98 



ELEMENTARY WOODWORKING 



feature and cannot be mistaken. It conies off in layers 

 and possesses a resinous quality which makes it water- 

 proof, a fact fully appreciated by the Indians, who con- 

 structed their canoes of it. The wood is hard and tough. 



49. Gray Birch. A 

 smaller tree, known as 

 the gray birch, also has 

 white bark, but it is not 

 as ]3erfect as that of the 

 canoe birch, does not peel 

 in layers, and has trian- 

 gular black spots on the 

 trunk beneath every 

 limb. 



It loves barren, rocky 

 places, abandoned farms, 

 etc., and is sometimes 

 called old field hircli. It 

 has a fine, delicate foli- 

 age, which is not dupli- 

 cated in tlie forest. Each 

 leaf swings from a long, slender stem, and every passing 

 breeze gives it a trembling effect, like the aspen. The 

 leaf form is very odd, — a broad, flat base, and then a 

 long, graceful curve out to a fine point, the whole edge 

 being finely double-toothed. 



Fig. 107. Leaf of Gray Birch 



