OF rOKEST-TREES. 



225 



CHAP. XVIII. 

 The BIBCH\ 



1. BeTULA, the BIRCH, or BIRC, (whence some derive the name 

 of Berkshire,) in British, Beduen, is doubtless a proper indigene of Eng- 

 land, though Pliny calls it a Gaulish tree. It is altogether produced of 

 roots or suckers, (tho' it sheds a kind of samera about the spring,) which 



••Of this GENUS there are five species : 



1* BETULA (al^a ) foliis ovatis acuminatis serratis. Lin. Sp. PI. ISpS. Birch-tree with 

 oval, sawed leaves, ending in points. The common birch-tree. 



The common Birch is a tree well known, and there are few moist places in this Icingdom where 

 it does not naturally grow. In summer its. brandies are clothed with elegant small leaves, 

 and in winter its trunk is covered with a whitish bark. These trees, therefore, may be 

 planted in parks, lawns, &c. to increase the variety, as well as in woods, or coppices, to be 

 cut for profit. The lopping of the Birch makes excellent fuel, as well as the best of brooms. 

 The bark is of a very durable nature : the Swedes cover their houses with it, and it lasts 

 many years. The inner fine bark was, before the invention of paper, used for writing ; and 

 of the sap is made a wholesome Wine ; salutary, it is said, for such as are afflicted with the 

 stone and gravel. 



1. BETULA (nana) foliis orbiculatis crenatis. Lin, Sp. PI. 1394. Birch-tree with round 

 crenated leaves. Betula pumila foliis subrotundis. Amman. DrvARF BtRCii. 



This species is a native of Lapland, and is of signal use in the economy of the inhabitants 

 of that arctic region : The branches furnish them with their chief fuel ; and the seeds are the 

 food of the Ptarmigan (Tetrao Lagopus) or White Partridge. These birds are much esteemed, 

 and make a considerable part of the sustenance of the inhabitants. Great quantities are 

 caught in the winter season and sent to different provinces. Before Linneeus made his 

 Lapland expedition, this Birch had been considered only as a variety of the common tree 

 of that name; but its distinct specific characters have since been established. This tree has, 

 within these few years, been added to the Flora Britannica, having been found by Mr. 

 Lightfoot in the highlands of Scotland. It is of humble stature, seldom exceeding three 

 or four feet. From this shrub is prepared a Moxa, which the Laplanders consider as an 

 efficacious remedy in all painful diseases, when burnt upon the part. 



3. BETULA C LENTA J foliis cordatis oblongis Acuminatis serratis. Liri. Sp. PI. lS94i. 

 hirch-tree with oblong, pointed, heart-shaped, sawed leaves. The canada birch. 



This grows to a timber tree of sixty or more feet in height. The leaves are heart-shaped, 

 oblong, smooth, of a thin consistence, pointed, and very sharply serrated. The varieties 

 of this species differ in colour, and go by the names of,— 1. Dusky Canada Birch ; 2. White 



Volume I. N n 



