GRADE VII. 

 The Ostrya Virginica. 



" The Ostrya Virginica, or common Hop-horn- 

 beam is a very beautiful tree. It is also quite grace- 

 ful, as the twigs are very small. In most parts of 

 America it is called iron-wood, but in Maine, New 

 Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts it is gener- 

 ally called lever- w 7 ood. It grows best at about forty- 

 three degrees north latitude, growing there about 

 forty feet high and one foot in diameter. It is found 

 in all the states east of the Mississippi and as far 

 north as the Strait of Belle Isle, the East Main and 

 Albany rivers and Eake Winnipeg. It is the only 

 kind of Ostrya growing in North America and there 

 are only about six in the world. 



' ' The bark is thinner than that of any other tree 

 we have studied, and the outer bark is quite rough. 

 The outer bark is of different shades of brown mixed 

 with black, while the inner bark is of a golden brown 

 color and very fibrous. 



" The wood of the hop-hornbeam is of a light color, 

 but the heart-wood is very nearly the color of the 

 black walnut. It is very hard and heavy and is com- 

 posed of very fine fibers. It is also very hard to split. 

 The rays are very fine, and the ducts can hardly be 



