56 Forest Trees and Shrubs of Meridcn, Conn. 



32. CARYA PORCINA. (Nutall.) VAR. C. GLA- 

 BRA. (TORREY.) 



Pig Nut. Brown Hickory. Black Hickory. Switch- 

 bud Hickory. 



A large tree with smooth bark, forty to seventy feet high. Wood 

 similar to C. tomentosa, and used for same purposes. Specific 

 gravity, 0.8217 ; ash, 0.99. 



33. CARYA AMARA. ; Nuttall.) 



Bitter-Nut. Swamp Hickory. 



A small slender tree. Wood rather soft, white, but often quite 

 tough, checking in drying. Kernal of nut intensely bitter. Used 

 for hoops, ox-yokes, etc. Specific gravity, 0.7552 ; ash, 0.03. 



V. BETULACE^. The Birch Family. 



34. BETULA LENTA. (Linn.) 



Cherry Birch. Black Birch. Sweet Birch. Mahogany 

 Birch. 



A large tree, thirty to sixty feet high, and one to two feet in di- 

 ameter. Wood is colored reddish, heavy, very strong and hard, 

 close-grained, compact, susceptible of a beautiful polish. Used in 

 making cabinet ware, bedsteads, and for fuel. Birch beer is ob- 

 tained by fermenting the saccharine sap of this and perhaps some 

 other species of the genus. Specific gravity, 0.7617 ; ash, 0.26. 



35. BETULA EXCELSA. (Pursh.) VAR. B. 

 LUTEA. (MiCHAUx.) 



Yellow Birch. Gray Birch. 



One of the largest and most valuable deciduous trees, growing 

 to the height of seventy or eighty feet. Readily distinguished 

 from B. lenta by its yellowish silvery or pearly bark. Wood, heavy, 

 very stong and hard, very close-grained, compact, satiny, suscep- 

 tible of a beautiful polish. Used for fuel, furniture, button moulds, 

 pill and match boxes, and the hubs of wheels. Specific gravity, 

 0-6553; ash, 0.31. 



