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Page 31
In any soil or position the hornbeam will grow readily, except
exceedingly dry or too marshy spots. On chalky hillsides it does not
grow so freely as on clayey plains. Under the latter conditions,
however, the wood is not so good. In mountainous regions the hornbeam
occupies a zone lower than that appropriated by the beech, rarely
ascending more than 1,200 yards above sea level. It is not injured 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., C�te
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 Linn�us,
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 the rain to dry without the tree being in
the slightest degree injured by the operation." (Dict. des Eaux et
For�ts, art. Charme, as quoted by London).
[Illustration: LEAVES OF CARPINUS BETULUS INCISA.]
It hardly seems necessary to dwell upon the value of the hornbeam as a
hedge or shelter plant. In many nurseries it is largely used for these
purposes, the russet-brown leaves remaining on the twigs until
displaced by the new growths in spring.
_Var. incisa_ (Aiton, "Hortus Kewensis," v., 301; C. asplenifolia,
Hort.; C. laciniata, Hort.).--These three names represent two forms,
which are, however, so near each other, that for all practical
purposes they are identical. A glance at the accompanying figure will
show how distinct and ornamental this variety is.
[Illustration: HORNBEAMS (ONE WITH INOSCULATED TRUNK).]
_Var. quercifolia_ (Desf. tabl. de l'ecol. de bot. du Mus. d'hist.
nat., 213; Ostrya quercifolia, Hort.; Carpinus heterophylla,
Hort.)--This form, as will be seen by the figure, is thoroughly
distinct from the common hornbeam; it has very much smaller leaves
than the type, their outline, as implied by the varietal name,
resembling that of the foliage of the oak. It frequently reverts to
the type, and, as far as my experience goes, appears to be much less
fixed than the variety incisa.
_Var. purpurea_ (Hort.).--The young leaves of this are brownish red;
it is well worth growing for the pleasing color effect produced by the
young growths in spring. Apart from color it does not differ from the
type.
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