THE BIRCHES AND HORNBEAMS 



grows old, while the bark of the canoe birch 

 peels off in thin lateral strips, is clear white in 

 color, and seldom shows any dark blotches on 

 the trunk. The bark of the recent shoots of 

 the gray birch is rough to the touch, and that 

 of the canoe birch is smooth and sticky where 

 the buds join the stem. 



Its wood is soft, light, and neither strong nor 

 durable. It is used for wood pulp, shoe pegs, 

 spools, barrels, and for fuel. 



The specific name, populi folia (poplar-leaved), 

 refers to the leaves which quiver in the wind 

 and show light under surfaces like the aspens. 

 The gray birch is found throughout the North- 

 eastern States. 



Black or Sweet ^ to ^> round-headed tree. The 

 Birch branches twist in different direc- 



Betula lenta 



ful. The young shoots are brown, dotted with 

 white, and smooth. The bark is smooth, dark 

 brown, and resembles that of the garden cherry. 

 The buds are conical and pointed. The twigs 

 have an aromatic taste. Alternate leaf-scars. 



Few trees deserve greater appreciation than 

 the black birch and few receive as little from 

 people in general. It is always beautiful, but 

 in winter when the smooth golden brown stems 

 are bare and the sun strikes it squarely, it 

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