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BEECH , a well-known See also:- TREE (0. Eng. treo, treow, cf. Dan. tree, Swed. Odd, tree, trd, timber; allied forms are found in Russ. drevo, Gr. opus, oak, and 36pv, spear, Welsh derw, Irish darog, oak, and Skr. dare, wood)
- TREE, SIR HERBERT BEERBOHM (1853- )
tree, Fagus sylvatica, a member of the See also:- ORDER
- ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
- ORDER, HOLY
order Fagaceae to which belong the sweet-See also:chestnut (C'astanea) and See also:oak. The name beech is from the Anglo-Saxon boc, bete or beoce (Ger. See also:Bache, See also:Swedish, bok), words meaning at once a See also:book and a beech-tree. The connexion of the beech with the graphic arts is supposed to have originated in the fact that the See also:ancient Runic tablets were formed of thin boards of beech-See also:wood. " The origin of the word," says See also:Prior (Popular Names of See also:British See also:Plants), " is identical with that of the See also:Sanskrit boko, See also:letter, bokos, writings; and this See also:correspondence of the See also:Indian and our own is interesting as See also:evidence of two things, viz. that the Brahmins had the See also:art of See also:writing before they detached themselves from the See also:common stock of the Indo-See also:European See also:race in Upper See also:Asia, and that we and other Germans have received alphabetic signs from the See also:East by a See also:northern route and not by the Mediterranean." Beech-See also:mast, the See also:fruit of the beech-tree, was formerly known in See also:England as See also:buck; and the See also:county of See also:- BUCKINGHAM
- BUCKINGHAM, EARLS, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF
- BUCKINGHAM, FIRST DUKE
- BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, 1ST DUKE 0E1
- BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, 2ND DUKE 0E1 (1628-1687)
- BUCKINGHAM, HENRY STAFFORD, 2ND DUKE OF3 (1454-1483)
- BUCKINGHAM, JAMES SILK (1786-1855)
Buckingham is so named from its fame as a beech-growing See also:country. See also:Buckwheat (Bucheweizen) derives its name from the similarity of its angular seeds to beech-mast. The generic name Fagus is derived from 4ayety, to eat; but the
I (Ayos of See also:Theophrastus was probably the sweet chestnut (A esculus) of the See also:Romans. Beech-mast has been used as See also:food in times of See also:distress and See also:famine; and in autumn it yields an abundant See also:supply of food to See also:park-See also:deer and other See also:game, and to pigs, which are turned into beech-See also:woods in order to utilize the fallen mast. In See also:France it is used for feeding pheasants and domestic poultry. Well-ripened beech-mast yields from 17 to 20 % of non-drying oil, suitable for See also:illumination, and said to be used in some parts of France and other European countries in cooking, and as a substitute for See also:butter.
The beech is one of the largest British trees, particularly on chalky or sandy soils, native in England fromYorkshire See also:south-wards, and planted in See also:Scotland and See also:Ireland. It is one of the common See also:forest trees of temperate See also:Europe, spreading from See also:southern See also:Norway and See also:Sweden to the Mediterranean. It is found on the Swiss See also:Alps to about 5000 ft. above See also:sea-level, and in southern Europe is usually confined to high See also:mountain slopes; it is plentiful in southern See also:Russia, and is widely distributed in Asia See also:Minor and the northern provinces of See also:Persia.
It is characterized by its sturdy See also:pillar-like See also:stem, often from 15 to 20 ft. in girth, and smooth See also:olive-See also:grey bark. The See also:main branches rise vertically, while the subsidiary branches spread outwards and give the whole tree a rounded outline. The slender See also:- BROWN
- BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
- BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
- BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
- BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
- BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
- BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
- BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
- BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
- BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
- BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
- BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
- BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
- BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
- BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
- BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
- BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
- BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
- BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
- BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
- BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
- BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
- BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)
brown pointed buds give See also:place in See also:April to clear See also:green leaves fringed with delicate silky hairs. The See also:flowers which appear in May are inconspicuous and, as usual with our forest trees, of two kinds; the male, in See also:long-stalked globular clusters, hang from the axils of the See also:lower leaves of a shoot, while the See also:female, each of two or three flowers in a tiny See also:cup (cupule of bracts), stand erect nearer the See also:top of the shoot. In the ripe fruit or mast the four-sided cupule, which has become much enlarged, brown and tough, encloses two or three three-sided See also:rich chestnut-brown fruits, each containing a single See also:seed. It is readily propagated by its seeds. It is a handsome tree in every See also:stage of its growth, but is more injurious to plants under its drip than other trees, so that shade-bearing trees, as See also:holly, See also:yew and thuja, suffer. Its leaves, however, enrich the See also:soil. The beech has a remarkable See also:power of holding the ground where the soil is See also:con-genial, and the deep shade prevents the growth of other trees. It is often and most usefully mixed with oak and Scotch See also:fir. The See also:timber is not remarkable for either strength or durability. It was formerly much used in See also:- MILL
- MILL (O. Eng. mylen, later myln, or miln, adapted from the late Lat. molina, cf. Fr. moulin, from Lat. mola, a mill, molere, to grind; from the same root, mol, is derived " meal;" the word appears in other Teutonic languages, cf. Du. molen, Ger. muhle)
- MILL, JAMES (1773-1836)
- MILL, JOHN (c. 1645–1707)
- MILL, JOHN STUART (1806-1873)
mill-See also:work and turnery; but its See also:principal use at See also:present is in the manufacture of chairs, bedsteads and a variety of minor articles. It makes excellent See also:fuel and See also:charcoal. The See also:copper-beech is a variety with copper-coloured leaves, due to the presence of a red colouring-See also:matter in the See also:sap. There is also a weeping or pendulous-branched variety; and several varieties with more or less cut leaves, are known in cultivation.
The genus Fagus is widely spread in temperate regions, and contains in addition to our native beech, about 15 other See also:species. A variety (F. sylvatica See also:var. Sieboldi) is a native of See also:Japan, where it is one of the finest and most abundant of the See also:deciduous-leaved forest trees. Fagus americana is one of the most beautiful and widely-distributed trees of the forests of eastern See also:North See also:America. It was confounded by See also:early European travellers with F. sylvatica, from which it is distinguished by its paler bark and lighter green, more sharply-toothed leaves. Several species are found in See also:Australia and New See also:Zealand, and in the forests of southern See also:Chile and See also:Patagonia. The dense forests which See also:cover the See also:shore of the Straits of See also:Magellan and the mountain-slopes of Tierra del Fuego consist largely of two beeches—one See also:evergreen, Fagus betuloides, and one with deciduous leaves, F. antarctica.
End of Article: BEECH
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