THE BIRCHES 181 



noble shoe peg, or into furniture that shall pass 

 for mahogany," says one of their many admir- 

 ers, "the birches live their lives with cheerful- 

 ness. The beauty and individuality of each 

 tree, young or old, is its own sufficient excuse for 

 being." 



Both staminate and pistillate catkins are 

 borne on the same tree. The seed in most in- 

 stances is a flat heart-shaped samara, winged on 

 the edge like the elm seed. 



Seldom is there more than one member of the 

 birch family found in any one locality. So, if 

 we mean to visit those trees in person, we shall 

 have to sail away on the fairy rug of fancy. It 

 is a delightful. way to travel and we arrive di- 

 rectly before the object of our pilgrimage. Are 

 you ready? All aboard! 



We shall find the canoe, or paper, birch along 

 the wooded slopes and beside the streams of the 

 mountainous regions of Pennsylvania and 

 northward. This birch was a part of the In- 

 dian's daily life. 



"With his knife the tree he girdled: 

 Just beneath the lowest branches, 

 Just above the roots, he cut it, 

 Till the sap came oozing outward. 

 Down the trunk from top to bottotn, 

 Sheer he cleft the bark asunder, 



