WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 385 



Uses. — ^Valuable for posts, tool handles, and for various domestic 

 uses. Found in such small quantities as to render it of 

 little importance. 



BETULA LENTA, L. Cherry Birch. Black Birch. 



Geographic Distribution, 



Rich uplands from Newfoundland and the valley of the 

 Saguenay river to northwestern Ontario, and central Iowa, and 

 southward to Delaware, southern Indiana and Illinois, and 

 along the Alleghany mountains to western Florida, central 

 Kentucky and Tennessee; a common forest tree at the north, 

 and of its largest size on the v/estern slopes of the southern 

 Appalachian mountains. 



Distribution in ^¥est Virginia. — A common tree in the high hilly 

 and mountainous counties of Randolph, Tucker, Upshur, 

 Braxton, Webster, Pocahontas, Nicholas, Clay, Kanawha, 

 Fayette, Greenbrier, Raleigh, Mercer, and Monroe. South 

 and west of this group of counties the species becomes less 

 frequent being found only occasionally on rock cliffs in the 

 low hills of the first and second tiers of counties east of the 

 Ohio river and along the Big Sandy waters from Wayne to 

 McDowell. Scattered through the counties east of the 

 mountains. Almost entirely disappearing over large areas 

 in northern Upshur and Lewis, western Barbour, in Harri- 

 son, Taylor and ]\Iarion, western Monongalia, in the lime- 

 stone plateaus of Greenbrier and Monroe, and in several 

 smaller areas here and there. 



Wood. — Close-grained, hard, reddish, resembling black cherry. 



Uses. — ^Yaluable. Wood used principally for furniture and in- 

 terior finish. Sometimes employed in the manufacture of 

 vehicles, cars, boxes and crates. Excellent as fuel. A flavor 

 used in medicine is distilled from the wood, and the fer- 

 mented sap is sold as birch beer. 



BETULA LUTEA, Michx. Yellow Birch. Gray Birch. 



Geographic Distribution. 



Moist uplands, in rich soil, and one of the largest deciduous- 

 leaved trees of northeastern America; Newfoundland and along 

 the northern shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the valley of 

 Rainy river, and southward to northern Delaware and northern 

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