52 TREES 



it to the young. The bright yellow green of its 

 leaves makes it blend prettily with surround- 

 ing foliage, and the charm of many Scottish 

 burnsides, those 'hazelly shaws' of which 

 Burns speaks so lovingly, is largely due to 

 the presence of hazel bushes. It has a certain 

 resemblance to the alder, but the peculiar 

 green of its leaves serves to distinguish it. 



Of all the trees which adorn the Highland 

 glens, the Birch (Betula alba), Plate I., Fig. 8, 

 is the queen. Silvery white bark, tender 

 drooping branches, and delicate foliage, give 

 it a grace which no other tree excels, although 

 the mountain ash may be said to equal it. A 

 ' weeping ' variety is also found, in which the 

 twigs hang in long pendant tassels. In Eussia 

 the bark is used for tanning. A tiny tree, the 

 Dwarf Birch (Betula nana), Plate II., Fig. 4, 

 occurs in boggy places in the North. It 

 grows to a height of perhaps a couple of 

 feet, and is of little moment in this country, 

 although in Lapland the inhabitants would 

 miss it sadly. 



One of the most majestic of our trees is 

 the Sycamore or Great Maple (Acer pseudo- 

 platanus), Plate I., Fig. 9, which is sometimes 



