572 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



trunk, high above the ground. This attitude of the yellow birch tree is 

 very common in damp woods. Occasionally the seed finds lodgment in 

 the moss on top of a large rock. The roots descend the sides until they 

 reach the ground, and as the rock does not decay, the tree grows to 

 maturity on the rock. The most favorable seed bed for this species is a 

 mass of rotten wood where a log has decayed and fallen to pieces. Fre- 

 quently such a plot is covered with yellow birch seedlings. They have 

 the space all to themselves, because the seeds of few trees or plants will 

 grow in rotten wood, unmixed with mineral soil. 



The trunk of yellow birch averages a little smaller than that of 

 sweet birch, but may equal it in some instances. Trees reach a height of 

 100 feet and a diameter of three or four, but a more common size, even 

 in the regions of best development, is a height of sixty or seventy feet, 

 and a diameter of two or less. 



Yellow birch was a long time coming into use. One of the first 

 things learned about it by early settlers in the region where it was 

 abundant, was that it decays quickly in situations alternately wet and 

 dry. That prejudiced the woodsmen against it, and they were not 

 disposed to give it a fair trial, as long as there was plenty of other timber. 

 All birches are subject to quick decay, if conditions are right to produce 

 it. Yellow birch in the woods sometimes dies standing, and when that 

 happens, the wood falls to pieces so quickly that the bark may remain 

 standing with very little inside of it except powder of decayed wood. 

 This tree is seldom mentioned in early accounts of lumber operations, 

 and practically never with a good word. Operators generally left it 

 standing when they cut the timber which grew with it. 



Yellow birch is heavy, very strong, hard, light brown tinged with 

 red, with thin, nearly white sapwood. The color of the heart wood 

 varies considerably. The pores are very numerous, rather small, and 

 are scattered through the wood with little tendency to run in bands or 

 groups. The springwood blends gradually with the summerwood in a 

 way to make the boundaries of the annual rings somewhat indistinct. 

 Medullary rays are numerous, but very thin and obscure. Quarter- 

 sawing adds little or nothing to the appearance of the wood. It has 

 poor figure, except an occasional tree with wavy or curly grain, or with 

 burls. 



The wood may be readily stained. The pores hold the coloring 

 matter applied, and by varying the application, the appearance of the 

 surface can be varied. The colors of mahogany and of cherry are easily 

 imparted, and yellow birch often imitates those woods. 



Vehicle makers choose this wood for its strength and elasticity. In 

 the North it is manufactured into frames for cutters and sleighs of all 



