96 ELEMENTARY WOODWORKING 
Indians under the branches of a magnificent elm, which 
remained standing until it was over two hundred years 
old, when it was finally blown down. The spot has been 
marked by a marble column. 
The tree is called the American, or white, elm, and we 
have several other varieties growing wild, including the 
well-known slippery elm, so called 
because the inner bark is slippery 
and edible. 
47. The Birches. If the black 
birch with its sweet, aromatic bark 
is not known to a boy, the white, or 
canoe, birch is sure to be. It seems 
to be the fate of this beautiful tree 
to be disfigured by every wander- 
ing youth who has strength enough 
Fic. 105. Leaf of Black to tear off a strip of its paper-like 
Birch anile. 
The leaf of the black, or sugar, birch may be distin- 
guished from the elm by its smoothness and thinness. 
Its base is slightly heartshaped, the edge is double- 
toothed, the tender bark on the twigs is sweet to the 
taste, and the leaves grow in pairs. 
48. White Birch. The famous white, paper, or canoe 
birch has a leaf somewhat broader than the black variety, 
but without the heartshaped base. Its bark is its peculiar 
