State Board of Forestry, 163 



{%-l}4 inches) long and about 8 mm. (1/3 inch) thick, scales 

 slightly hairy, the middle lobe acute, the two lateral lobes shorter, 

 orbicular and diverging almost at right angles; nut oval, about 1.5 

 mm. (1/20 inch) long with wings twice as wide. 



Distribution. Alaska and Labrador south to New York, northern 

 Indiana, Colorado and Washington. In Indiana it has been noted 

 only in Lake and Porter Counties. In favorable conditions in the 

 range of its distriVjution it is a large tree, assuming a height of 30 

 m. (98 feet) and a diameter of more than a meter (39 inches). In 

 our area it is a rare and small tree. This is the tree from which the 

 Indians made their canoes and is frequently called the ''canoe 

 birch." 



The published records of the distribution are as follows: Lake 

 (Blatchley) and (Hill). 



Additional records are: Lake and Porter (Deam). 



Economic uses. Wood light, close-grained, strong and tough, 

 light brown. Representative uses are spools, shoe-shanks, shoe 

 pegs, tooth picks, wood bottles, etc. The greater supply is in 

 Maine, where it is the principal wood industry. In Indiana the 

 tree is so small and the supply so limited as to be of no commercial 

 value. 



Horticultural value. Sometimes used for ornamental planting. 

 It is not long-lived, requires much light, is adapted to a moist or 

 dry soil. 



4. ALNUS. The Alders. 



(From the Celtic words, al, near, and lau, the banks of a river.) 



Bark astringent; leaves variously toothed or lobed; mature pis- 

 tillate catkins oblong to ovoid, 1-2 cm. (^-% inch) long, becoming 

 woody and remaining on the tree for several months. A small tree 

 or usually shrub-like in our area. 



Leaves sharply doubly serrate, the ends of the primary 

 veins forming the apex of the larger teeth, glaucous 

 and pubescent beneath 1 A. incana. 



Leaves singly serrate, pale green and pubescent beneath. . 2 A. rugosa. 



1. Alnus incana (Linnaeus) Muenchhausen. Tag Alder. 

 Speckled Alder. Plate 39. Bark reddish or bottle green with gray 

 dots, whence its common name; leaves usually of a broadly oval type, 

 short-pointed at the apex, widely rounded at the base, blade 4-10 

 cm. (lH-4 inches) long, 3-7 cm. (13^-3 inches) wide, dark green and 

 glabrous above, paler, glaucous and pubescent at least on the veins 



