The Birches. 



229 



Sometimes the wood has knots and curls in the grain that take a 

 fine polish when used as veneers. It is a favorite wood for shoe- 

 pegs, spools, bobbins, and other small articles. It is peeled into 

 brooms, and strips of its wood are braided into baskets and fishing- 

 traps. The smoke of its wood imparts a fine flavor to hams, and 



128. Betula alba. White Birch. 



its bark is used for tanning leather. An oil prepared from the birch 

 imparts the peculiar odor to Russia leather much used in substantial 

 book-binding. Birch-wine is made from the sap of this tree by 

 fermentation. 



908. The seeds of the birch and the alder scatter very soon after 



