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C,A NOE BIRCH. 
Betula papybacea. E. foliis ovalibus, acuminatis, subœqualiter serratis ; 
petiolo glabro ; venis subtus hirsutis. 
Betula papyrifera. A. Mich. Flor. Bor. Am. 
By the French Canadians this tree is called Bouleau Blanc, White Birch, 
and Bouleau à Canot, Canoe Birch : it is known to the Americans also by 
these denominations, and sometimes by that of Paper Birch. The name 
of Canoe Birch appears to be the most proper, as it indicates an important 
use which is made of its bark. 
The Canoe Birch is most multiplied in the forests in the country lying 
north of the 43° of latitude, and between the 75° of west longitude and 
the Atlantic Ocean ; comprising Lower Canada, New Brunswick, the Dis- 
trict of Maine, and the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. It ceases 
below the 43° of latitude, and is not found? in the southern part of Con- 
necticut, nor below Albany, in the State of New 7 York. 
The surface of these regions, in general very irregular and diversified in 
every direction with hills and valleys, is occupied by thick and gloomy 
forests, of which the soil is fertile and principally covered with large stones, 
overgrown with moss. This part of North America, though situated 10 
degrees further south, very nearly resembles Sweden and the eastern part 
of Prussia, not only in the face of the soil, but in the severity of the climate. 
The Canoe Birch attains its largest size, which is about 70 feet in height 
and 3 feet in diameter, on the declivity of hills and in the bottom of fertile 
valleys. Its branches are slender, flexible, and covered with a shining, 
brown bark, dotted with white. The leaves are borne by petioles 4 or 5 
lines long, and are of a middling size, oval, unequally denticulated, smooth, 
and of a dark green color. The aments are pendulous, and about an inch 
in length : the seeds are ripe towards the middle of July. 
The heart or perfect wood of this tree when first laid open, is of a reddish 
blue, and the sap is perfectly white. It has a fine, glossy grain, with a 
considerable share of strength : that it is but little employed is attributable 
partly to its speedy decay when exposed to the succession of dryness and 
moisture, and partly to the existence, in the countries which produce it, of 
several species of wood, such as the Maples, the Beech, and even the 
