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on the uppersides, glaucous below and pubescent. The 

 fruit is a bristly capsule. The shrub belongs to the 

 heath family. 



Betula lenta. (Cherry Birch. Sweet Birch. Black 

 Birch. No. 92.) In the northwesterly part of the Ram- 

 ble, on the westerly skirts of the open lawn that rolls its 

 velvety green to the south of the Reservoir, you will 

 find two of these handsome birches on either side of a 

 lordly tulip tree. If you take the path that bends to the 

 right (south) as you pass the Missouri currant and the 

 Siberian pea tree, you will come upon this noble com- 

 pany of three, just before you meet the next fork of the 

 Walk. 



The sweet or cherry birch has a graceful trunk, lithe 

 as a young Indian, polished glossy brown, but rough- 

 ened by horizontal lines of dots that make you think of 

 phonographic records. Could we swing a horn upon 

 these and set them spinning, what harmonies of wind 

 and weather should we hear ! What woodland secrets ! 

 Music of brooks, whispers of rustling leaves, the song 

 and dance of light, and the clear, white shine of the 

 stars ! 



This birch gets its common name, "cherry birch," 

 from the rather close resemblance of its bark to that of 

 the garden cherry (Primus cerasus), and the name 

 "sweet birch" from its aromatic bark. This is the birch 

 that gives us that delicious brew, so refreshing to our 

 lips on summer days the "birch beer" of the moun- 

 tains ! 



You can easily identify the tree by its bark and leaves. 

 Both are sweetly aromatic. The bark is mahogany 



