Leaves Alternate. 55 



The largest of the trees of the Atlantic forests, com- 

 monly sixty to eighty feet high ; along the western rivers 

 often eighty to one hundred and thirty feet high, some- 

 times more, with a circumference of forty to fifty feet. 



A tree in Eaton, N. J., is one of the largest in the 

 State. It is eighty-five feet high. At a point eight feet 

 from the ground its circumference is fourteen feet three 

 inches. The largest trunks are usually hollow. The 

 wood is hard and compact, difficult to split and work, of 

 a reddish-brown color within. Its principle use is in 

 the making of tobacco boxes. 



There is a fine and somewhat noted group of these 

 trees on the grounds of James Knox, in Knoxboro, N. Y. 

 In old times they formed a favorite camping place for 

 the Indians in their trading expeditions. They all 

 measure not far from three feet in diameter. 



Genus BETULA, L. (Birch.) 



Fig. 27. White Birch, Old-field Birch, Gray Birch. B. 



populifblia, Marsh. 



Leaves, SIMPLE ; ALTERNATE (often alternate in pairs) ; 



EDGE UNEQUALLY SHARP-TOOTHED, with the base 



entire. 



Outline, triangular. Apex, taper-pointed. Base, vari- 

 able, more or less squared, sometimes slightly 

 hollowed, rounded, or pointed. 



Leaf-stem, long and slender, about three quarters of an 

 inch or more in length. 



Leaf, one and three quarters to three inches long. 

 Smooth and shining on both sides. 



