214 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE BIRCHES. 



BUTTON WOOD. 



WHITE EI.M. 



THE BLACK, or CHERRY BIRCH. 



Bctula Icnta. 

 This tree is called Clierrj^ Birch, from 

 its resemblance to the wild cherry. It is 

 also sometimes called Sweet Birch, or 

 Spice Birch, on account of its agreeable 

 aromatic smell and taste. It grows best 

 in a deep loose soil, and sometimes reach- 

 es the height of 80 feet, with a diameter, 

 at the bottom, of more than three feet. It 

 is not so abundant as the following spe- 

 cies, but the wood is more highly valued 

 by the cabinet makers, being finer grained 

 and susceptible of a higher polish. When 

 freshly cut the wood has a light rosy Jiue, 

 which deepens by exposure to the light. 

 It is much used in the manufacture of 

 bedsteads, tables, sofas, armed chairs, and 

 a variety of other articles, and with age 

 assumes very much the appearance of 

 mahogany. 



THE YELLOW BIRCH. 



. Bctula excclsa. 



The Yellow Birch is common in all 

 parts of the state, generall}' preferring a 

 rich moist soil. It ranks as one of our 

 largest trees, often attaining the height of 

 70 or 80 feet, with a diameter of three or 

 four feet. It is remarkable for the color 

 and arrangement of its epidermis or outer 

 bark, which is of a golden yellow color, 

 and which frequently divides itself into 

 narrow strips, rolled backwards at the 

 ends and attached in the middle, giving 

 to the tree a ragged appearance. The 

 bark and young shoots have an agreeable 

 aromatic odor and spicy taste. The wood 

 of this tree is very valuable. It ranks 

 next to the sugar maple in excellence as 

 an article of fuel, and is used for various 

 other purposes. It is sawed into joists, 

 planks and boards, and is used by the 

 cabinet maker for bedsteads, tables, and 

 numerous other articles of household fur- 

 niture. It is also made into yokes for 

 oxen, and ox-sleds. The saplings are 

 used for hoop-poles, and from these most 

 of the brooms were made which were used 

 by the early settlers. The bark is used 

 in tanning leather. Russia leather is said 

 to owe its peculiar odor, and its power of 

 resisting moisture and the attack of worms 

 and insects, to an oil used in curryinsr, 

 which is extracted from tlie paper-like 

 bark of the birch. Hence its value for 

 book-binding. The oil is obtained by 

 heating the bark in closed earthern or 

 iron vessels. 



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BUTTONWOOD, or SYCAMORE. 



Platanus occidentalis. 



The Buttonwood is usually found grow- 

 ing along the banks of streams and mar- 

 gins of lakes and ponds, and, although, in 

 Vermont, it does not, in magnitude, exceed 

 some other trees, it is said in some parts of 

 our country to grow to a greater size than 

 any other tree in the United States. We 

 have accounts of button wood trees in the 

 western part of the state of New York 

 and on the Ohio river, measuring more 

 than 40 feet in circumferance at the 

 height of five feet from the ground. This 

 tree, though generally known by the 

 name of Buttonwood in New England, is 

 called in other places by various other 

 names. In Virginia it is sometimes called 

 Water Beech. At the west it is frequent- 

 ly called Sijcamnre, or Plane Tree, and in 

 Louisiana and Canada it bears the name 

 of L'ottoti Tree. The wood of this tree in 

 seasoning, becomes of a dull red color, 

 and is susceptible of a bright polish. It 

 is but little used hy cabinet makers, in 

 the form of boards, on account of its lia- 

 bility to warp, but it answers well for 

 bedsteads, and requires only to be polished 

 and varnished, without paint, to make a 

 very neat article. 



WHITE ELM. 

 Ulvius Jlmericana. 

 With the exception of the white pine, 

 we have no tree which grows to a greater 

 size, or which appears more graceful and 

 majestic than the White Elm. This tree 

 is found, though not very plentifully, in 

 all parts of the state, and is sometimes 

 seen towering to the height of 100 feet, 

 with a diameter at tiie base of more than 

 4 feet. The wood is of a dark brown col- 

 or, and is wrought for several valuable 

 purposes. It is often sawed into planks, 

 and has been considerably used for the 

 naves of wheels. During a part of the 

 year the bark of this tree is very easily 

 detached, and this, after being soaked in 



