A cubic foot weighs about twenty-four kilograms. It's used by carpenters, in cabinetry, 

 and by makers of wooden shoes. It bums rapidly with a clear flame. Because trees are 

 scarce in Lapland, the birch tree is a great resource for Laplanders; they use the bark for 

 tanning leather, making ropes, lines, coats, and even shoes. 



The black birch, Betula nigra, Linn,, is a tree fifty to sixty feet high. Its trunk 

 grows very large. The leaves are wide, doubly serrate, pointed, downy underneath and 

 entire at their base. 



FLOWERS: in July. 



RANGE: Virginia; acclimatized in our large gardens. 



USES. The wood of this tree is put to better use than that of the white birch. The 

 inhabitants of Canada use the bark to make baskets, portfolios and light canoes that can 

 be portaged by one person from one river to another. 



CULTIVATION. Birches prefer rich and somewhat cool soil. They're propagated 

 by seeds, layering, grafting, and even by cuttings. The seeds should be sown as soon as 

 they are mature. A black birch bud shield grafted on a white birch succeeds very well. 



KEY TO PLATES. 



White birch. 1. Male and female catkins. 2. Scales of the male catkin. 3. Stamens. 

 4. Scale of the female flower. 5. Seed. 



Black birch. 1. Catkin of male flowers. 



