386 



THE NATI\'E TREES OF WEST TOGINIA. 



Minnesota, and along the Allegheny mountains to the highest 

 peaks of North Carolina and Tennessee; very abundant and of 

 its largest size in the eastern provinces of Canada and in 

 northern New York and New England; small and rare in 

 southern New England and southward.- 



Distribution in West Virginia. — Frequent in the monntains. 

 Grows with other hardwoods, but more often with spruce 

 and hemlock, reaching the highest elevations above the sea 

 from Grant and Tucker along the Alleghanies, and parallel 

 lesser ranges, to Mercer and McDowell. Infrequent in the 

 low hilly half of the State and in the eastern panhandle. 

 This species prefers the highest parts of mountains where 

 elevations are from 3,500 feet to 4,500 feet, and over, but 

 is usually found in cool, damp ravines on the outposts of 

 its range. 



Wood. — ^Very strong, close-grained, hard, lighter in color than 

 that of the preceding species. 



Uses. — ^Valuable for furniture, interior finish, wagon hubs, agri- 

 cultural implements, and boxes of various kinds. 



BETULA NIGRA, L. Red Birch. River Birch. 



Geographic Distribution. 



Banks of streams, ponds, and swamps, in deep rich soil often 

 inundated for several weeks at a time; northeastern Massachu- 

 setts, Long Island, New York, southward to western Florida 

 through the region east of the Alleghany mountains except in 

 the immediate neighborhood of the coast, through the Gulf 

 states to the valley of the Trinity river, Texas, and through the 

 Mississippi valley to the Indian Territor3% eastern Kansas, the 

 bottom-lands of the Missouri river in eastern Nebraska, cen- 

 tral Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, and Ohio; the only semi- 

 aquatic species and the only species ripening its seed in the 

 spring or early summer; attaining its largest size in the damp 

 semi-tropical lowlands of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, and 

 the only birch tree of such warm regions. 



Distribution in West Virginia. — Closely confined to borders of 

 streams. Found along the following rivers : 

 Williams : a few clumps for 5 miles up from its mouth in 

 Webster. 



Gauley : from near the mouth of Williams river to Kanawha 

 Falls. 



