Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/480

 460 BEECH ovate, acuminate, pubescent beneath, coarsely toothed, obtuse, and unequally subcordate at base ; nut acutely 3-sided, muricate ; most fre- quent in the northern United States. F. obliqua and Dombeyi, both having valuable wood and a beautiful crown ; F. procera, scarcely less towering in height than the araucaria ; and F. pumilia, a dwarf species growing above the region of trees on lofty mountains, are all na- tives of the Andes of southern Chili. Some species grow in the Magellanic regions, others in Tasmania and the colder parts of New Zea- land. The varieties of the European F, sylva- tica are: F. purpurea, whose bright blood- colored leaves, when tossed by the wind in sunshine, seem to be flames; F. cuprea, with copper-colored shining leaves ; F. asplenifolia, with some leaves entire, and others cut into narrow strips ; F. pendula, or weeping beech, with branches drooping to the ground; F. cristata, with ragged crest-like leaves; F. va- riegata, with leaves spotted with white ; F. la- tifolia, with chestnut-like leaves, &c. All these are ornamental trees. The beech is easily pro- Beech Leaves, Flowers, and Nut. pagated from seed, also by grafting, budding, and in-arching. It thrives in a deep moist soil (on the Ohio some attain 100 ft. in height), but also succeeds well in rocky soil, in heaps of stones under cliifs, even in shaded situations. "When crowded by its kindred, or by other trees, its stem rises pillar-like even to 80 ft. in tmdiminished thickness, before branching into a tufty crown, reminding one of Gothic halls. Standing alone, it sends forth branches at from 1 to 30 ft. above the root, at a large angle, far and wide, the lower ones almost horizontal, while the upper rise to form a majestic crown. In depth of shade it is scarcely equalled by any other tree. Its light grayish or leaden-green- ish, smooth, shining bark, its rich green, shining foliage, which appears earlier than that of the oak, from long buds in tender drooping jets, and which is tinted yellow, reddish, and brown in the autumn, remaining often through the BEECHER winter on the tree, recommend it for avenues, plantations, and clumps. Of these there are many in Normandy and other parts of Europe, which abound in beech forests. The diameter of the common beech seldom surpasses 3 ft. The tree scarcely bears fruit before the 50th year of its age, and then not every year. After the 140th year the wood rings become thinner. The tree lives for about 250 years. Some stems are fluted, some even twisted. The roots stretch far away, near to the surface of the soil, partly above it. Young beeches are useful for live hedges, as they bear pruning, and as their branches coalesce by being tied together, or by rubbing each other. Amputations of limbs and deep incisions in the tree soon become ob- literated by the bark, which contains a peculiar periderme. The wood is yellowish white in the common beech, brownish in the red ; very hard, permeated by transverse lighter-colored pith rays and shorter rays, so that the longitu- dinal fibres are somewhat waving. Its close wood cells, with thick walls, att'ord a great quantity of heating material and of potash, so that the wood ranks next to hickory, oak, and maple as fuel. It is easily decayed by alterna- tion of dryness and moisture, and is unfit for many purposes ; but it is good for cylinders for polishing glass, for plane stocks, chair posts, shoe lasts, tool handles, wheel felloes, cart bodies, rollers, screws, bowls, and even for ship building where no better timber can be obtained. It is incorruptible when constantly under water. The tree is so rarely struck by lightning that woodmen and Indians consider themselves safe when under its shelter. Very good oil may be pressed from the beech nut, almost equalling that of olives, and lasting longer than any other after proper purification. Wild animals feed on the nut, swine are fattened on it, and people eat it in Europe ; too freely eaten, it produces giddiness and nausea. The husks of the nut contain fagine, a peculiar nar- cotic extractive principle. BEECHER. I. l.niian. D. D., an American clergyman, born in New Haven, Conn., Oct. 12, 1775, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Jan. 10,- 18(58. His ancestor in the fifth ascent was among the earliest emigrants to New England, having settled at New Haven in 1638. His mother dying shortly after his birth, he was committed to the care of his uncle Lot Benton, by whom he was adopted as a son. He entered Yale college, where, besides the usual collegiate course, he studied theology, and graduated in 1797. During his collegiate course he had given a foretaste of the zeal and eloquence for which he was afterward noted. In 1708 he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church at East Hampton, near the E. extremity of Long Island, and shortly afterward married his first wife, Roxana Foote. Ills salary war only $300, after five years increased to $400, besides the occupancy of a dilapidated parson- age. To eke out this scanty income his wife opened a private school, in which the husband