. A history of British forest-trees, indigenous and introduced. gain curve upwards atthe extremity ; and it not unfrequently happens that, inclose-headed trees, where the branches cross and comein contact with each other, a junction or natural inarchingtakes place. In mass, and growing pretty close together,it runs up to a great height, with a clean straight stem,the lower branches either dying gradually off, or so muchchecked in their growth as not to interfere with the clean-ness of the timber. The bark, even upon the oldest trees, is thin and smooth,and, when fully exposed to the light, of
. A history of British forest-trees, indigenous and introduced. gain curve upwards atthe extremity ; and it not unfrequently happens that, inclose-headed trees, where the branches cross and comein contact with each other, a junction or natural inarchingtakes place. In mass, and growing pretty close together,it runs up to a great height, with a clean straight stem,the lower branches either dying gradually off, or so muchchecked in their growth as not to interfere with the clean-ness of the timber. The bark, even upon the oldest trees, is thin and smooth,and, when fully exposed to the light, of a pearl, or silverygrey colour. The leaves are thin in texture, and, when matured, ofa deep shining green ; in autumn they change to a rich COMMON BEECH. 30/ orange brown, and, during the youth of the tree, areusually retained over the winter, or until the sap beginsto move in the ensuing spring. The male catkins, or barren flowers, are of a browncolour, round-stalked, and drooping; the fertile ones, placedon the branch above them, are solitary and on shorter. \K^ stalks. The calyx of the fruit is four cleft, covered withsimple pliant prickles; the stigmas, three in each flower,spreading, acute, and downy. The nuts are two, eachwith three very sharp angles, and crowned with the innercalyx. These ripen in autumn,and generally fall from thecalyx, (which bursts open atthe upper extremity and re-mains attached to the branch,)in October and November, andare commonly known by thename of beech mast. They con-tain a sweet, oleaginous kernel,of pleasant flavour and not un-wholesome quality, and amongst animals are a favouritefood of swine, deer, badgers, squirrels and dormice, while x 2
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectforestsandforestry
