BIKCn FAMILY. 



325 



1. B. al'ba, var. populifo'lia, 



Spacli. Leaves triangular taper- 

 pointed, unequally serrate, smooth 

 on both sides. 



Poplar-leaved variety op the 

 White Betula. White Birch. 



Trunk 20 - 25 feet high with a chalky-white 

 hark and numerous slender branches. Leaves 

 2-3 inches long, heart-shaped or somewhat 

 truncate at base with a very long point: peti- 

 oles half the length of the leaves. Fertile 

 aments at first erect, but at length pendulous. 



Poor soils. Maine to Pennsylvania along 

 ihe coast. Fl. April. Fr. August. 



Obs. A very graceful tree growing 

 on the poorest soil. The wood, 

 though not of the first quality for 

 fuel, makes good charcoal. The 

 straight stems of the young trees 

 are used by farmers and gardeners 

 as supports for bean vines, and the 

 brushy tops arc similarly used for pea 



2. B. papyra'cea, Ait. Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, doubly serrate, — ■ 

 the veins beneath hirsute, petioles 

 glabrous ; lateral lobes of the fertile 

 aments short, sub-orbicular. 



Paper Betula. Paper Birch. Ca- 

 noe Birch. 



8tem 40 - 60 or 70 feet high, and 1 - 2 or 3 

 feet in diameter; branches slender or flexible, 

 — the shining brown bark dotted with white. 

 Leaves 2-3 inches long; petioles about half 

 an inch long. Fistillale aments about an inch 

 long, pendulous on a peduncle three-fourths 

 of an inch in length. 



New England and Canada. Fl. April - May. 

 Fr. July- August. 



01)8. This tree is remarkable, as 

 furnishing, in its thin, firm and dura- 

 ble bark, the material of which 

 the Aborigines of our country made 

 their portable Canoes. Various 

 other articles — as boxes, baskets, &c., 

 are manufactured from the bark, wl 



readily separates into thin 



Fm. 224. The White Birch (Betula alba, var. populifolia). 

 fiG. 225. The Canoe or Paper Birch (Betula papyracoa). 



