TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 179 



him to spend many an hour under its shade. He chats to his 

 companion about his struggles with the trout or of the mischief 

 the squirrels have done to the leaf-buds, and he prides himself 

 upon locating a borer as surely as he can scent the advance of 

 spring. The sweet birch knows too the stride of the axe-man ; 

 for its fine, dark reddish wood is valuable. It receives a beau- 

 tiful polish and is strong and heavy. As a substitute for black 

 cherry it is made into furniture. In fact the appearance of 

 the tree is such that it might readily be mistaken for a cherry 

 tree. Birch oil which is an important article of commerce is 

 distilled from the foliage and graceful branches of the tree. It 

 is the same as the oil of wintergreen which is taken from the 

 quaint little plant, Gaultheria procumbens. 



YELLOW BIRCH. GREY BIRCH. {Plate XCIV.) 

 Betula Iktea. 



FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Birch. Pyramidal; branches^ 40-90 feet. Neiv England south- Aprils May. 



long, slender. ward to Tenn. 



Bark: light yellowish grey; marked horizontally and separating and peel- 

 ing like shavings. Both the bark and the greyish-brown twigs have a slightly 

 aromatic sweet taste. Leaves : simple; alternate; with slender downy, petioles, 

 often in pairs ; ovate, with pointed apex and narrowed and rounded or rarely 

 sub-cordate base, coarsely and unequally serrate ; ribs, straight and conspicuous. 

 Dull green above, downy below and becoming smooth at maturity. Staminate 

 catkins: yellowish green ; three to four inches long. Pistillate catkins : short; 

 sessile. Nuts: oval ; broad; wider than the wings. 



It is frequently said by many that they never notice the 

 bark of a tree or its leaves ; that it appeals to them entirely 

 by its general outline and presence. Again others observe 

 these things almost to the exclusion of the individual character 

 of the tree. The bark of the yellow birch, however, is one 

 that should attract the attention of all ; for it is particularly 

 unique and beautiful. It is golden with a silver sheen and the 

 separating shreds curl about it like the ribbon decorations of 

 some fantastic lady. An air of delicacy also makes the tree 

 quite distinctive from those among which it grows. 



In Canada and New England this birch is one of the largest 



