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Various kinds of woodenware are manufactured from the 

 wood of the river birch, and it is used for fuel. As its name 

 indicates it prefers moist places along river banks, and it 

 grows wild from Massachusetts to Georgia and westward. 

 In the Hudson Valley it is known to grow near the Catskills, 

 and southward to Staten Island. 



Cherry Birch Betula lenta 



Birch-beer, betul-oil and a flavoring extract, all of which 

 are derived from the aromatic sap of the cherry birch, make 

 it the best known of all the native birches. Under favorable 

 conditions the tree often attains a height of 70 feet, and it is 

 more or less symmetrically ovoid in outline. The nearly 

 black bark of the tree has suggested the name of black birch, 

 and it is known by this name in many places. The name 

 sweet birch is derived from its aromatic sap. The oval- 

 oblong leaf-blades are from 2j^ to 5 inches long, sharp- 

 pointed at the tip, and more or less heart-shaped at the base. 

 The margins are sharply but not coarsely toothed. 



Sometime before the leaves appear the tree is covered with 

 its drooping and erect catkins of flowers. The pendulous 

 non-fruiting kind are golden-brown, when mature, and the 

 blending of these golden flowers with the reddish twigs pro- 

 duces beautiful color harmonies in the early spring. The 

 erect, fertile catkins produce the fruit about two months after 

 the flowers reach maturity. As in all the birches the seeds 

 are prominently winged. 



The cherry birch is confined to the region from New 

 Brunswick to Georgia and Iowa. It is exceedingly common 

 throughout the Hudson Valley. 



Yellow Birch Betula lutea 



Although it has many characteristics in common with the 

 cherry birch, the yellow birch can generally be identified by 

 its yellowish or reddish-yellow bark. It is a tree sometimes 

 as high as 90 feet and in the open it develops a broad 

 rounded top. The bark of the branches and branchlets and 



