THE BIRCH. A471 
be in reality the straight base of a triangle, is, in 
the Birch leaf, rounded downwards, so that the 
ordinary figure of a toy kite reversed would, 
perhaps, give the best idea of its shape. The 
stalk, of sufficient length to enable the leaf to 
stand gracefully away from the twig, is continued, 
as the leafy mid-vein, to the leaf apex—straight, 
symmetrical and beautiful veinlets proceeding 
from each of its sides to the serrated mar- 
gin. Careless or unobservant botanists have 
described the leaf-margin of the Birch leaf as 
being unequally indented. We emphatically 
dissent from this opinion. The apparent irregu- 
larity is caused by the circumstance that the 
edge is broken up on the two upper sides of the 
leaf into bays, which really divide it into lobes 
with acute apices. The bays are sharply and 
beautifully serrated, and to the acute point of 
each lobe runs with singular precision one of the 
veinlets which branch from the mid-vein. 
The most delightful characteristic of the foliage 
of the Birch is its life,—the shining graceful 
leaves ‘twinkling’ in the sunlight with the 
gentlest motion of the wind. The Tree loves to 
