THE BIRCH AXD THE ALDER. 81 



the silvery vesture as white and perfect as when the tree was alive and 

 thriving. The occurrence of these remains shows the birch to be one 

 of our genuine aborigines. Where now the peat-bog lies in black and 

 wet sterility (except for that brief period in high summer when it is 

 enlivened by the silver tassels of the cotton-grass, or the golden spikes 

 of the asphodel), once upon a time, and not so very remotely, probably 

 not much more than 1,500 or 2,000 years ago, there was either 

 marsh-land or forest, the floor of the latter being what is now the solid 

 ground underneath the bog. The accumulation of water, and the 

 gradual decay of the plants, laid the foundation of the bog ; such trees 

 as grew there would soon fall, and, with the gradual development of 

 the bog-vegetation above, their remains would become buried where we 

 now find them. There is another curious feature in the bark of the 

 birch which deserves notice, namely, its aptitude to split into extremely 

 thin lamina? or sheets. The highest development of this property 

 is seen in one of the North American species, thence called Betula 

 papyracea, or the " paper-birch." The layers of bark are so broad, so 

 smooth, and so tough withal, that they form an admirable natural 

 paper, and will allow of being written upon almost as easily as manu- 

 factured material, the only drawback being that the colour is light 

 brown. The thicker portions of the bark of this singular tree are 

 wrought by the native Indians of New Brunswick into various pretty 

 toys, models of canoes, &c., as well as useful boxes, the former often 

 ornamented with the quills of the American porcupine, and with the 

 dyed hair of the moose-deer. One of the Himalayan species of birch, 

 which men of science have agreed to call by its native name, Betula 

 Bhojpatra, yields a similarly-laminated bark. The Sanscrit name of 

 this bark, which is used for corresponding purposes, is bhoorja, and 

 hence, in all likelihood, comes our word "birch." Such an etymology 

 is strictly in accordance with that of "poplar," named above, and 

 with several others, and indicates in a pleasing manner the migration 

 from Central Asia westwards of the progenitors of the races of modern 

 Europe. One other circumstance in the physiognomy of the birch is 

 found very frequently to attract attention. It happens in this tree that 

 there is often an arrested or impaired development of some portion of 

 the buds. The consequence is that dense little bushes of short twigs 

 are produced, concealed when the leaves are open, but in winter very 

 conspicuous, resembling deserted crows' nests, and often occurring to 

 the number of twenty or thirty in a single tree. In Scotland these odd 

 developments are termed "witches' knots." 



