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BLACK BIRCH. 
Betula lenta. B.folüs cordatis-ovatis , argutè serratis, acuminatis, glabris. 
Betula carpinifolia. A. Mich. Flor. Bor. Am. 
The agreeable foliage of this species, and the valuable properties of its 
wood, render it the roost interesting of the American Birches. Wherever 
it grows in the United States, it is known by the name of Black Birch : its 
secondary denominations are Mountain Mahogany in Virginia, and Sweet 
Birch and Cherry Birch in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and further north. 
In Canada it is universally called Cherry Birch. 
I have observed the Cherry Birch in Nova Scotia, in the District of 
Maine, and in the State of Vermont, though more rarely than the Yellow 
Birch. It abounds in the Middle States, particularly in New York, Penn- 
sylvania and Maryland ; further south it is confined to the summit of the 
Alleghanies, on which it is found to their termination in Georgia, and to 
the steep and shady banks of the rivers which issue from these mountains. 
According to my own researches, it is a stranger to the lower part of Vir- 
ginia, and to the southern and maritime parts of the Carolinas and of 
Georgia; nor do I remember to have seen it in Kentucky, nor in the 
western part of Tennessee. 
In New Jersey, and upon the banks of the North river, where I have 
most attentively observed the Black Birch, I have uniformly remarked that 
it grew of preference in deep, loose and cool soils, and that in these situa- 
tions it attained its greatest expansion, which sometimes exceeds 70 feet in 
height, and 2 or 3 feet in diameter. 
In the neighborhood of New York, the Black Birch is one of the earliest 
trees to renew its foliage. At the close of winter the leaves, during a 
fortnight after their birth, are covered with a thick, silvery down, which 
disappears soon after. They are about 2 inches long, serrate, cordiform 
at the base, acuminate at the summit, of a pleasing tint and fine texture, 
and not unlike the leaves of the Cheiry Tree. The young shoots are 
brown, smooth, and dotted with white, as are also the leaves. When 
bruised the leaves diffuse a very sweet odor, and, as they retain this pro- 
perty when dried and carefully preserved, they afford an agreeable infusion, 
with the addition of sugar and milk. 
Vol. II.— 9 
