«5 



The young trees are often used for hoop-poles, and such are constantly 

 springing up from the naked roots in great abundance, if cattle are not al- 

 lowed access to them, as they are as fond of the beech leaves as the most nu- 

 tritious grasses. The tree is far from being a slow grower ; though it would 

 take years to become most ayailable for either fuel or timber. No timber 

 tree will more surely reproduce itself than the beech when cut off in the win- 

 ter. Though a good neighbor to several other trees, it will itself occupy the 

 entire ground. 



There is but one American species of the tree, the difference between the 

 white and red wood depending on other causes, than the species. 



The sharply three aided nuts, usually two in each, urn-shaped and soft 



prickly coriacious involucre, ripens early in September, and the nut falls out. 



They are the sweetest kerneled of oil nuts, and a,re greedily eaten by all the 



nut devouring animals and birds, as well as men. A superior table oileould 



be made from the nuts, as the shells could be easily removed if necessary. 



The trees commence bearing at about ten years of age, and increase their 



quantity with age. The nuts should be planted like the other cupuliferas, as 



soon as gathered, where they could not be disturbed by the nut eaters, and 



they will come up in the spring. The classical name fagua is derived from 



the Greek verb phago, to eat, in allusion to the esculent nuts of the tree. 



The remaining species of this family of trees, consisting of the water beech 

 {carpinus) and ironwood (oalrya), although valuable as wood and timber, are 

 too small trees, and of too slow growth to be valuable for cultivation. And 

 the hazel-nut corylua is a mere shrub. 



BETULA. {Birch.) 



Trees or shrubs, with both kinds of .flowers in separate scaly catkins. Fruit 

 a broadly winged and scale-like nutlet, or small samara; ripens in June and 

 should be then planted in moist sandy soil, or be mixed with sand and kept 

 till spring for planting — Foliage entire, mostly thin and light— Sterile catkins, 

 long and drooping, terminal and lateral, formed in summer, remaining naked 

 through the succeeding winter, and expanding their golden stamens in early 

 spring, preceding the leaves — fertile catkins, oblong or cylindrical, lateral, 

 protected by scales during winter, and fully developed with the leaves. 



There are several native species of bireh in Wisconsin, some of which grow 



to a size large enough to be sawed into lumber. They ean be propagated by 



euttings in moist sandy land, and some succeed best in moist soil. 



Betula Papyracea, (paper birch, canoe birch.) — Bark of the trunk is white 

 externally, separable in thin paper-like sheets, very durable and used by the 

 Indians for making their canoes. Is a large tree with a fine grained light 

 colored wood. Found in wet lands in the north parts of the state. 



Betuta Esoelsa, (Yellow birch.) Grows in moist springy ground, common 

 in the north — tree 40 to 60 feet high, with yellowish silvery bark, the outer 

 layers exfoliating in thin revolute stripes. The thin young leaves and twigs 

 are aromatic with a winter-green flavor — wood hard, white, takes a satin 

 polish The tree yields an abundance of sweet sap, which is manufactured 

 iato vinegar. 



BETULA NIGKA. {Rimer or Red Sirch. ) 



A rather large tree of rapid growth, 40 to 10 feet high, and 2 feet in di- 



