CHAP. CIV. 



i?ETUI,A CE.*:. BE TULA. 



1713 



from U. to I^. Od. each, and seeds 1*. 0<L per quart; at Bollwyller, the young 

 plants may be obtained for 2 francs ; and at New York, plants are 23 cents 

 each, and seeds 1 dollar and 35 cents per quart, and 4i dollars per bushel. 



"t 11. B. le'nta Z/. The pliant Birch. 



Identification. Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 4fi4., Enum., 981., Baum., p. 49. ; Wend. Coll., 2. p. 8. ; Pursh 

 Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. (521. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 20r>. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 183f!. 



Synonymes. B. farpiiiifulia Ekrh. Beitr., ti. p. 99., lyUM. Enum., 981., Baum., p. 49., Urnrtl. Coll., 

 2. p. 81., Mich.v. .irb., 2. p. 145. ; B. nigra Du Roi Herb.. 1. p. 93., Wang. Beitr., p. 35. The 

 plant is, under both these names, and also under that of B. IcMita, in Loddigcs's arboretum. Black 

 Birch, Cherry Birch, Canada Birch, sweet Birch, Mountain Mahogany, Amer. ; Bouleau Merisier, 

 Fr. 



Engravings. Wang. Beitr., t. 15. f. S4. ; Wend. Coll., 2. t. 41. ; Michx. Arb., 2. t. 94. ; and our 

 Jig. 1566. 



SjH'c. Char., SfC. Leaves cordate-ovate, acutely serrated, acuminate ; petioles 

 and nerves hairy beneath. Scales of the strobiles smooth, having the side 

 lobes obtuse, equal, with prominent veins. {Willd. Sp. PL, iv. [). 4G4'.) A 

 tree, from 60 ft. to 70 ft. high ; a native of North America, from Canada to 

 Georgia; and flowering there in May and June. Introduced in 1759. 

 Description, ^c. According to Pursh, this is an elegant and large tree, the 

 most interesting of its genus, on account of the excellence of its wood. In 

 favourable situations, it sometimes exceeds 70 ft. in height, with a trunk 2 ft. 

 or 3 ft. in diameter. The 

 outer bark, on old trees, de- 

 taches itself transversely at 

 intervals, in hard plates. Gin. 

 or 8 in. broad; but, on trees 

 with trunks not more than 

 8 in. in diameter, the bark 

 is smooth, greyish, and per- 

 fectly similar in its colour 

 and organisation to that of 

 the cherry tree. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of New York, B. 

 lenta is one of the first trees 

 to renew its leaves. These, 

 tluring a fortnight after their 

 appearance,are covered with 

 a thick silvery down, which 

 afterwards disappears. They 

 are about 2 in. long, ser- 

 rated, somewhat cordiform 

 at the base, acuminate at the summit, of a pale tint, and fine texture. In 

 general appearance, they are not unlike those of the cherry tree. The 

 young shoots are brown, smooth, and dotted with white, as are also the 

 leaves. When bruised, the leaves diffuse a very sweet odour; and, as they 

 retain this property when dry if carefully preserved, they make an agree- 

 able tea, with the addition of sugar and milk. The male catkins are flexible, 

 and about -iin. long: the female ones are 10 or 12 lines long, and 5 or 6 

 lines in diameter ; straight, cylindrical, and nearly sessile, at the season of their 

 maturity, which is about the 1st of November. The tree is of very rapid 

 growth; as a proof of which, Michaux gives an instance of one, which, in 19 

 years, had attained the height of 45 ft. 8 in. Michaux found the cherry birch 

 in Nova Scotia, in the district of Maine, and on the estate of Vermont. It 

 is abundant in the neighbourhood of New York, and in Pennsylvania and 

 Maryland. Farther south, it is confined to the summit of the Alleghanies ; 

 and it is found throughout their whole range, to its termination in Georgia. 

 On the steep and shady banks of the rivers which issue from these mountains, 

 in deep, loose, and cool soils, it attains its largest size. The wood of B. lenta, 

 when freshly cut, is of a rosy hue, which deepens by exposure to tiie light. 

 Its grain is fine and close : it possesses a considerable degree of strength, and 



5 T 2 



