288 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE COMMON BIRCH. 

 . j. (betula alba.) 



HIS is met with in all the countries of Europe, and in the north of 



this continent, as well as in Northern Asia and America, it forms 

 extensive forests. In Sweden, Norway and Lapland it springs 

 up in places where fir, pine and beech forests have been destroyed 

 by fire. The size and appearance of the birch vary considerably, 

 according to the nature of the locality in which it grows. Upon 

 lofty mountains it becomes comparatively small and shrub-like, 

 thriving best upon slopes and plains. Its. usual height is from 

 forty to fifty feet, but it frequently attains seventy feet. The bark 

 of young trees is of reddish-brown hue, but with increasing age, 

 it whitens until it assumes a beautiful silvery color ; the larger branches also 

 become white, but the small twigs always retain their original hue. The birch 

 throws off the outer layers of its bark annually, and thus it generally presents a 

 smooth and shiny appearance. Upon very old trees, however, the bark is some- 

 times burst and rent in all directions. The branches are slender, and at their 

 extremities divided into numerous small twigs and rods. The leaves droop 

 downwards, and give a peculiar appearance to the tree, by which it can readily 

 be distinguished from its forest companions. 



The timber of the birch is white, close-grained, tough, light and pliant. It 

 makes excellent firewood and yields superior charcoal for smelting. The sabots, 

 or coarse shoes worn by the peasantry in some parts of France, are made from 

 the wood of the birch ; in Germany, spokes, ladder beams, axe-handles and 

 cattle-yokes are made from it ; and in Great Britian it is used for turnery, hoops 

 and fish-barrels. Almost every part of the tree is utilized. Brooms and switches 

 are made from the small twigs and rods. 



In Sweden and Norway the leaves are often gathered while green, and given 

 to sheep and goats in place of fodder. Prepared with alum, they yield an 

 excellent dye, which imparts a beautiful permanent yellow color to linen and 

 woollen materials. The outer bark of the tree is very tough, and contains 

 valuable balsamic and antiseptic qualities. In Sweden, Norway and Finland 

 the bark is used instead of slates for roofing houses. Along the Volga and in 

 some parts of North America, canoes are constructed from the bark, and fisher- 

 men make their shoes of it. In Siberia and Lapland it is employed in the 

 manufacture of boxes, baskets, hats, ropes, and drinking vessels. In Russia a 

 bright reddish brown oil is distilled from the bark of old trees ; it is used in 

 the preparation of Russian leather, to which it imparts a peculiar odor. In 

 Poland the inner bark is highly esteemed by tanners. When holes are bored in 

 the trunk or branches, in spring, before the leaves begin to expand, the sap 



