160 Eleventh Annual Report 



of New Albany (Clapp); Owen (Blatchley); Posey (Schneck); Put- 

 nam and Vigo (Blatchley). 



Additional records are: Monroe (Blatchley); Brown, Clark, 

 Marshall, Posey and Starke (Deam). 



Economic uses. Wood light, strong, close-grained, heart wood 

 light brown. Representative uses are furniture, heading, wooden 

 ware, moulding and shoe-lasts. The supply in this State is not of 

 sufficient quantity to be of much importance. 



3. Betula populifolia Marshall. Birch. Plate 37. Outer bark 

 chalky white, that on the trunks of old trees nearly black, inner 

 bark orange, not separable into thin layers; leaves nearly triangular; 

 usually long taper-pointed, truncate or nearly so at the base, smooth 

 and shiny on both sides, 3-7 cm. (1-25^ inches) long; staminate cat- 

 kins about 5-10 cm. (2-4 inches) long, mature pistillate catkins 

 1.5-3.5 cm. (J/^-lM inches) long, about 7 mm. thick; nut oval, nar- 

 rower than the wing. This is the gray or white birch of text books. 



Distribution. Nova Scotia south to Delaware and westward 

 through New England to New York. It again appears in Indiana 

 in Lake and Tippecanoe Counties. It has been definitely reported 

 in the following counties: Tippecanoe (Golden) as '^sparsely along 

 Wabash River", Lake (Higley and Radden) as "rare", Lake and 

 Porter (Blatchley) as ''scarce." In the most favorable conditions 

 in its range it seldom is more than 4 dm. (16 inches) in diameter 

 and 12 m. (39 feet) in height. In our area it is rare and a small 

 tree of 1-2 dm. (4-8 inches) in diameter and of no economic im- 

 portance. 



Additional records are: Laporte (Deam). 



Horticultural value. Occasionally planted as an ornamental tree. 

 Its native habitat is a moist soil, although it adapts itself to drier 

 situations. It is usually a short-lived tree and if a birch is desired, 

 other species or horticultural varieties should be chosen. 



4. Betula papyrifera Marshall. Birch. Plate 38. Bark thin, 

 creamy white, chalky, readily separating in thin layers; young twigs 

 green, viscid, becoming reddish or dark brown at the end of the 

 season and in a few years the characteristic white of the older 

 branches; leaves ovate, 4-10 cm. (13^-4 inches) long, irregular 

 toothed, gradually tapering at the apex, rounded, wedge-shaped or 

 cordate at the base, dark green and smooth above, paler with hairs 

 on the veins and dotted with conspicuous glands beneath, stam- 

 inate catkins pendulous, 2 or 3 together, 5-10 cm. (2-4 inches) in 

 length, scales fringed, mature pistillate catkins pendulous, 2-4 cm. 



