TREES OF AMERICA. 121 



pets ; you have seen the neat little Indian 

 baskets, I dare say." 



" Yes ; but, Uncle Philip, they were not 

 white, but a sort of yellowish red ; and you 

 told us the bark was white." 



" Av, and so it is white on the tree ; but it 



J / 



changes its colour when it is stripped off and 

 exposed for some time to the air : the outer 

 bark makes very good paper." 



" Paper, Uncle Philip !" 



" Yes, paper : it is split into thin sheets, 

 and I can assure you that when there is no 

 better to be had, birch-bark paper is by no 

 means a bad thing to write on ; but, after all, 

 its greatest and best use is for making canoes. 

 You must know that great numbers of Cana- 

 dians are employed in making journeys and 

 voyages far into the interior of the country, 

 to trade with the Indians for furs and skins ; 

 and these journeys are made upon the great 

 rivers by means of canoes." 



"Bat why do they not use boats, Uncle 

 Philip T 



" Because there are many places in the 

 journeys where the voyageurs, as they are 

 called, have to cross from one river to another 

 by land, or to avoid rapids ; and then they 



