37° 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



is a Japanese species named B.Thunbergi, which forms a dwarf, 

 compact, much-branched bush, with small pendent flowers and 

 •tiny pale green leaves, which are brilliant crimson, orange, and 

 yellow in autumn ; this is a first-rate subject for small gardens, 

 ■as well as for planting in front of taller-growing shrubs. 

 B. virescens and B. concinna are effective. B. angulosa is beautiful 

 ' in the autumn, the foliage dying off a crimson-scarlet colour. 



Birches {Betula) are scattered over Europe, Asia, Japan, and 

 North America, and vary from mere bushes to trees nearly 

 iooft. high. Few trees, either exotic or native, are more 

 beautiful than our own British Birch " {Betula, alba, Fig. 241). 



Its elegant pendulous branches are 

 clothed with leaves of the tenderest 

 green in spring and summer, and in 

 winter its erect slender silver trunk 

 adds a touch of colour to the land- 

 scape. It grows to a height of about 

 60ft. There are many forms of the 

 Common . Birch, and the following 

 list comprises some of the most 

 ornamental : B. a. purpurea is of 

 drooping habit, with dark purple 

 leaves ; distinct and handsome. 

 B. a. fastigiata is of free, distinct 

 growth ; in habit it resembles the 

 Lombardy Poplar. B. a. dalecarlica 

 (B. laciniatd) should be included in 

 a list of select trees ; the smooth 

 green leaves are deeply cut and 

 lobed. B. lenta (Cherry Birch) 

 reaches a' height of 70ft., and forms 

 a round-headed tree ; with age the 

 branches droop gracefully. B. Maxi- 

 mowiczii, one of the latest additions 

 to the Birches, is very ornamental, 

 free in growth, and quite hardy; 

 it is a Japanese species with large 

 leaves — much larger than those of 

 any other Birch — and has rather 

 dull orange-coloured bark. B. nigra 

 (Red Birch) loves a moist soil, such 

 as on the margins of lakes and 

 streams, and is well adapted for 

 public parks and gardens; its rough, picturesque trunk is 

 handsome. B. occidentals (Black Birch) also delights in damp 

 soil; it is of elegant habit, with long, pendulous branches, and 

 ■dark green bark. B. populifolia (B. acuminata) and B. papy- 

 ri/era are useful for the park. B. nana is very distinct ; it 



Fig. 241. — Betula alba. 



