1696 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



of them. Artificially, the birch recommends itself to the proprietor of woods and 

 to planters, by the following qualities: 1st, By the lightness and multiplicity 

 of its seeds, which it begins to produce at the age of six years; and which, 

 being spread abroad on every side by the wind, give rise to a great number of 

 young plants; thus producing a thick wood, without either care or labour. 

 2dly, By the rapidity of its growth, and the resistance which it makes to all 

 the circumstances which usually destroy trees, and eradicate woods. 3dly, 

 By its power of withstanding a great degree of both heat and cold. 4thly, By 

 its suffering little fro-m the bite of cattle, and being but seldom attacked by 

 caterpillars, which are said only to have recourse to it after they have de- 

 stroyed all the succulent leaves in the same forest ; and which, consequently, 

 being then nearly matured, can do it but little harm. 5thly, By its not 

 requiring the shade or protection of other trees ; while its own shade, from 

 the lightness and thinness of its foliage, is extremely favourable to the growth 

 of oaks, beeches, and, above all, the pine and fir tribe, which spring up under 

 its protection with great vigour. Hence, the value of the birch as a nurse to 

 hard-wooded trees, which it protects in their youth, but which destroy it 

 when they acquire strength. 6thly, By its not injuring other trees with its 

 roots, which run along the surface of the soil, and draw but very little nourish- 

 ment from it. 7thly, By its succeeding almost every where, and improving 

 poor soils by the deposition of its leaves. Sthly, By its furnishing useful 

 products, such as spray for brooms, &c., a very short time after being planted. 

 And, 9thly, by its producing a wood almost exclusively employed in Sweden, 

 and other parts of the Continent, for smelting-ftirnaces ; and in other cases 

 where a bright clear flame is required. Though all these advantages, says the 

 author of the article Bouleau, in the Dictionnaire des Eaux et Forels, belong to 

 the birch, we cannot place it in the first rank of forest trees; and the oak, 

 the beech, and other trees of stately growth, are to be preferred to it in good 

 soils : but the birch cannot be too strongly recommended for light and poor 

 soils, sands, and chalks. In Prussia, he adds, the birch is planted every 

 where ; and it is considered to afford security against a dearth of fuel, and to in- 

 sure the prosperity of the woods, by the dissemination of its seeds, which fill 

 up every blank that occurs. 



The wood of the birch is white, shaded with red ; of a medium durability 

 in temperate climates, but lasting a long time when it is grown in the extreme 

 north. The grain of the wood is intermediate between coarse and fine. It is 

 easily worked while it is green ; but it chips under the tool when dry. It 

 weighs, when green, 65 Ib. 6 oz. ; half-dry, 56 Ib. 6 oz. ; and dry, 45 Ib. 1 oz. 

 The wood of old birch trees is harder than that of young trees, and it also 

 weighs considerably more : for it appears, by the experiments of Hartig, that 

 the wood of a tree of 60 years' growth, weighed, dry, 36 Ib. 13oz. ; while 

 that of a tree of 25 years' growth, in the same state of dryness, only 

 weighed 35lb. 5oz. The wood soon rots when laid on the ground in heaps; 

 and, therefore, immediately after the trees are felled, they ought to be drawn 

 out of the wood, and taken into the timber-yard, where they can be exposed 

 freely to the air. As fuel, birch wood occupies the 12th place among 21 

 different sorts; and is to the fuel of the beech as 13 is to 15 : but, if the 

 wood of the birch is to be compared with that of the beech, taken in the 

 bulk, it is only as 12 to 15 ; because birch logs, not being so straight as those 

 of the beech, do not pack so closely together. The wood gives a clear, bright, 

 and ardent flame, and affords the kind of fuel most generally used in Sweden, 

 Russia, and France, for smelting-furnaces. Its charcoal remains burning a 

 long time ; though, compared wit)i that of the beech, its value is only as 14 

 to 16. The bark of the birch is remarkable for ifs durability, remaining un- 

 corrupted for ages, even in situations exposed alternately to air and water, cold 

 and moisture. Pallas refers, in proof of this, to the tombs near Jenisca, in 

 Siberia ; and to the vaults under the Kremlin, in Moscow. When Mauper- 

 tuis travelled through Laplund, "to measure a degree of latitude, he was 

 obliged to pass through vast forests, consisting entirely of birch. The soil, in 

 some parts of these wastes, being very shallow, or very loose, the trees had 



