THE TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 123 



though hardly equal to Wild Cherry. Furniture 

 made of it, as chairs, tables, etc., will, in time and by 

 careful use, acquire very much the appearance of 

 Mahogany. The leaves and blossoms have consider- 

 able fragrance, and the bark of the young shoots has a 

 delightful spicy flavor like that of the Mountain Tea or 

 Spicy Wintergreen. The tree is one of much beauty, 

 with dark.graceful foliage, and a symmetrical form. 



3. Yellow Birch. (B. excelsa, Ait.) — This is a 

 northern tree, as south of the mountains of New 

 York, with the exception of small patches in New 

 Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the three or four stocks 

 which I found near the (highest) summit of Black 

 Mountain, it is unknown. Its yellowish-silvery bark, 

 scaling off in thin sheets, like that of the Paper or 

 Canoe Birch, will at once distinguish this from the 

 two preceding. It is about 25 feet high. The tim- 

 ber is rather inferior to that of Black Birch. It is a 

 handsome tree, and its twigs slightly aromatic. 



WILLOWS.— There are 20 or 30 species of these 

 in the United States, nearly all of which belong ex- 

 clusively to the North. A few, though they are of 

 no importance, extend to this State and farther south. 

 The value of some species in wicker-work is generally 

 known. The articles manufactured from them are 

 made from the young, slender and flexible twigs and 

 shoots. 



1. Black Willow. (Salix nigra, Marsh.) — This 

 is the only native Willow in the State that becomes 



