IREF.S OF AMERICA, 119 



of berry, somewhat like a mulberry, hanging 

 down from the branches ; those I have seen 

 were about an inch long, and as big round as 

 my little finger, and of a very light green 

 colour." 



" The kind you saw was a white birch, 

 then, or a canoe birch ; the seeds of the other 

 kinds are somewhat different : but you are 

 wrong in calling them berries ; they are 

 more like the cones of the magnolia, only 

 that they are so much smaller ; and they are 

 covered with little scales. The leaves are 

 notched at the edges, like the teeth of a saw, 

 very smooth, and dark green. The canoe 

 birch generally grows sixty or seventy feet 

 high, and the trunk is about three feet thick. 

 The heart, when cut open, is dark red, and 

 the rest of the wood perfectly white ; it is 

 strong, but rots very soon when exposed to 

 changes of weather, and therefore is not much 

 used : but it is sometimes found elegantly 

 shaded and veined, and then it is used for 

 cabinet-work, and for inlaying mahogany." 

 "Birch wood burns well, Uncle Philip." 

 " Yes, it makes very good fuel, and great 

 quantities of it are consumed in this way. 

 But its great value lies in the bark. This, as 



