358 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



mon and locally it is abundant. Nature seems to have 

 made wise provisions when it provided for the ripening 

 of the seeds of the River Birch in early summer. Then 

 the rivers are low and the seeds are scattered by the mil- 

 lions on the muddy shores and upon the slow flowing 

 water. Those that happen to fall upon the mud find a 

 suitable place upon which to germinate and establish 

 themselves, while those that drop upon the water float 

 away with the current and lodge upon the soil in favor- 

 able places along the shore. Before the high water of 

 late auTumn 

 and early win- 

 ter come s 

 along they an 

 well rooted 

 in the mud and 

 sand, and ready 

 to put up a 

 fight for their 

 lives. 



The River 

 Birch may be 

 spoken of as a 

 soldier tree, for 

 it must con- 

 tinually battle 

 for its exist- 

 ence because of 

 i t s location. 

 Each time the 

 streams rise it 

 must withstand 

 the force of the 

 rapidly flowing 

 water and the 

 batter of the 

 debris that 

 floats upon' the 

 surface of tli 

 water; and 

 each spring, as 

 the icy cover- 

 ing of our 

 streams breaks 

 up into sharp- 

 angled ice 

 cakes that float 

 rapidly and in 

 great masses towards the sea, many thousands, in fact 

 millions of River Birch trees lose their lives, and addi- 

 tional millions are damaged beyond recovery. Year 

 after year they fight for a ])lace on the shore, and it seems 

 as if they were gaining rather than losing their position. 



The River Birch has a number of striking distinguish- 

 ing characteristics. Xone of them is more conspicuous 

 thrm the reddish-brown to cinnamon-red bark which 

 peels off in film-Iike layers. In addition to this posi- 

 tive characteristic, the hairiness of the small twigs and 

 the leaf stalks is also helpful in identifying this tree. The 



A VETER.AN RIVER BIRCH. IT IS OVER FOUR FEET IN DI.XMETER, .A.ND DI- 

 VIDES ABOUT TWELVE FEET FROM THE GROUND. THE BARK ON REAL 

 OLD SPECIMENS OF RIVER BIRCH BECOMES DEEPLY FURROWED AND 

 BLACK, WHICH MAKES THE VARIETY EASILY DISTINGUISHABLE 



base of the leaf blade is wedge-shaped, a characteristic 

 present but not so pronounced in other birches. 



The River Birch trees sometimes attain a height of 

 80 or 90 feet, and range in diameter from two to four 

 feet. Frequently they fork out about 15 or 20 feet froni 

 the ground and send up several stout secondary stems. 

 The wood is among the lightest of the birches. It 

 weighs, when dry, only 36 pounds per cubic foot. It 

 does not have a wide range of uses, but it is manufac- 

 tured into plain furniture, wooden ware and kitchen 



utensils. Wood- 

 en shoes arc 

 also made from 

 it, and locally, 

 in the southern 

 states, it is cut 

 up into veneer 

 used in the 

 manufacture of 

 peach and po- 

 t a t o baskets, 

 and in the 

 backwoods 

 barrel hoops 

 are also made 

 from it. In the 

 rafting days on 

 the Susque- 

 hanna River in 

 P e nnsylvania, 

 when millions 

 of White Pine 

 and Hemlock 

 logs were 

 brought down 

 this great 

 stream in rafts, 

 the logs were 

 lashed together 

 w i t Ti "lash- 

 poles" made al- 

 most exclusive- 

 ly of R i v e r 

 Birch. 



The Red or 

 River Birch 

 may n ot be 

 classified 



among the most important forest trees of the United 

 States, but it is of considerable economic importance, 

 because it is adapted to wet places and will grow well on 

 the banks of rivers. Few other trees are so well adapted 

 to wet places, and it is one of the best trees to make pro- 

 ductive many swamps and other wet places that are now 

 producing nothing of value. 



There are two distinct kinds of birch trees with white 

 bark native to the northeastern part of North America. 

 The one has been given the name of Paper Birch or Ca- 

 noe Birch, and the other is usually called White Birch. 



