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AUTUMN AND WINTER 



portioned in all its parts ; and the delicacy of its long outer 

 twigs is therefore devoid of any suggestion of weakness. 

 For all its sensitive beauty, the birch has the self-contained 

 appearance of a tree which knows well how to hold its own 



BIRCH 



against snow and storm. Next to its graceful growth, its 

 most conspicuous feature is the silvery bark of its trunk and 

 larger branches, which often peels away in transverse strips, 

 showing a layer beneath slightly more tinged with yellow. 

 This yellowness is due to the inner layers being more moist 

 with sap. If we peel off the outer layer before it is quite 

 ready to come away of itself, the inner coating is found of a 



