136 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



lous as those of the aspen. It is a beautiful small tree for 

 ornamental plantations. 



The common Black or Sweet birch. {B. lenta.) This is 

 the sort most generally known by the name of the birch, and 

 is widely diffused over the middle and southern states. 

 In colour and appearance the bark much resembles that of 

 the cherry tree ; on old trees, at the close of winter, it is fre- 

 quently detatched in transverse portions, in the form of hard 

 ligneous plates, six or eight inches broad. The leaves, for a 

 fortnight after their appearance, are covered with a thick sil- 

 very down, which disappears soon after. They are about two 

 inches long, serrate, heart-shaped at the base, acuminate at 

 the summit, and are of a pleasing tint and fine texture. The 

 wood is of excellent quality, and Michaux recommends its 

 introduction largely into the forests of the north of Europe. 



The Yellow birch, [B. lutea,) grows most plentifully in. 

 Nova Scotia, Maine, and New-Brunswick, on cool, rich soils, 

 where it is a tree of the largest size. It is remarkable for the 

 colour and arrangement of its outer bark, which is of a bril- 

 liant golden yellow, and is frequently seen divided into fine 

 strips, rolled backwards at the end, but attached in the middle. 

 The leaves are about three and a half inches long, two and a 

 half broad, ovate, acuminate, and bordered with sharp and 

 irregular teeth. It is a beautiful tree, with a trunk of nearly 

 uniform diameter, straight, and destitute of branches for thirty 

 or forty feet. 



The Red birch, (B. rubra,) belongs chiefly to the south, 

 being scarcely ever seen north of Virginia. It prefers the 

 moist soil of river banks, where it reaches a noble height. 

 It takes its name from the cinnamon or reddish colour of the 

 outer bark on the young trees ; when old, it becomes rough, 

 furrowed, and greenish. The leaves are light green on the 

 upper surface, whitish beneath, very pointed at the end, and 

 terminated at the base in an acute angle. The twigs are 

 long, flexible, and pendulous ; and the limbs of a brown col- 

 our, spotted with white. 



The European White birch. [B. alba.) This species. 



