has attained the age of 30 or 40 years, but seldom toa greater age; and, hence, it is not well adapted either for coppice or under-wood. The tree, when under a course of nursery culture, and before it isremoved to its final destination, suffers severely from the removal of any of itsbranches; but, when once established as a hedge, it bears pruning as well asany other tree. The branches of the beech, particularly in woods, being muchcrowded, and having a smooth bark, are particularly liable to cross and grow