BIRCH FAMILY 
third of an inch long; scales brigh: green, ovate, downy ; peduncles 
tomentose, bibracteolate. 
Strobiles.—Ripen in May and June ; cylindrical, oblong, erect, an 
inch to an inch and a half long, half an inch thick. Scales oblong- 
obovate, hairy,  three-lobed, 
lateral lobes shorter than the 
central. Nut oval, downy; 
wing as broad or broader than 
the seed. 
Nearly every genus of 
trees contains one species 
that loves the water. 
Among the maples it is the 
Red, among the ashes it is 
the Black, among the oaks 
it is the Swamp White and among the birches it is the Red. 
Like other trees that grow from choice upon lands subject 
to inundation, it ripens its fruit early and casts it broadcast 
in June when streams are low. Germination takes place at 
Red Birch, Betula nfgra. Strobiles erect, 
V to 144’ long. 
once ; and each little seedling becomes several inches high 
and well established in life before the autumn rains inundate 
its birthplace and threaten its existence, 
Other birches love the north, climb to the mountain tops 
and make their way well into the arctic regions ; but the Red 
Birch seeks warmth not cold, crowds to the water’s very 
edge and dips its pendulous branches into the quiet or run- 
ning stream. It is the water nymph of the birches; and 
reaches its greatest size in the damp misty lowlands of Texas 
or among the bayous of Louisiana or in the swamps of Flor- 
ida. And yet it possesses all the family ability of harmoniz- 
ing with its environment and will grow rapidly in good soil 
quite remote from water. 
The Red Birch is a beautiful tree ; the bark of a full grown 
trunk is dark, but small stems and branchlets are really red 
and in the sunlight are positively brilliant. This red bark 
easily sloughs loose and shows the paler bark beneath. The 
spray is particularly delicate, the twigs and branchlets long, 
flexible, and pendulous. 
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