by
frost, and in Germany is often seen fringing the edges of the beech
forests along the bottom of the valleys where the beech would suffer.
Scarcely any tree coppices more vigorously or makes more useful
pollards on dry grass land.

[Illustration: BRANCH OF CARPINUS BETULUS.]

On account of its great toughness the wood of the hornbeam is employed
in engineering work for cogs in machinery. When subjected to vertical
pressure it cannot be completely destroyed; its fibers, instead of
breaking off short, double up like threads, a conclusive proof of its
flexibility and fitness for service in machinery (Laslett's "Timber
and Timber Trees"). According to the same recent authority, the
vertical or crushing strain on cubes of 2 inches average 14.844 tons,
while that on cubes of 1 inch is 3.711 tons.

[Illustration: LEAVES OF CARPINUS BETULUS QUERCOFOLIA.]

A few years ago an English firm required a large quantity of hornbeam
wood for the manufacture of lasts, but failed to procure it in
England. They succeeded, however, in obtaining a supply from France,
where large quantities of this timber are used for that purpose. It
may be interesting to state that in England at any rate lasts are no
longer made to any extent by hand, but are rapidly turned in enormous
numbers by machinery. In France _sabots_ are also made of hornbeam
wood, but the difficulty in working it and its weight render it less
valuable for _sabotage_ than beech. For turnery generally, cabinet
making, and also for agricultural implements, etc., this wood is
highly valued; in some of the French winegrowing districts, viz., Cote
d'Or and Yonne, hoops for the wine barrels are largely made from this
tree. It makes the best fuel and it is preferred to every other for
apartments, as it lights easily, makes a bright flame, which burns
equally, continues a long time, and gives out an abundance of heat.
"Its charcoal is highly esteemed, and in France and Switzerland it is
preferred to most others, not only for forges and for cooking by, but
for making gunpowder, the workmen at the great gunpowder manufactory
at Berne rarely using any other. The inner bark, according to Linnaeus,
is used for dyeing yellow. The leaves, when dried in the sun, are used
in France as fodder; and when wanted for use in water, the young
branches are cut off in the middle of summer, between the first and
second growth, and strewed or spread out in some place which is
completely sheltered from