hess] THE BIRCHES 309 



which mounts upward in early April forces out the catkins into 

 tassels that hang all purplish yellow, and very large, from near ends 

 of the branches. Erect among them are the green pistillate ones, 

 rising on the ends of short side shoots. The abundance of its 

 leaves and their glossy sheen and brightness set this birch apart 

 from others in mid-summer. In autumn they turn gold." 



As one author says, "when we go among the trees and perhaps 

 rest for awhile under the shade of the sweet birch, we might, if our 

 ears were sufficiently quickened, hear many tales of country lore 

 that are passing through the swish of its leaves. Tales are astir 

 about the evil spirits that seek it and greedily devour its sweet 

 bark. The tree could also tell of many that love the shimmer of 

 its leaves; that notice the golden pollen in its beautiful spray of 

 staminate blossoms and partake of its shade as graciously as tho 

 they were accepting a gift from a friend." 



I think when we were children and probably now as then we 

 identify this tree by the delicious taste of its twigs. An oil similar 

 to wintergreen being extracted from the bark and foliage is an 

 important article of commerce. It is used medicinally and as a 

 flavoring extract. 



In Kamchatka the natives strip the inner bark into long shreds 

 like vermicelli. This is done in spring when it is richest in starch 

 and sugar. These strips are dried for winter use as food. They 

 are boiled with caviar and with fish. Birch beer is made by 

 fermenting the sweet sap. 



The sweet birch knows the stroke of the axman, for its fine dark 

 reddish wood is valuable. It is strong and heavy and receives 

 a beautiful polish. 



The Yellow or Gray Birch prefers the rich moist uplands and is 

 distributed from Newfoundland south to Delaware, North Carolina 

 and Texas west to Minnesota. It is a beautiful, straight tree, 

 fifty to ninety feet high, distinguished from the black birch by 

 its yellowish or silver-grey bark, which, unlike the brown bark 

 of the black birch rolls back and peels off in thin, filmy strips from 

 the trunk. The bud scales overlap each other, and the leaf scars 

 are alternate. Its delicate twigs have an aromatic taste but not as 

 sweet as the black birch. The catkins are larger around than those 

 of the black birch. 



This is in every way a worthy sister tree of the black birch, and 

 the rich yellow of the trunk, but partially revealed through the 



