684 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



The bark of paper birch has played an important part in American 

 history, story, and poetry. It was the canoe material, the roof, and the 

 utensil in its region. The Indians had brought the art of canoe making 

 to perfection before white men went among them. The bark peels from 

 the trunks in large pieces, and may be separated into thin sheets, which 

 are very tough, strong, and durable. The Indians sewed pieces of bark 

 together, using the long, slender roots of tamarack for thread. The bark 

 was stretched and tied over a frame, the shape of the canoe, and made of 

 northern white cedar, or some other light wood. Holes in the bark, and 

 the partings at the seams, were stopped with resin from balsam fir, 

 wax from balm of Gilead, or resin from pine. The forest supplied all the 

 material needed by the Indian, and a canoe thus made, and large enough 

 to carry 800 or 1,000 pounds, weighed no more than fifty pounds. Frail 

 as it seemed, it was good for long service on rivers and lakes, and could 

 weather storms of no small severity. 



White men adopted the bark canoes at once, and learned from 

 Indians how to make them. The daring explorers and venturesome 

 fur traders who threaded every river and navigated every important lake 

 of British America, found the birch canoe equal to every requirement, 

 even to attacking whales in the tidewater of the Arctic ocean. The 

 bark from this birch was used for tents and the roofs of cabins; vessels 

 in which to store or carry food were made of it, as well as beds on which 

 to sleep, and wrapping material for bundles. These uses have now 

 practically ceased; but as sport, recreation, and for the novelty, articles, 

 from canoes to visiting cards, are still made of the bark. 



The wood of paper birch is valuable for certain purposes. The 

 trees are largely white sapwood, which is without figure. It is as plain a 

 wood as grows hi the forest, but it may be stained. That, however, is 

 seldom done. The heartwood is dark or red, and is made into brush 

 backs and parquet flooring, but the hearts are small, and no large quan- 

 tity of that wood is used. The largest use of paper birch is for spools, 

 the common kind for thread. Some of larger size are made for use in 

 mills. The sapwood only is accepted by makers of spools. The heart 

 is cut out, and most of it is thrown away or burned under the boilers. 

 The qualities of paper birch which appeal to spool makers are, white 

 color, small liability to warp, and the ease with which it may be cut 

 without dulling the tools. The logs are worked into bars of the various 

 spool sizes, and are carefully seasoned. One of the problems that must 

 be constantly solved is the prevention of sap stain while the bars are 

 seasoning. The wood discolors quickly and deeply. 



Tooth picks, shoe pegs, and shoe shanks are other important 

 commodities manufactured from paper birch. It has not yet been 



