2006

ARBORETUM AND FRUT1CETUM.

PART HI.

to 9 ft. in circumference, even in the largest trees; it is also generally muchthicker at the base than'at 1 ft. or 2 ft. from the ground. The head is large,tufted, and consists of a confused mass of branches, among which it is almostimpossible to trace the leader. The leaves somewhat resemble those of theelm, but are smoother: they are doubly serrated, pointed, plaited when young,and have numerous parallel, transverse, hairy ribs; their colour is a darkishgreen, changing to a russet brown in autumn; and they remain on the tree,like those of the beech, till spring. The buds are rather long and pointed.The flowers appear at the same time as the leaves. The male catkins are loose,scaly, of a yellowish colour, and about 2 in. or 3 in. long; the female catkinsare much smaller, and, when youngs are covered with close brownish scales,which gradually increase, and form “unequally 3-lobed, sharply serrated,veiny, dry, pale green bracteas, each enveloping an angular nut, scarcely biggerthan a grain of barley.” ( Smith .) These nuts ripen in October, and fall withthe capsules. The branches of the hornbeam, says Marshall, “are long,flexible, and crooked ; yet in their general appearance they very much resem-ble those of the beech : indeed, there is so great a likeness between these twotrees, especially in the shrubby underwood state, that it would be difficultto distinguish them at a first glance, were it not for that glossy varnish withwhich the leaves of the beech are strongly marked.” {Plant, and Par. Orn.,vol. ii. p. 51.) The wood is very tough and horny, and the bark smooth andwhitish, or light grey spotted with white; and on old trees it is generally