THE BIRCH. 469 
attains maturity in fifty years, and, though it will 
live oftentimes more than a century, it seldom 
reaches that age in healthfulness. 
If we first briefly discuss the uses of the wood 
of the Birch, in order to dwell lingeringly on its 
more sensuous attractions, we shall find that it 
possesses value on account of its singular dura- 
bility in the sense in which that word is meant to 
imply the power of resisting decay—a power 
which is possessed in a supreme degree by its 
bark, as proved by the fact that portions of Birch 
bark have been found uninjured at considerable 
depths in peat bogs, where it must have lain for 
centuries. In colour, Birch wood is white, with a 
shading of red. It is used for the manufacture of 
packing-cases, and for various purposes connected 
with the craft of the turner. Where the quality 
of imperviousness to wet is required, there Birch 
wood finds its greatest sphere of usefulness. The 
bark, wrapped round the ends of posts inserted in 
the ground, will preserve them from early decay, 
and the same power of resistance to the approach 
of decay is shown by the oil, which, in Russia, 
is extracted from Birch bark, and used in the 
