DENDROLOGY. 119 



fortnight after their birth, are covered with a thick, silvery down, 

 which disappears soon after. The leaves are about two inches 

 long, serrate, cordiform at the base, acuminate at the summit, of 

 a pleasing tint and fine texture, and not unlike the leaves of the 

 cherry tree. The young shoots are brown, smooth, and dotted 

 with white, as also are the leaves. The barren flowers of the 

 black birch are disposed in flexible aments about four inches 

 long. The fertile aments, which are commonly situated at the 

 extremity of the young branches, are ten or twelve lines long, 

 and five or six lines in diameter, straight, cylindrical, and nearly 

 sessile at the season of maturity of the seed, which is about the 

 first of November. 



The wood of the black birch, when freshly cut, is of a rosy 

 hue, which deepens by exposure to the light. Its grain is fine 

 and close, whence it is susceptible of a brilliant polish ; it 

 possesses also a considerable share of strength. The union of 

 these properties renders it superior to the other species of 

 American birch ; and in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New 

 York, it is next in esteem to the wild cherry tree among cabinet 

 makers. Tables and bedsteads of this w r ood, when carefully 

 preserved, acquire with time the appearance of mahogany, hence 

 it is employed for the frames of arm-chairs, and of sofas : the 

 coach makers also use it for the frames of their panels. Shoe 

 lasts are made of black birch, but they are less esteemed than 

 those of beech. Such are the principal uses of the wood, from 

 which it may easily be gathered to what subsidiary purposes it is 

 applicable. The leaves and bark, when bruised, diffuse a very 

 sweet odor, and as they retain this property when dried and 

 carefully preserved, they afford an agreeable infusion, with the 

 addition of a little sugar and cream. 



