22 
THE NATIVE TREES OP RHODE ISLAND. 
THE YELLOW BIRCH. 
The yellow birch deserves more credit as an ornamental tree 
than it generally receives. When well grown, in open ground, it 
is a stately, wide-spreading tree. - Its limbs are long, straight, and 
slender, striking out low down, and close together. It makes a 
delightful shade, and is a fine landscape tree. This tree grows 
naturally in moist grounds, but flourishes well on high land, and is 
often found belting mountain sides farther north. In forest growth 
it makes a tall timber tree of large dimensions. As finish-wood, 
the yellow birch is not so fine as the black, but makes good chair 
stock and fuel. 
THE WHITE BIRCHES. 
Two species commonly are known as white birch — first, the 
paper, or canoe, birch ; second, the little gray birch. The “ canoe ” 
birch is rarely found native in this State. There is one well grown 
specimen in Davis Park, Providence ; and, occasionally, the tree 
occurs singly, or in groups, among the northern hills of the State. 
In the forests of northern New England and Canada, it is a 
magnificent tree. Its tall, graceful body, white as new-fallen 
snow, its shapely, airy head, entitles the tree to the name which it 
has received, the “lady of the forest.” For turning stock the 
wood has great demand, and it makes good fuel if seasoned prop- 
erly. The bark is water-proof, and resists decay for a long time. 
This tree should be used in Rhode Island for ornament and shade. 
It is one of the most attractive trees which can be grown in this 
climate. Nursery-men have recognized its value, and have it for 
sale. 
The little gray birch, usually called “ white ” birch, should not 
be despised. It occupies ground too poor for any thing else. It 
will make a fair crop of wood in ten to fifteen years. It is valuable 
as a nurse for other trees. It is much better than no tree at all. 
