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WEST INDIAN BIRCH TREE. 
and graceful tree, with an upright, smooth, round trunk of 3 
to 4 feet in diameter, having an even, thin, membranaceous 
brown or greyish bark, peeling offin shreds like the European 
Birch ; but in other respects it bears not the slightest rela- 
tion to that tree. It produces a fine, spreading, much 
branched summit, full of elegant, feathery leaves, almost 
like those of the Ailanthus ; and though an exclusive native 
of the tropics, it annually sheds its leaves in the winter, 
flowering and renewing its foliage in the months of March 
and April. It is common in most of the West India islands, 
as well as in the adjoining continent, and is described as 
being common on Key West, by our friend Dr. Blodgett. 
It is known to the French inhabitants by the name of Gum- 
mier, from the circumstance of its affording resin $ by the 
Spaniards it is called Almicigo or Mastic Tree, each one 
comparing it with something growing in their native coun- 
try. 
All parts of the plant abound with a glutinous, bal- 
samic juice, having the odor of turpentine, which soon 
thickens in the air, and forms a transparent gum-resin of a 
dark green color, bearing some resemblance to mastic, but 
with an unpleasant alliaceous smell. It is soluble in alco- 
hol, and may be employed, like mastic, as a transparent 
varnish. It might also be substituted in the form of pills 
for Copaiba and other nauseous balsams, in diseased dis- 
charges from the mucous membranes. Jacquin observes, 
that the bark of the root is often exported to Europe in 
place of that of the Simaruba, and by some it is said to 
possess, in fact, the same properties as Quassia. 
As a timber tree, the Bursera is considered of little value, 
the wood being white, soft and brittle, and it is seldom put 
to any use but as fuel. 
The leaves are alternate, and unequally pinnated ; rather 
long petiolate, composed each of 3, 5, 7, or even sometimes 
9 opposite leaflets, which are petiolated, oval, acuminate, 
