February 15, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULtURB AND COTTAGE GARDENKE, 



iW 



Oak has no tree to vie "with itself iu the sterner attributes of I fnigraut, especially after raiu or heavy dew. This resiu appears 



majesty, diguity, ami streuj^h, so the 



Of forosfc trc. 



stands unrivalletl iu lightness, grace, and elegance. Iu one 

 re-ipect it even claims precedence over the monarch of the forest, 

 and that one wliich its slender and delicate form -would lea^t 

 l:^ad us to expect ; it stands in need of no protection from other 

 trees iu any stage of its gi'owth, aud loves the bleak mountain- 

 side and other exposed situa- 

 tions, from which the sturdy 

 Oak shrinks with dismay. 

 But the style of beauty iu 

 which eacii of these trees 

 excels is so widely different 

 in Icind, that neither of them 

 can properlj' interfere with 

 the other. 



" Pliuj' describes the Birch 

 as a slender tree inhabiting 

 the cold parts of Gaul. The 

 l)ranches, he says, were used 

 fer making baskets and the 

 lioops of casks; and the fasces, 

 or bundles of rods which 

 were carried before the Eo- 

 nian magistrates, were made 

 of Birch twigs ; the use, there- 

 fore, of the weapon which, in 

 modem times, is the terror 

 of idle schoolboys, is of high 

 classical authority. Branches 



of this tree were formei'ly used for decking the houses in Eoga- 

 tion week, as Holly is at Christmas. Gerard saj's the branches 

 ' serve well to the decking-up of houses and banquetttng-rooms 

 for places of pleasure, and Ijeautifying the streetes in the Cross, 

 or gang, weeke ' (the same m Rogation week), * and such like.' 



" The Birch is a native of the colder regions, of Europe and 



Leaf aud flower of the Birch. 



to have been collected iu Pliny's time ; as he speaks of a bitu- 

 men which the tree produces. The odour arising from it is very 

 perceptible to a per.50u passing near a tree, and affords another 

 reason why the Birch sliould be planted near houses. 



" A variety of the Birch is often met with in the Highlands 

 which differs from the common species, by ha\dug the .shoots 

 pendulous. This is a yet more elegant tree than the first described, 

 aud is frequently planted in parks and gardens. It possesses 

 another advantage in being of quicker growth and attaining a 

 larger size. There is also a 

 . - _j slight difference in the leaves, 



which are smaller and some- 

 what downy. 



" The Bii-ch is a tree of 

 rapid gi'owth, especially 

 when young ; and as it is 

 little affected by exposure, it 

 forms au excellent nurse for 

 other trees. The soil which 

 it prefers is turf over sand, 

 and iu such situations it 

 attains maturity in about 

 fifty years ; but it seldom 

 exceeds 50 feet in height, 

 with a trunk from 12 to 

 18 inches in diameter. The 

 bark possesses the singular 

 property of being more dur- 

 able than the wood which it 

 encircles. Of this the pea- 

 sants of Sweden aud Lapland, 

 M'here Birch is very abun- 

 dant, take advantage, and, shaping it Uke tiles, cover their 

 houses with it. Travellers in Lapland have noticed in the 

 Birch-forests, that vrhen the soil is very scant3', the trees are 

 liable to be blown down ; so that, in some places, as many are 

 seen lying on the ground as are left standing. Such as have 

 lain long are found to have entirely lost the substance of the 



Asia. Throughout the whole of the Kussian empire it is more wood, the bark remaining a hollow cylinder without any symp 

 common than any other trae, being found in ever}- wood and | torn of decay. In North America this durability of the bark is 

 gi-ove from the Baltic 

 Sea to the Eastern 

 Ocean, and frequently 

 occupying the forest to 

 the exclusion of almost 

 every other tree. It 

 grows from Mount Etna 

 to Iceland ; in the 

 warmer countries being 

 found at a high eleva- 

 tion in the mountains, 

 and vai-ying i n character 

 according to the tempe- 

 rature. In Italy, where 

 it grows, though it ap- 

 pears from Pliny's ac- 

 count not to have been 

 noticed by the ancients, 

 it forms lit tie woods at 

 au elevatio n of GOOO feet ; 

 on some of the Highland 

 mountains it is fouud at 

 the height of 3500 feet. 

 In Greenland it is the 

 only tree ; but wherever 

 it grows it diminishes in 

 size according to the 

 decreased temperature 

 to which it is exposed. 



" The peculiar charac- 

 teristics of the Birch are, 

 as it has been remarked, 

 lightness and elegance, 

 qualitieswhichare owing 

 to the slenderuess of the 



main stem in proportion to its height, the wiriness of the branches, 

 and the thinness and small size of the foliage. It is equally 

 remarkable for the colom-ing of its bark, which is marked vrith 

 hvowii, j-ellow, and silveiy touches, which are very picturesque, 

 contrasting well with the dark gi-een hue of the leaves. The 

 younger trwigs have no such variety of colour, being of a 

 uniform pm-ple brown. The leaves are sharp-pointed, stalked, 

 and unevenly serrated. In April and Maj- the flowers appear in 

 the form nf drooping catkins, some of which produce stamens 

 only and drop off early. The fertile ones bear very small winged 

 nuts, and fall to pieces when ripe, scattering the numerous seeds. 

 Tlie barren catkins are formed in summer, but do not expand 



he Vv'eeping Birth 



turned to good account 

 in the structm'e of ca- 

 noes. The Canadians 

 select a tree with a large 

 and smooth trunk. In 

 the spring, two circular 

 incisions are made quite 

 through the bark, seve- 

 red feet from each other. 

 Two vertical incisions 

 are then made on oppo- 

 site sides of the tree ; 

 after which a wooden 

 wedge is introduced, by 

 which the bark is easily 

 detached in plates usu- 

 ally 10 or tl2 feet long, 

 and2feet9inches broad. 

 To form the canoe, they 

 are stitched together 

 with the fibrous roots of 

 the White Spiiice. The 

 seams are coated with 

 resin from the Balm of 

 Gilead. Great use is 

 made of these canoes by 

 the savages and by the 

 French Canadians in 

 their long joirrneys in- 

 to the interior of the 

 countiy : they are very 

 light, and are easily 

 carried on the shoulders 

 from one lake or river to 

 another. A canoe calcu- 

 Lited for fom- persons weighs from 40 to 50 lbs. Some of them 

 are made to carry fifteen passengers. This species is kuo"mi as 

 the Paper Birch. 



" The thin white bark of the common Birch, wlucli peeLs off 

 like paper, is highly inflammable, and will burn like a candle. 

 The Birch abounds in a sweet watery sap, which was formerly 

 much valued for its supposed medicinal virtues. The method 

 pursued in collecting it is as follows : — About the beginning of 

 March an oblique cut is made, almost as deep as the pith, under 

 some wide -spreading branch, into which a small stone or chip is 

 inserted, to ksei) tlie lips of the wound open. To this orifice a 

 bottle is attached to collect tlie flowing juice, which is clear, 



till the fertile catkins appear in the following spring. A kind of watery, and sweetish, but retains something both of the taste 

 resin exudes from the leaves and young twigs, wliich is highly and odour of the tree. Various receipts are given for the pre- 



