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in British woodlands, for it grows quite as well as the common birch 
and produces a good quality timber. Hough, ii., pp. 33-34, 
describes. it as being a favourite timber for such small articles 
as clothes pins, spools, pill-boxes, shoe-lasts and pegs ;_he also says 
that it is used for wood-pulp and for furniture. Its bark was 
formerly an object of considerable importance to the North 
American Indians, for in addition to fashioning their canoes from 
it, it furnished them with waterproof tent covering, baskets, and 
various other commodities. In Museum No. 1 at Kew an interest- 
ing series of articles manufactured from the bark of this tree may 
be seen. 
“Trees and Shrubs tested in Manitoba and the North-West 
Territories,” published by the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, 
Canada, it is about equal to B. alba, L. for hardiness and stands 
better than either B. lenta or B. lutea. It grows well at Kew in 
poor sandy soil. The largest specimen is 50 feet high with a girth 
of 4 feet at 5 feet from the ground. All the birches are suitable 
for close planting in pure stands, and they may also be mixed with 
spruce or pine. (For full particulars of this tree and its uses see 
“ Paper Birch in the North-east,’ Forest Service Circular, 163, 
U.S. Dept. of Agric.). 
The River or Red Birch (Betula nigra, L.).—Though of less 
importance than the birches already referred to, this species grows 
freely enough to warrant a trial under forest conditions. Hough 
describes it as a tree 80 feet high by 2) feet in diameter, extending 
from Massachusetts southwards to Florida and westwards to Iowa, 
Kansas and Texas. Its wood is said to be “rather hard, strong, 
close-grained, compact, with fine medullary rays, yielding a smooth 
finish ; used in turnery, woodenware, shoe-lasts, &c.”’ Under 
natural conditions it is found inhabiting moist land, such as banks 
of streams and marshy places. ‘hat it grows fairly well on dry 
ground, however, is shown by several good specimens which are 
growing in the natural sand at Kew. One of the best, standing 
near the Victoria Gate, is 55 feet high and 4 feet 10 inches in girth 
at 5 feet above the ground. B. nigra may be distinguished amongst 
other birches by its rough, reddish-brown bark. 
The Oregon Maple (Acer macrophyllum, Pursh.).—This is one of 
the most important of several American Maples which are likely to 
prove usefu for British woodlands, for it grows quickly, forms a 
large tree and its timber is of good quality. Although introduced a 
century ago It is not common, but some good examples have been 
noticed in a few places. In the “Silva of N. America,” ii, 
pp. 89-90, it is described as forming a tree up to 130 feet high with 
a girth of 15 feet. It is found along the Pacific Coast, below 
2000 feet elevation from Alaska to S. California, and appears to 
reach its maximum dimensions in the moist climate of Vancouver 
Island and the adjacent mainland. The timber is said to be 0 
good quality, light, soft, close-grained and capable of receiving a 
beautiful polish, In “ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland,” iii., 
