The Alders 73 



The winter buds are slender, pointed, reddish-brown, and, like those of most 

 birches, set upon small, spur-like shoots. They stand off more from the twig than 

 do those of the yellow birch. 



The leaves are 23^ to 5 in. long, and dark waxy-green in colour. In outline they 

 are oval-pointed and have many fine teeth, finer than those of the yellow birch. 

 The base is more deeply scalloped or heart-shaped than that of the leaf of any other 

 birch. The under side is hairy. The stems are stout, hairy, and deeply grooved. 



The wood is more highly prized for furniture and cabinet work than that of 

 yellow birch, because of its deeper colour and its satiny lustre. As a general rule 

 the two species are not separated as lumber and are sold together as "hard birch." 



BETULA ALASKANA, Sarg. ALASKA BIRCH 



Very little is known of the Alaska birch or its range. It has been found from 

 central Saskatchewan to the mouth of the Mackenzie river and westward in north- 

 em British Columbia, Yukon district, and Alaska. 



It is a small tree commonly 20 to 30 ft. in height but occasionally higher, and 

 at the present time it is of no commercial importance. 



The bark is white to reddish-brown, thin, and firm, but can be separated into 

 thin scales. The bark of the mountain birch cannot be separated in this way. 



The leaves are very much like those of the western birch, except that they are 

 usually smaller and their tips are longer or more drawn out. They are thin, 

 smooth, and dark green. The stems are slender and reddish. 



The cones, which are 1 to 1}^ in. long, are larger than those of the mountain 

 birch. 



BETULA FONTINALIS, Sarg. MOUNTAIN BIRCH 



The mountain birch is a small, shrub-like tree 15 to 20 ft. high, of little or no 

 commercial importance. Its range is not perfectly known but it has been reported 

 in various places throughout British Columbia, south of the Peace river, and east 

 of the Coast range, also in western Alberta in the foot-hills of the Rocky mountains. 

 It is distinguished from .the other western birches by its dark red, shiny bark that 

 does not peel or separate into thin layers. 



The leaves, too, are much smaller than those of the western birch and more 

 nearly circular in outline. The margins are very coarsely toothed. The cones are, 

 on the whole, shorter than those of the other western species. 



THE ALDERS 



Twenty species of alder (Alnus) are recognized. They are widely distributed 

 throughout the temperate and cooler regions of this continent, also in South America, 

 Europe, and southern Asia. A few of them attain tree size, but for the most part 

 they are shrubs growing in dense thickets along the banks of streams and on wet 

 slopes Of the five or six native species the red, Sitka, and mountain alders 

 of the Pacific coast and the speckled alder of the Bast sometimes reach tree size. 



All the alders resemble each other in their astringent bark and their winter 

 buds, which are stalked or raised on more or less well-defined stems. The witch 



