OF EDUCATION 53 



brown color and very thin and delicate. The seed- 

 vessel is oval-shaped, and of about the same color as 

 the wing." 



The Birches. 



" The birches are very beautiful trees, growing in 

 cold climates. They grow very tall toward the 

 north, but toward the south they are smaller. The 

 best place for them is about sixty-five degrees north 

 latitude. There are twenty kinds of birch in the 

 world, and six in Massachusetts. They do not grow 

 much farther south than the New England states, or 

 farther west than Wisconsin. There is one kind 

 that grows on the island of Terra del Fuego. The 

 tallest birches grow about one hundred feet high.' 



The Betula Papyracea. 



" The Betula papyracea, or paper birch, is a very 

 graceful tree. The wood is nearly white and is made 

 up of small fibers. The pith-rays are very fine, but 

 some of them are quite long. The annual rings are 

 rather broad and far apart, so that we can easily tell 

 the age of the tree. The wood is used for a variety 

 of things, such as bureaus, table-legs, hat-blocks, 

 and will burn very nicely. When it is split, the 

 ducts can be seen quite plainly on the end. The 

 bark is pure white, or nearly so, and is very thin. It 



