ect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
different they were from the other trees."

Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
the house.

"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."

"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."

"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
little."

"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
the leaves retain, is most gratif