16 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



trees, with a remarkably straight round trunk, deeply fur- 

 rowed, and almost white, without a branch till the top, 

 which is small for the height and size of the tree, and much 

 contorted. 



C — In the clearing, the elm is marked by having the 

 trunk and limbs covered with branches of little ragged twigs, 

 as if clothed with tufts of hair. 



F, — The White and Brown Ash (Fraxinus Acumi- 

 nata and F. Sambucifolia), growing in the clearing, are 

 graceful trees ; the branches diverge from the central stem, 

 with a double curve, like the branches of a chandelier, di- 

 minishing in length with great regularity as they proceed 

 upward. The twigs are thick, and do not taper to a point, 

 but end abruptly, the terminal buds being large. In the 

 forest the size of the twigs is the chief difference between 

 the large ashes and elms, the twigs of the latter being very 

 fine ; the brown ash, however, is more liable to be crooked, 

 and the bark is more smooth and scaly : the white rarely 

 grows so large, its trunk is not so light coloured, and its fur- 

 rows not perpendicular, but somewhat lozenge- shaped. The 

 Butternut (Juglans Cinereajy can with difficulty be dis- 

 tinguished from the white ash without close examination 

 of the buds: it is, however, a more spreading tree, the 

 lower limbs being longer. The Birch (Betula Fapyracea) is 

 easily known by its bark, w^hich, when young, has a satiny 

 glossiness, that is always retained on the limbs : when old 

 the bark becomes ragged, and peels off in thin paper-like 

 rolls, many of which, half-separated, are always to be seen 

 on an old birch. The bark of the Cherry (Prunus Virgi- 

 niana), has somewhat of the same peeling property, but in 

 a much less degree ; it is not so silky nor so flexible, and 

 is more of a scaly nature : it generally has a purplish tinge. 

 The Poplar (Populus Tremuloides ) , is remarkable for the 



