2-celled. Female flowers axillary, nearly solitary, sessile or on very short stalks. Scales of the cup roundish, covery with powdery down. Ovary globose. Styles 2. A native of the mountains of Mexico, in moist shady situations, and frequent near Moran, an elevation of 18,000 ft. (3000 toises); where it covers whole hills. It is remarkable for its small size, evergreen leaves, and long downy catkins of male flowers. Humbolt called it Q. depréssa, because its branches are always close to the ground. Q. ambigua Humb. et Bonp. Pl. Equin., t. 93., and our fig. 1870., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 111. Leaves oblong-oboval, wavy; obtuse at the base; reticulately veined beneath, somewhat hairy. Female spike pedunculated. (Humb. et Bonp.) A tree, 40 ft. high. Branches and twigs round, glabrous. Leaves 3 in. long, on short footstalks, somewhat membranaceous; sometimes emarginate; glabrous and shining above, green and downy beneath. Spikes of female flowers axillary, often twin, on long stalks, 5-6flowered. Flowers downy. A native of Mexico, near Moran, at an elevation of above 9000 ft. (1500 toises.) It is closely allied to Q. elliptica Nee. (See p. 1918.) It differs very little from Q. elliptica Nee, and Q. spicata Humb. et Bonp., but its leaves are narrower towards their lower extremity, slightly sinuated on the margin, glaucous, and always reticulately veined and hairy beneath; and the spikes of female flowers 1873 are generally axillary, and in pairs. Our readers must not confound this Q. ambigua with the one in cultivation in British gardens, described p. 1881. Doubtless, this plant, as having had the name applied to it after the other, will receive an unappropriated name from some botanist who may revise the genus. Q. confertifolia Humb. et Bonp. Pl. Equin., t. 94., and our fig. 1872., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 106. Leaves evergreen, linear-lanceolate, mucronated, recurved at the margin, quite entire; downy beneath. Fruit sessile. (Humb. et Bonp.) An evergreen shrub, from 15 ft. to 20 ft. high. Branches short, crowded, and leafy. Leaves 3 in. long, on short stalks, somewhat leathery; obtuse at the base, surrounded with a cartilaginous recurved line; glabrous and shining above, downy and transversely veined beneath. Fruit sessile on the branches below the leaves, often twin. Scales of the cup oval, closely imbricated, membranaceous. A native of the temperate and mountainous regions of New Spain, between the town of Guanajuata and Santa Rosa. This evergreen shrub, or low tree, would be a great ornament to our gardens, where it would form constantly green and thick masses of foliage; and, from the temperate and mountainous climate of which it is a native, it would probably stand in the open air perfectly well in the climate of London. Q. tridens Humb. et Bonp. Pl. Equin., t. 96., and our fig. 1873., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 107. Leaves oblong, retuse at the base, generally broader towards the apex, 3-dentate; teeth terminated by bristly points; downy beneath. Spikes of female flowers almost sessile. (Humb. et Bonp.) A shrub, about 10 ft. high, with round smooth branches. Stipules deciduous, narrow, linear. Leaves about 1 in. long, membranaceous; A downy and slightly tomentose beneath, It Q. acutifolia Willd., No. 57., Nee in Anal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 267., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 102., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 173., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 64., Humb. et Bonp. Pl. Equin., t. 95., and our fig. 1874. ; Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 109. Leaves cordate, lanceolate, very finely pointed; beset on the margin with large mucronate teeth; brownish beneath; tomentose near the veins. Spikes of female flowers on short peduncles. (Humb. et Bonp.) A tall and valuable tree, with a trunk about the thickness of a man's body, covered with cracked bark. Leaves on longish footstalks, blunt; somewhat lobed at the base; glabrous above; covered beneath with brown woolly tomentum; 5 in. to 6 in. long, and 1 in. to 2 in. broad. Calyx of the male flowers constantly 5-toothed, exter 1871 nally downy. Stamens 5-7, twice as long as the calyx. Female flowers in a spike, upon a short peduncle. Calyx 5-8-parted. Ovary globose. Style very short. Stigmas 3-4, spreading and recurved. A native of New Spain, between Venta de Acaguisocla and Mojonera, on the road from Acapulco to Mexico. Nee states that it is considered one of the largest oaks in New Spain; and that it has a dense bead of innumerable branches. The acorns are s arcely bigger than a pea, and nearly covered by the cup, which is clothed with blackish scales. (ee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Humboldt calls it one of the most majestic trees of New Spain; and it is as remarkable for the beauty and singularity of its leaves, as it is for the grandeur and nobleness of its general appearance. Q. elliptica Willd., No. 14., Nee in Anal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 278., Fisch. Misc. ¡Hisp., 1. p. 117., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 154., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 16. Leaves ellip' cal, entire, coriaceous, nearly sessile; rounded at each end; roughish beneath. (Willd.) Gather d by Louis Nee, but without flowers or fruit, in the kingdom of Mexico, by the road from Ixmiquilpan to Cimapan, as well as between Tixtala and the river Azul. The trunk is thick, 12 ft. high, with a grey bark. Branches horizontal; the smaller shoots erect; all very leafy. Leaves 3 in. long, and 1 in. broad; slightly revolute; smooth above, roughish and veiny beneath; the veins forked. Footstalks thick, and very short. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Humboldt considers this species as allied to his Q. spicata (p. 1945.) and Q. ambigua (p. 1947.); but differing from both principally in the leaves. Q. mucronata Willd., No. 34., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 162., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 41; Q. Castanea Nee in Anal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 276., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 114. Leaves oblong, lanceolate, with pointed awned serratures; polished above, downy beneath; heart-shaped at the base. (Willd.) Found by Louis Nee, without flowers or fruit, in New Spain, between Ixmiquilpan and Cimapan. This tree is 12 ft. high, with a straight trunk, covered with a brittle dark-coloured bark. Branches erect, alternate, smooth, much subdivided. Leaves 3 in. long, and lin. broad, acute; abrupt and heart-shaped at the base; their serratures awned; the upper surface green and smooth, the under clothed with fine yellow down. Footstalks 2 lines long. Stipules none. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. tomentosa Willd., No. 35., N. Du Ham.,7. p. 163., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 42; Q. peduncularis Nee in Anal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 270., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 106. Leaves oblong-ovate, with tooth-like notches; densely downy beneath. Fruit racemose. Nut globose, nearly covered by the calyx. (Willd.) Native of New Spain, in the road from Mexico to Acapulco, beyond the river Mescala. A tree, 20 ft. high, with an upright trunk, and grey brittle bark. Branches numerous, alternate, clothed with dense reddish wool. Leaves 5 in. long, hardly 2 in. wide, crowded; obtuse at the base; pointed at the end; bordered with tooth-like notches; green and smoothish above, downy with prominent veins beneath. Footstalks downy, very short. Female flowers on an axillary solitary stalk, 3 in. or 4 in. long. Acorns but little bigger than peppercorns, each almost concealed in its scaly, downy, reddish cup. (Nee.) Q. circinata Willd., No. 36., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 272., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 109., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 163., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 43. Leaves ovate, crenate, undulated; acute at each end; downy beneath. Nut scarcely larger than the calyx. (Willd.) Native of New Spain, between Tintala and Chilpancingo. A tree, 20 ft. or 25 ft. high. Trunk erect. Bark brittle, ashcoloured. Branches horizontal; the young ones erect, furrowed, villous. Leaves alternate, from 5 in. to 7 in. long, and 3 in. broad; green and shining above; more or less downy, and fleshcoloured or reddish brown, beneath; their edges turned towards the point of the leaf. Fruit supported by a very short common stalk. Calyx hemispherical, the size of chick peas (Cicer arietinum); its scales acute at the point. Nut but little larger than the calyx. Plukenet's t. 53. f. 4. in some measure resembles the species before us; but is said to have a large fruit, and is quoted by authors as Q. Prinus. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. splendens Willd. No. 37., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 275., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 113, N. Du Ham., 7. p. 164., Rees's Cycl., No. 44. Leaves oblong-ovate, bluntly toothed; slightly downy above; densely silky beneath. (Willd.) Native of New Spain, near Taxala. Trunk erect, much branched, 15 ft. high. Branches partly horizontal, partly erect, clothed with red shining down. Leaves scattered, crowded, 3 in. long, 1 in. broad; green, with a thin downy coat, above; thickly clothed beneath with shining pubescence, the midrib only being prominent; the edges bluntly and unequally toothed. Footstalks very short, with an awl-shaped villous stipule at each side. Flowers and fruit not observed. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. rugosa Willd., No. 38., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 275., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 164., Rees's Cycl., No. 45. Leaves ovate-oblong, coriaceous, rugose; toothed towards the end; heart-shaped at the base; downy and rusty beneath. (Willd.) Native of the woods of Huifquilica and Ociula, in the way from Mexico to Santo Christo de Chalma. A middle-sized tree, having numerous, alternate, round, grey branches, rough with minute prominent points. Leaves 3 in. in length, hardly 2 in. in breadth; thick and coriaceous; rugged, green, and shining on the upper side; brown and downy at the back; heart-shaped at the base; the margin toothed from the middle to the extremity. Footstalks 2 lines long, thickened at their base. Female flowers in scaly axillary clusters. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. macrophylla Willd., No. 39., Nee in An. Cien., Nat., 3. p. 274. Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 111, N. Du Ham., 7. p. 164,, Rees's Cycl., No. 46. Leaves obovate, crenate; tapering and heart-shaped at the base; downy beneath. Fruit spiked. (Willd.) Found by Louis Nee in the districts of Chilpan cingo and La Curva, and on the mountain of Quirapon, in New Spain. This is a tree, 30 ft. high, with an upright trunk, and dense head. The principal branches are horizontal; the rest upright, furrowed when young. Leaves 1 ft. long, and 7 in. or 8 in. broad; rounded at the end, gradually tapering down to the emarginate, or heart-shaped, base, where they measure only 4 lines across; their upper surface green and shining; the under yellowish, clothed with very minute down; the margin crenate and wavy. Footstalks very short and thick. Female flowers sessile on a common stalk, and encom. passed with downy bracteas. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. diversifolia Willd., No. 21., Nee in An. de las Cien. Nat., 3. p. 270., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 155., Rees's Cycl., No. 28., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 2. p. 107. Leaves ovate, undivided or deeply toothed; yellow and downy beneath. Fruit spiked, globose. (Smith.) Found by Louis Nee between the villages of Chalma and Santa Rosa, in New Spain. A shrub, from 10 ft. to 14 ft. high; its trunk seldom straight; the bark cracked, dark-coloured; the branches alternate. Leaves 14 in. long and undivided or 2 in., and deeply toothed; smooth and shining above; downy and dull yellow beneath. Footstalks hardly a line in length. Stipules oblong, reddish, membranous, contracted at the base, deciduous. Acorns 4 or 5, sessile, on a thread-shaped axillary stalk, 2 in. long. Cup the size and shape of a pea, covered with scales. Nuts scarcely projecting above a line beyond the cup. (Nee.) Q. cándicans Willd., No. 58., Nee in An. de las Cien. Nat., 3. p. 277., Fisch, Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 115., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 173., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 65. Leaves ovate, sinuated; white and downy beneath; lobes toothed, bristle-pointed. (Willd.) Native of New Spain, in sandy ground near Tixtala. A tree of middling size, with a dense head of upright branches. Leaves 9 in. long, 4 in. wide; tapering at each end, sinuated, with bristle-pointed teeth; green and smooth above; white and downy underneath. Footstalks 4 lines in length. Flowers and fruit not observed. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. microphylla Willd., No. 7., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 264., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 99., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 152, Rees's Cycl., No. 7. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, entire, villous; downy beneath. Calyx of the fruit villous. Nut roundish. (Willd.) Found by Louis Nee in the hills of Arambaro, in New Spain. A shrub, from 3 ft. to 5 ft. high, with a rough ash-coloured bark. Leaves on short stalks, scattered, numerous, from 4 to 6 lines long, scarcely 2 lines broad; veiny, revolute, wavy, pointed, reddish grey; villous above, densely downy beneath; those about the extremities of the branches opposite. Stipules awl-shaped, falling off at the end of summer. Acorns in axillary pairs about the ends of the branches, ovate, the size of a large pea, half-covered by the villous cup, which is invested with unequal sides. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Humboldt compares the young leaves of his Q. mexicàna to this species. (See p. 1943.) He also states that the young shoots of Q. repánda (p. 1942.) agree with the description of those of Q. microphýlla; but he adds that he had not seen Nee's plant. Q. lobata Willd., No. 70., Nee in Ann. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 237., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 116., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 180., Rees's Cycl., No. 76. Leaves obovate, wedge-shaped, sinuated, smooth; lobes toothed. (Willd.) Native of New Spain. Branches furrowed, alternate. Leaves 4 in. long, 2 in. wide, smooth, alternate; orbicular towards the extremity; wedge-shaped at the lower part; sinuated; the lobes rounded, obtuse, toothed. Footstalks slender, 3 or 4 lines in length. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) Q. magnoliæfolia Willd., No. 16., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 268., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 103., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 154., Smith in Rees's;Cycl., No. 18. Leaves ovate-oblong, coriaceous, entire, shining; downy beneath; somewhat emarginate at the base. Fruit racemose. (Willd.) Found by Louis Nee in the kingdom of Mexico, between Chilpancingo and Tixtala, and about the river Azul. This is an elegant tree, 20 ft. or more in height. Trunk thick, with a dark-coloured bark, full of fissures. Branches horizontal; younger ones furrowed, and dotted with white. Leaves 6 in. or 8 in. long, and 3 in. broad; ovate, rigid; sometimes emarginate at the base; green and shining above; downy beneath, with the larger veins prominent, and the smaller reticulated. Footstalks thick, a line in length. Stipules crisped, downy, deciduous. Female clusters solitary, axillary, 2 in. long; the lower ones alternate, upper opposite. Acorns ovate, half covered by a hemispherical cup, which is the size of the seed of Cicer arietinum, and has its scales scarcely at all imbricated. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) This is closely allied to Q. lutea, which, indeed, Humboldt considers as the same species; and to crassifolia Humb. et Bonp., p.1946. It has also a great affinity with Q. stipulàris (p.1945.); but differs in the disposition of its fruit. Q. lutea Willd., No. 17., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 269., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 105., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 155., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 19. The yellow-leaved Mexican oak. Leaves obovate, entire, shining; somewhat heart-shaped at the base; downy and yellow beneath. Fruit racemose. (Willd.) Native of Mexico. This agrees with Q. magnoliæfòlia in its growth and fructification; insomuch that it may be thought a variety: yet the leaves are very different. They are of a larger size, broader towards the end, and contracted towards the footstalk; as well as more deeply emar. ginate at the base; and their under side is covered with ochry yellow pubescence. (Rees's Cycl.) Humboldt considers this the same species as Q. magnoliæfolia, and very closely allied to his Q. crassifolia (p. 1940.). Q. salicifolia Willd., No. 8., Nee in An. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 265., Fisch. Misc. Hisp., 1. p. 101., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 152., Rees's Cycl., No. 8. The Willow-leaved Mexican Oak. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, entire, smooth; the forks of the veins villous and brown beneath. Nut oblong. (Willd.) Found by Louis Nee in the kingdom of Mexico, near Acapulco. A tree, 28 ft. high, with alternate branches; the young ones somewhat furrowed, and clothed with brownish red hairs. Leaves from 5 in. to 7 in. long, 1 in. wide, scattered on short stalks, rather coriaceous, smooth, veiny, entire, wavy, pointed; reticulated and green above; yellowish beneath, with tufts of hairs, as big as a pin's head, in the forks of the veins. Acorns nearly sessile, in axillary pairs, the size of a hazel nut; downy, half-covered by the hemispherical, greyish, villous cup; beset with very thin scales. (Nee, as quoted in Rees's Cycl.) GENUS II. FA GUS L. THE BEECH. Lin. Syst. Mono'cia Polyándria. Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 1072.; Reich., 1170.; Schreb., 1448.; Gærtn., t. 37.; Juss., 409.; Tourn., 351; Willd. Sp. Pl., 1694; N. Du Ham., 2. p. 79.; Ait. Hort. Kew., 5. p. 297. Synonymes. According to Bauhin, the Fagus of the Romans, and the Oxua of the Greeks; Castanea Tourn., 352., Mill. Dict., f. 84.; Hêtre, Fr.; Buche, Ger.; Beuke, Dutch ; Bog, Dan. ; Bok, Swed. ; Buk, Russ. and Pol; Faggio, Ital.; Haya, Span.; Faya, Port. Derivation. From phago, to eat; because the nuts were used as food in the early ages. Description, &c. Large and handsome deciduous trees; natives of Europe, and of North and South America, and Australia. The wood is used for various purposes; but more especially in cabinet-making, joinery, and turnery. The fruit affords food for swine, and supports squirrels and various wild animals it also yields a valuable oil. Plants are almost always raised from seed, except in the case of varieties. Linnæus united the genus Castanea with Fagus, which was not done by any botanist before his time, and which has not been adopted by many of the moderns. The distinctive characteristics of the two genera are, that Castanea has the male flowers on very long catkins, with the seeds farinaceous; while Fàgus, on the contrary, has the male flowers on globular catkins, and the seeds oily. M. Mirbel, who has revised the generic character of the beech, so as to include in it the South American and Australian species, has arranged them in two sections, which arrangement we shall here adopt. Young leaves plicate. A. Cupule muricate, capsuliform. Ovaries included. a. Species in Cultivation in British Gardens. 1. F. SYLVA'TICA L. The Wood, or common, Beech. Identification. Lin. Sp. Pl., 1416.; Hort. Cliff., 447.; Fl. Suec., 785. 871.; Roy. Lugdb., 79.; Mat. Med., 203.; Du Roi Harbk., 1. p. 203.; Pollich. Pall, No. 910.; Willd. Arb., 113.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 459.; Hoffin. Germ., 339.; Roth. Germ., 1. p. 409., 2. p. 489; Pall. Ross., 2. p. 5.; Vill Dauph., 3. p. 796.; N. Du Ham., 2. p. 79.; Br. Fl., 1. p. 408.; Eng. Bot., t. 1846.; Eng. Fl., 4. p. 152.; Hook, Br. Fl., ed. 3., p. 411.; Mackay Fl. Hibern., p. 254.; Lindl. Synop., p. 239. Synonymes. Castanea Fagus Scop. Carn., No. 1188.; Fagus Bauh. Pin., 419, Cam. Epit., 112, Matth., 205., Dod., 832., Ger., 1255., Ger. Emac., 1444., Park. Theat., 1403, Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 118. Rai Hist., 1381., Synop., 439.; F. sylvestris Michx. N. Amer., 3. t. 107., Oxya, Greek; Fagus, Lat. Hêtre commun, Fr.; gemeine Buche, Ger.; Rood-beuke, Dutch. Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1846.; N. Du Ham., t. 24.; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate, glabrous, obsoletely dentate; ciliate on their margins. (Willd.) A tree, varying from 60 ft. to 100 ft. in height; wild in various parts of Europe; and one variety in North America. Varieties. F. s. 2 purpurea Ait. Hort. Kew., v. p. 297., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; F. s. 2 àtro-rùbens Du Roi; Hêtre noir Fr. ; the purple Beech; has the buds and young shoots of a rose colour. The leaves, when half-developed, are of a cherry red; and, when fully matured, at midsummer, of so dark a purple, as to appear almost black. It is to be observed of this variety, that the bark, not only of the young shoots, but even of the old wood, and of the trunk of the tree, partakes strongly of the same dark colour as the leaves. In early spring, when the leaves of the purple beech are agitated by the wind, during bright sunshine, their clear red gives the tree the appearance of being on fire; an effect, Bosc observes, so truly magical, that it is scarcely credible by those who have not seen it. The red or purple colour of this variety varies in degree of intensity in different individuals; partly from these having been raised from seeds, and partly from the influence of soil and situation. The purple beech is a native of Germany, where it was discovered by accident in a wood, according to some, between the middle and the latter end of the last century; and the original tree is said to be still standing. From this tree all the purple beeches in Europe have been produced; partly from seeds (see Gard. Mag., vol. x. p. 180.), but chiefly by grafting. The seeds, in general, come up tolerably true; though in some the shade of purple is very faint, and in others the leaves are quite green. The different shades of purple have given rise to several subvarieties, which are kept distinct by some nurserymen; but none that we have seen are worth notice, except what is called the copper-coloured beech. In general, the purple beech is propagated by budding or grafting on the common beech; but sometimes it is increased by layers, which require two years to become properly rooted, and, it is said, never make such vigorous trees as grafted ones; doubtless, from the greater vigour of the stock in the latter case. Michaux the younger informed Bosc that there was a purple beech in Belgium which ripened seeds, and that from these seeds several subvarieties had been produced, and, among others, the copper beech, before mentioned. The largest specimens of the purple beech are, probably, in Germany; though we have not been able to hear of any on the Continent higher than between 30 ft. and 40 ft., with the exception of two; the one at Harbke, in Brunswick, which, in 1835, was 70 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and had been planted upwards of 60 years. It produces on an average, 20 lbs. of mast yearly, which sells at 2 dollars per lb. The other tree is near Antwerp, in the garden of M. Smetz, at Deurne, and is thus described in Neill's Horticultural Tour, as seen by the Deputation of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, in the autumn of 1817. This tree had been grafted on a common beech stock, about 3 ft. from the ground. The place of grafting is marked by the stock being larger than the graft on every side; so that the stem of the purple beech seems as if it had been merely set down flat on the stock. “At 1 ft. from the ground, the trunk of the stock, or common beech, measures 10 ft. 10 in. in circumference; and, immediately at the place of grafting, the trunk of the purple beech measures only 9 ft. 6 in. in circumference " From the ground to the first branch is about 12 ft. The total height of the tree is between 50 ft. and 60 ft., and the diameter of the head is 45 ft. It was planted in 1752, and was, consequently, when seen by Dr. Neill, about 65 years old. It is altogether, says the doctor, "a very handsomely formed well-balanced tree. To a spectator standing directly under it, the leaves appear nearly of the usual green colour; and they are but slightly tinged with purple as far as they are excluded from the sun: as they approach outwards, they get a stronger purplish hue; and on the very exterior they are of a deep purple; insomuch that the tree, when seen from a distance, appears clothed in black;" and hence the name which it bears in Belgium, of swartze beeckenboom, the black beech tree. This tree every year ripens seeds, from which numerous young plants have been raised, the greater part of which have purple leaves; and, in a young hedge in M. Smetz's garden formed of seedling plants from this tree, the deputation "observed every variety of hue in the foliage, from green to purple; yet no individual was completely green. and none completely purple." (p. 107.) This tree, in all probability, is the same as that alluded to by Bosc. On writing to Dr. Somme, Director of the Botanic Garden at Antwerp, in May, 1837, he informs us that the trunk, at 73 in. above the graft, is 15 ft. 10 in. in circumference; but that at 6 ft. 7 in. above the graft the circumference is 3 ft. 10 in. less. The diameter of the head is 72 ft., and the total height of the tree is 72 ft. The handsomest purple beech in England is at Enville; and, when we saw it in 1831, it was between 60 ft. and 70 ft. high, clothed with branches to the ground, where it extended over a space above 60 ft. in diameter. It stands on a small lawn in the pleasure-grounds, and is, consequently, protected from cattle. The loftiest purple.beech in England is at Syon, where, in 1834, it was 71 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 10 in., and of the head 61 ft. It flowers, and occasionally ripens seed, from which, however, we believe, no plants have yet been raised. F. s. 3 cuprea Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, the copper-coloured Beech, above alluded to, as a subvariety of F. s. purpurea, has the young shoots and leaves of a paler colour than those of the purple beech. It makes a splendid appearance in the sunshine, and when the leaves are gently ruffled with the wind; but, in a state of repose, and on a dark cloudy day, it can hardly be distinguished from the common green-leaved beech. 1 F. s. 4 fòlus variegatis Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaves variegated with white and yellow, interspersed with some streaks of red and purple. This variety is handsome in spring, when the leaves first make their appearance; but, in the course of the summer, their variegation is in a great measure lost, and the leaves assume a dirty unhealthy aspect. There are also varieties with the leaves striped or blotched with white only, and others with only golden-striped leaves. F. s. 5 heterophýlla; F. s. laciniàta Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; F. s. asplenifòlia Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; F. s. incìsa Hort.; F. s. salicifòlia Hort.; Hêtre à Feuilles de Saule, Fr.; the various, or cut, leaved Beech; has the leaves variously cut, as in fig. 1875.; sometimes in narrow shreds, so as to resemble a fern, as in fig. 1876.; and, at other times, in shreds of |