134 THE FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY-SIDE 



We may at times see amidst the branches great masses 

 of small twigs that suggest at once the idea of large nests, 

 a rookery possibly, some trees having a dozen or so of 

 them. These are popularly called witches' knots. They 

 are, however, neither the work of witches nor of rooks, 

 but a case of arrested natural development of the stems 

 caused by the proceedings of a minute gall-mite. 



The leaves of the birch are small, arranged singly on 

 the stems, broadly ovate in form, and having their margins 

 cut like the teeth of a saw. Reference to Plate XX. will 

 show their general growth and character. In Autumn they 

 change to a clear, bright yellow-brown tint. Where the 

 conditions of' life are hard they are used as fodder for 

 horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and, under the same 

 conditions, are employed as a substitute for tea. 



The flowering arrangements are of the monoecious type. 

 The pollen-bearing catkins are borne at the ends of the 

 last year's shoots, and are generally very numerous, and, 

 from their position, conspicuous. While they are not mature 

 until April, they may be seen developing months before. 

 Though not uncommonly three may be found grouped 

 together, they are more ordinarily in twos. In the earlier 

 days they are stiff, erect, about an inch long, and very 

 suggestive of the letter V as they spring from the stem 

 in pairs ; later on they elongate to two inches or so, 

 becoming slender and pendulous. They are covered with 

 scales, these scales protecting flowers having from eight 

 to twelve stamens. The pistillate flowers are in shorter 

 and denser catkins composed of three-lobed scales, each 

 of which shields three flowers. The fruits that succeed 

 these are of flattened form, and furnished with a broad, 



