86 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



birch, may boast of bark with a texture like satin 

 and a sheen like silver. 



This yellow birch is so closely allied to the black 

 birch that I must point out the differences which we 

 may observe in their leaves. The yellow-birch leaf 

 is rather coarser in texture and toothed edge ; it is 

 not so conventional in figure as that of the black 

 birch ; it is often quite contracted at the scalloped 

 base, which is not so decidedly formed ; its leaf stem 

 is exceedingly downy, also the back of the leaf, espe- 

 cially over the veins ; and, lastly, it does not possess 

 the shiny, bright-green color which characterizes the 

 black birch. Besides these leaf differences there are 

 others : the catkin is less long and more egg-shaped, 

 and its scales are larger and thinner ; but the fact 

 that the yellow birch has unmistakably yellow bark 

 prevents the possibility of confusion with any other 

 of the species. The tree attains a height of 80 or 90 

 feet if it is placed in advantageous circumstances ; I 

 know of a specimen over 75 feet high near Livermore 

 Falls, Plymouth, N. H. The wood is white, and not 

 very useful except as fuel. 

 White or The common white birch, sometimes 



Gray Birch. called gray birch, is an American tree 



Betula popuUfolia. , i i n i it 



oi which we may well be proud. 1 

 think it possesses a feminine grace and charm which 

 are as yet unappreciated by those who seek after 



