VI 
BIRCH BROWSINGS 
iene region of which I am about to speak lies in 
the southern part of the State of New York, 
and comprises parts of three counties, — Ulster, 
Sullivan, and Delaware. [Jt is drained by tributa- 
ties of both the Hudson and Delaware, and, next to 
the Adirondack section, contains more wild land 
than any other tract in the State. The mountains 
which traverse it, and impart to it its severe north- 
ern climate, belong properly to the Catskill range. 
On some maps of the State they are called the Pine 
Mountains, though with obvious local impropriety, 
as pine, so far as I have observed, is nowhere found 
upon them. “Birch Mountains” would be a more 
characteristic name, as on their summits birch is 
the prevailing tree. They are the natural home of. 
the black and yellow birch, which grow here to: 
unusual size. On their sides beech and maple 
abound; while, mantling their lower slopes and | 
darkening the valleys, hemlock formerly enticed } 
the lumberman and tanner. * Except in remote or’ 
inaccessible localities, the latter tree is now almost 
never found. In Shandaken and along the Esopus 
it is about the only product the country yielded, or 
