Mast (botany) some domestic animals consume. Mast is found in two forms. Mast is generated in large quantities during mast seeding events (or masting, mast events). Mast seeding is a population-level phenomenon that is hypothesized to be driven by economies of scale, weather, and resources. These pulses of resources drive ecosystem-level functions and dynamics. Tree species such as oak, hickory, and beech produce a hard mast—acorns, hickory nuts, and beechnuts. It has been traditional to turn pigs loose into forests to fatten on this form of mast. Other tree and shrub species produce a soft mast, such as raspberries, blueberries, and greenbriar.
Beech Settlement congregation in 1840. Mount Pleasant Beech Church, also known as the Old Beech Church, initially formed in 1832; it was the birthplace of the Indiana Conference of the AME. Church, which organized and held its first annual meeting at Blue River, Indiana, on October 2, 1840. The Mount Pleasant Beech Church meetinghouse has served as the site for the community's annual reunions since 1914. The arrival of railroads provided Beech settlers with wider access to markets beyond Ripley Township. The Knightstown and Shelbyville Railroad was completed in 1850. Local roads provided Beech Settlement with access to its depots at Knightstown,