141 



Cfjc €rta£urg of 23Dtan». 



[beyr 



bridges. The Rialto of Venice is built on 

 alder piles, and so are many houses in 

 Amsterdam. Sabots are made of the wood. 

 There are two genera, Betula and Alnus, 

 and upwards of sixty species. [J. H. B.] 



BETULA. The Birch. Trees or shrubs 

 inhabiting high latitudes in the northern 

 hemisphere, or, when found in temperate 

 regions, growing principally in rocky moun- 

 tainous situations. Theyare characterised 

 by slender, often drooping branches, which 

 are covered by a smooth durable bark : by 

 small leaves possessing little succulency, 

 and in their nature astringent and aro- 

 matic: and by having their fructification at 

 the same time, with" the leaves in catkins 

 of two kinds, barren and fertile, both on the 

 same tree. 



The Common Birch, B. alba, pronounced 

 by the poet Coleridge — 



• most beautiful 

 Of forest trees, the Lady of the "Woods '— 



is remarkable for its lightness, grace, and 

 elegance, nor less so for its hardiness ; 

 standing in no need of protection from 

 other trees in any stage of its growth, and 

 living on the bleak mountain side and 

 other exposed situations from which the 

 sturdy oak shrinks with dismay. It is a 

 native of the colder regions of Europe 

 and Asia. Throughout the whole of the 

 Russian empire it is more common than 

 any other tree, being found in every wood 

 and grove from the Baltic sea to the 

 Eastern ocean, and frequently occupying 

 the forest to the exclusion of all other 

 arboreous plants. It grows from Mount 

 Etna to Iceland : in the warmer countries 

 being found at a high elevation among 

 the mountains, and varying in character 

 according to the temperature. In Italy it 

 forms little woods at an elevation of 6,000 

 feet. On some of the highlands of Scotland 

 it is found at the height of 3,500 feet. In 

 Greenland it is the only tree, but dimin- 

 ishes in size according to the decreased 

 temperature to which it is exposed. It is a 

 tree of rapid growth, especially when 

 young; and as it is little affected by 

 exposure, it forms an excellent nurse for 

 other trees. The soil which it prefers is 

 turf over sand, and in such situations it 

 attains maturity in about fifty years ; but it 

 seldom exceeds fifty feet in height, with a 

 trunk from twelve to eighteen inches in 

 diameter. The bark possesses the singular 

 property of being more durable than the 

 wood which it encircles. Of this the 

 peasants of Sweden and Lapland take 

 advantage, and, shaping it like tiles, cover 

 their houses with it. The wood is white 

 shaded with red, and, if grown in a very 

 cold climate, it lasts a long while. The 

 hi Glanders of Scotland employ it for all 

 purposes for which wood is available : 

 the branches are used as fuel in the distil- 

 lation of whisky ; the spray for thatching 

 and for smoking hams and herring3 ; the 

 barkfor tanning leather ; and the leavesfor 

 bedding. In Russia, an oil is extracted 

 from the bark, which is used in the prepa- 



ration of Russian leather, to which it not 

 only imparts a fragrant odour, but renders 

 it durable, preventing it from becoming 

 mouldy, and repelling insects. The variety 

 known as B. pendula differs from the com- 

 mon species only |in having the branches 

 1 pendulous, smoother, and more slender. 

 ! B. nana is found in Scotland, and in all 

 the northern countries of continental 

 Europe and America. It is a low wiry 

 shrub, rarely exceeding three feet in 

 height, with numerous round notched 

 leaves, which are beautifully veined. 



The Paper Birch, B. papyracea, so called 

 from the brilliant white colour of the bark 

 of young trees, is an American species no 

 less valuable than the common birch, and 

 attains a far larger size. By the Indians 

 and French Canadians the durability of the 

 bark is turned to good account. The 

 Canadians select a tree with a large and 

 smooth trunk ; in the spring two circular 

 incisions are made quite through the bark 

 several feet from each other. Two vertical 

 incisions are then made on opposite sides of 

 the tree ; after which a wooden wedge is 

 introduced, by which the bark is easily 

 detached. These plates are usually ten or 

 twelve feet long, and two feet nine inches 

 I broad. To form a canoe, they are stitched 

 i together with the fibrous roots of the 

 j Canadian spruce. The seams are coated 

 ! with resin. Great use is made of these in 

 | long journeys into the interior of the 

 I country ; theyare very light, and are easily 

 I carried on the shoulders from one lake or 

 ! river to another. A canoe calculated for 

 i four persons weighs from forty to fifty 

 pounds. Some are made to carry fifteen 

 1 passengers. Numerous other species of 

 birch are known to botanists, all of which 

 ; aproach more or less in character those 

 described above. — French Bouleau, Ger- 

 man. Birke. 



Plate 14, which is a view in Kamt- 

 schatka, represents a birch forest as seen in 

 the distance. [C. A. J.] 



BEURRE'. A general name applied to a 

 class of dessert pears, which have their 

 flesh of what is called a buttery texture, as 

 indeed the name itself indicates. 



BEURREE. (Ft.) Hesperis matronalis. 



BEURRE DE SPERGULE. (Fr.) Sper- 

 gula arvensis. 



BEYCHE SEED or NUT. A Siamese 

 name for Strchynos nux-vomica. 



BEYRICHIA. A genus of Scrophulari- 

 acea, containing a few species of herba- 

 ceous plants from Brazil and Guiana. They 

 have opposite ovate leaves, and axillary 

 flowers, on very short pedicels, either lax or 

 in dense leafy spikes. The calyx is five- 

 parted, the upper segment being ovate, and 

 the four lower ones narrow. The upper lip 

 of the corolla is emarginate, the lower is 

 slightly trilobed, the palate is prominent. 

 There are four stamens, two of which are 

 frequently sterile. The capsule dehisces 

 septicidally or loculicidally, and contains 

 numerous small seeds. The genus is di- 



