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CHAP. 7. (6.)—THE BEECH.

The acorn of the beech1 is similar in appearance to a kernel, enclosed in a shell of triangular shape. The leaf is thin and one of the very lightest, is similar in appearance to that of the poplar, and turns yellow with remarkable rapidity. From the middle of the leaf, and upon the upper side of it, there mostly shoots a little green berry, with a pointed top.2 The beech is particularly agreeable to rats and mice; and hence it is, that where this tree abounds, those creatures are sure to be plentiful also. The leaves are also very fattening for dormice, and good for thrushes too. Almost all trees bear an average crop but once in two years; this is the case with the beech more particularly.

1 The Fagus silvatica of Lamarck. Its Latin name, "fagus," is supposed to have been derived from the Greek φάγω, "to eat." An oil is extracted from the acorns or nuts, that is much used in some parts of France.

2 He speaks probably of one of the galls which are found attached to the leaves of the forest trees.

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load focus Latin (Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, 1906)
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    • A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), CORO´NA
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