

1714- ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



takes a brilliant polish. The union of these properties renders the wood 

 superior to that of all the other American birches. In Massachusetts, Connec- 

 ticut, and New York, the wood of this birch is next in esteem to that of 

 the wild cherry (Cerasus virginiana). Tables, bedsteads, arm-chairs, sofas, 

 coach panels, shoe-lasts, and a great many other articles, are made of it. 

 Hunter, in his notes to Evelyn's Sylva, vol. i. p. 219., says that the sup of this 

 tree is used by the inhabitants of Kamtschatka without previous fermentation ; 

 and that the natives strip off the bark when it is green, cut it into long narrow 

 strips, like vermicelli, and, after drying it, stew it with their caviare. Michaux 

 strongly recommends the tree for cultivation, on a large scale, in the north 

 of France, in England, and in Germany ; and to the lovers of curious trees, 

 " as eminently adapted, from the beauty of its foliage and the agreeable odour 

 of its flowers, to figure in their parks and gardens." Though" cultivated by 

 Miller as early as 1759, it has never been much introduced into plantations, 

 either useful or ornamental. In the year 1818, it was recommended by a com- 

 mittee of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, as likely to prove a better tree 

 than the common birch for the moist and deep soils of the Highland valleys 

 of Scotland ; but we have never heard of any of this, or of any other Ame- 

 rican species of birch being tried there. One reason may be the high price 

 of these plants in the nurseries, which arises solely from the want of demand, 

 as all the species are just as easily raised from seed as the common birch. 

 As these seeds are procurable at very low prices, we repeat our recommenda- 

 tion to private gentlemen to purchase them, and to raise plants in their 

 own nurseries. There are plants of this birch at Messrs. Loddiges's; and 

 there is a considerable tree of it at Syon, which ripens abundance of seeds 

 yearly. In Ireland, at Oriel Temple, 50 years planted, it is 52 ft. high ; di- 

 ameter of the trunk 1 ft. 9 in., and of the head 42 ft. Plants, in the London 

 nurseries, are from Is. to Is. 6d. each ; and seeds are l.y. per quart. At New 

 York, plants are 12 cents each ; and seeds 60 cents per pound, 30 cents per 

 quart, and 5 dollars per bushel. 



App. i. Species of Birch not yet introduced. 



In Royle's Illustrations, several species of birch are mentioned as occupying the loftiest stations in 

 the mountains of Nepal, and other parts of the Himalayas, " as might be expected," he adds, " from 

 this genus extending to the highest latitudes." B. Bhojputtra Wall., the most useful and most gene- 

 rally known species, is found on Gosssiinthan, in Kamaon, or Choor, and in Kedarkanta. B. nftida 

 and B. cylindrost^chya occur with the former in Kamaon ; the latter extending also to Manma and 

 Dhunoultee. B. resim'fera lioylr, confined to Kunawar, with catkins resembling those of B. IQtea 

 MicAx., has leaves something like those of B. papyrifera. (Illust., &c., p. 344.) Dr. Lindley has 

 described four of these species in the Penny Cyclopaedia ; and, as they are likely to prove hardy, and 

 will probably soon be introduced, we give 'the following descriptions from that work, and froin the 

 work of Dr. Wallich : 



B. Bhojputtra Wall. The Indian Paper Birch. Leaves oblong-acute, with nearly simple serratures, 

 t somewhat heart-shaped at the base ; their stalks, ve- : ns, and twigs hairy. Female catkins erect, cylin- 

 drical, oblong. Bracteas smooth, woody, two-parted, blunt, much longer than the fruit, which has 

 narrow wings. A tree, found on the alps of Gurwal, in Kamaon, where its thin delicate bark fur- 

 nishes the masses of flexible laminated matter, of which great quantities are brought down into the 

 plains of India, for lining the tubes of hookahs ; and which is used by the mountaineers, instead of 

 paper, for writing upon. The Sanscrit name of the substance is boorjee ; a word which Mr. Graves 

 Haughton considers the root of birch; and one of many proofs that the Saxen part of the English 

 language is descended from the Sanscrit. (Wall. Plant. As. Rar. t vol. ii. p. 7.) The bark of this 

 species is of a pale cinnamon colour. It is nearly allied to B. papyr&cea. It would form a beautiful 

 tree in this country. 



B. acuminuta Wall, has leaves ovate lanceolate, sharply serrated, taper-pointed, smooth, dotted 

 beneath; leaf-stalks and twigs quite smooth ; ripe catkins very long, pendulous, cylindrical, crowded: 

 the rachis, and the bracteas, which are auricled at the base, downy. Found on many of the moun- 

 tains of Nepal, and in the great valley of that country, following the course of rivers. The flowers 

 and fruit arc produced from December to April. It forms a very large and noble tree, from 50 ft. to 

 60ft. high, of an oval shape, being covered with branches from its base. The wood is stated by Dr. 

 Wallich to be greatly esteemed by the inhabitants, who employ it for all sorts of purposes where 

 strength and durability are required. " Prof. Lindley thinks that B. alnoldes (Don's Prod. AV/>., 

 p. 58.) refers to this variety." (Wall. PI. As. Ear., t. 109.) 



B. nitida. The shining Birch. Leaves oblong, taper-pointed, with fine double serratures, the twigs 

 and leaf-stalks hairy. Female catkins pendulous, cylindrical, crowded. Bracts three-lobed, hairy, 

 with the lengthened middle lobe longer than the fruit A tree, found in Kamaon. 



B. culindrostachya has leaves oblong, taper-pointed, heart-shaped, with fine double serratures ; 

 twigs, leaf-stalks, and veins downy; female catkins pendulous, very long, cylindrical; fruit deeply 

 two-lobed; bracts linear-lanceolate, bUint, membranous, with two teeth at the base, fringed with 

 hairs. A tree, found in Kamaon. 



