86 



ameter, with a smooth reddish brown bark, the outer layers exfoliating in 

 broad thin revolute laminffi or sheets — Wood compact, heavy, light red color ; 

 and receives a fine polish. Found in abundance along the overflowed lands 

 of the Wisconsin river, and will succeed in all deep alluvial soils. Timber is 

 valuable for cabinet work. 



BETULA LENTA. (Cherry Mrch or Blade Sirch.) 



A rather large tree 40 to 70 feet high, with dark chestnut-brown bark, red- 

 dish-bronze colored on the spray — Bark and spray strongly aromatic, and are 

 sometimes employed in domestic brewings and diet drinks. Timber rose-col- 

 ored, fine-grained, hard, compact, and as valuable for cabinet work as the 

 cherry, which it resembles. It is a thrifty growing tree on soil adapted to 

 the sugar maple, and its long virgate drooping spray and large green leaves 

 give it a very graceful appearance. 



• There are other varieties of the birch, but they are all small and undeserv- 

 ing of cultivation. The paper and yellow birch are peculiarly fitted to grow 

 in cold springy land where no other large tree will thrive. The red birch is 

 equally well adapted to the sandy bottoms of our overflowing streams, where 

 by its roots it will protect the land from washing, and out-lives and out- 

 grows the red maple and black ash, and even the cotton wood. All these va- 

 rieties produce fuel which when dried is equal to the sugar maple for produc- 

 ing heat. The -most valuable variety, the cherry birch, if found in Wiscon- 

 sin, is rare, and should be introduced immediately, as one of the best of 

 American forest trees for this climate. 



SALIC ACE^. ( Wmow family. ) 



This family of trees and shrubs, with both kinds of flowers in catkins, on 

 difi'erent trees, has the seeds in a kind of pod, clothed with a long silky 

 down, and must be saved like the birch. It includes the willow proper, and 

 fhe poplars. 



Several native species of the Bdm (trillow) grow in this state and others- 

 have been introduced by nurserymen and others. The soft light wood of all 

 the species is nearly valuless, except such as produce oziers for making bas- 

 kets ; and there can be no object in growing any of them for forest trees. 



P0PULU3 — POPLAR. (Aipcn. Cotton-wood. Balmof GHead.) 

 All of this sub-order of the Salicaceaj, are very r»pid growers when young, 

 except the popidus trermdoides (American aspen,) which last is out grown even 

 by the white oak. There are, native in this state, as many as seven distinct 

 species. The wood of all is light, and possesses very little durability and 

 value as a timber. It checks, warps and springs so much in seasoning as to 

 ruin it as sawed or hewed timber. As fuel the willow and poplar rank the 

 lowest of American trees, bearing the relation of 40 to 100 as compared with 

 hickory. 



Although for a p;riod of 10 or 15 years the poplars may grow with great 

 rapidity, so as to have merited the reputation of the most rapidly growing 

 tree we can plant, yet after about that age they grow less and less rapidly. 

 In a period of SO years or more the Lombardy popular, and balm of gilead 

 (P. eanadenais,) the most rapid growers of th» poplars, will be aut-grown by 



