d in enormous
quantities under the name of "pinons," or according to the Mexicans,
"pinyonies." The nuts are rich in flavor but small and difficult to
extract from the shells. They are not well known in the eastern market,
but in the southwest they form a highly important article of food for
the Indians and Mexicans. These pines are exceedingly slow growers and
not of graceful form. They could scarcely be considered for ornamental
planting, except at the altitudes to which they are common, and then;
probably, only where some more satisfactory shade trees would not
succeed.

Among all American species of trees, it is probable that in a
combination of beauty, longevity, strength and hardiness, the American
beech, _Fagus grandifolia_, is unexcelled. Although commonly looked upon
as being a northern species, its range extends south to northern Florida
and west to the Trinity River in Texas. It is most familiar as a
clean-barked, spreading tree, with low head, and a height of from fifty
to sixty feet. However, its form depends largely upon environment. The
writer has seen it in the bottoms of southwestern Georgia, in common
with the magnolia, growing to a height of from seventy-five to one
hundred feet and with trunks of two feet in diameter extending upward in
a manner which, with regard to height and uniformity of size, compared
favorably with the long-leafed Georgia pine. The nuts of the beech are
rich in quality and of excellent flavor, but owing to their small size
and the great difficulty attending the extraction of the kernels, they
are not ranked as being of direct importance for human food. Their
principal use in this country is as a mast crop for turkeys and swine,
for which they serve a most useful purpose. Crops which can be used in
this manner to good advantage, thus practically obviating the problems
of harvesting, storing and marketing, are certainly well worth thinking
about in these days of labor scarcity.

There are few large sections of the United States adapted to the growing
of trees to which some nut-bearing species is not suited. Most species
of nut trees are as capable of producing shade and ornamental effect,
and are as hardy and lasting as any others which might be mentioned. In
addition, they produce an edible product which is entering into the list
of staple food products with great rapidity. The present scarcity of
meats and the consequent high prices are compelling the substitution of
other pr