306 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



I have not noticed any white birch, the Betula alba, in our Adirordack 

 forest. The tree known there as the "white birch" is the canoe or paper birch, the 

 papyracea. The white birch proper may be growing there, but I have been unable to 

 find one, except on the foot-hills or lower grounds that surround the plateau. I doubt 

 whether this species can be found in Northern New York at an elevation of 1,400 feet. 



There is some confusion in the common names given to our Adirondack trees. 

 The term "red birch" means a birch with a reddish wood, and not the red or river 

 birch, the Betula nigra of the botanists. The hop hornbeam or ironwood is called' 

 "hardhack" in Northern New York, a name which elsewhere belongs to a small- 

 plant, the purple spirea or steeple bush. 



The catalpa, ailanthus, and Lombardy poplar are omitted from the list of trees 

 indigenous to New York, because these species, although quite common, have been 

 introduced here. The catalpa is a native of our Southern States; the ailanthus came 

 from China; and the Lombardy poplar from Italy. 



Some of the trees in the list are small, never attaining any great size. Of this 

 class are the mountain ash, striped maple, ironwood, shad, dogwood, holly, sumach, 

 redbud, papaw, pin cherry, sheepberry, blackthorn, and wild plum. Some of these 

 are not generally known as trees; but each species has been found at times' to attain a 

 height of twenty to thirty feet, with a single shaft eight to twelve inches in diameter. 



The list does not include our fruit trees, the apple, pear, plum and garden cherry, 

 for these are not found in our forests. The wood of these trees, especially the apple, 

 is often used in manufacturing articles for special purposes. 



The Catskill forest contains a greater number of species than the Adirondack. 

 The oaks are found there in good size and number, and the nut-bearing trees grow on 

 higher ground than in Northern New York. No lumbering operations are carried 

 on now in the Catskill region. The hemlock was cut off several years ago to supply 

 the tanneries with bark; the pine went for building material long before that. There 

 is some spruce and hemlock left on the mountain slopes of the Lower Catskills, its 

 inaccessibility having been its protection; but, in the main, these forests are composed 

 of deciduous trees. 



There are no sawmills except a few small affairs with one upright saw, run by 

 water power from some little mountain stream, which saw a few logs occasionally to 

 supply the needs of neighboring farmers. 



In Delaware and Sullivan counties there are several factories for making 

 pyroligneous acid or "wood alcohol." There are also several furniture and chair 

 factories that consume annually a large amount of timber. The best of the hard- 

 woods go to the latter; then the acid factories take the rest, being able to utilize most 

 all the broad-leaved species, the trees being cut into cordwood for this purpose. 



