86 



FIRST STEPS IN GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. 



so fond of catkins, to name some other trees which 



bear them." 



Mary soon thought of the 

 birch* and the alder, f which 

 her father told her were 

 near relations, and, with few 

 exceptions, more valuable 

 as ornaments than as timber. 

 " Among birch," he said, 

 "there is a tree in North 

 America J with so tough and 

 thick a bark, that the In- 

 dians make boats of it, and 

 various other useful articles. 

 Our common birch yields 

 an oil which gives the pe- 

 culiar smell to Russia 

 leather, which is dressed 

 with it. A sparkling wine 

 can also be obtained from 

 the sap of the birch, and 

 some North American spe- 

 cies furnish excellent sugar. 



BLOSSOM OF ALDER. 



* Betula. 

 J B.papyracea. 



f Alnus. 

 S B. alba. 



