200 FOREST TREES. 



The seams are coated with resin from the Balm of 

 Gilead. 



These canoes are much used both by the Indians and 



French, in their long journeys into the interior. They 



are sometimes of sufficient size to carry fifteen passen- 



;rs; and one capable of carrying four persons, with their 



, weighs but forty or fifty pounds, 

 'he canoe birch has been introduced into the nurse- 

 ries in France ; and as it grows to a large size on poor 

 land, and surpasses the European birches in the qualities 

 of its timber, Michaux is of opinion, that it can be intro- 

 duced to advantage into the forests of Europe. 



White Birch. This species of birch, like the one last 

 mentioned, grows in Canada and the New England 

 states, and is sometimes found as far south as Virginia. 

 It is neither so large nor so abundant as some other spe- 

 cies of this genus. It is most common on thin soils, 

 not occupied by many other trees, where it grows to the 

 height of thirty or thirty five feet. The wood is white, soft, 

 and of a glossy lustre ; but the small size of the tree, 

 and the rapid decay of the timber when exposed to the 

 weather, prevent its coming into use, either in the arts, 

 or for fuel. 



Red Birch. The climate and soil of the southern 

 states appear to be congenial to this species of birch. 

 It flourishes well in the Carol inas, and even in Georgia, 

 but is seldom, if ever, found north of New Jersey. It is 

 not, like other species of birch, found in forests or thick- 

 ets of other trees, but on the banks of rivers, accompanied 

 by the button-wood, white maple and willow. It flour- 

 ishes most on the sides of limpid streams with gravelly 

 beds, where it grows to the height of seventy feet. 



The wood of the red birch is sufficiently compact, 

 hard and beautiful to fit it for a variety of uses, not un- 

 like those to which the other species are applied. 



The Yellow Birch abounds most in those climates and 

 soils where the canoe birch prevails. It is a beautiful 

 tree, and rises to a great height. The trunk is straight, 

 nearly of the same diameter, and frequently without 

 branches to the height of thirty or forty feet. It is re- 

 markable for the golden yellow color of the bark, from 

 which is derived its name. 



