" (_Betula papyracea_), celebrated as the tree out of whose
bark those beautiful canoes are made that carry thousands of Indians
over the interior lakes and rivers of North America; out of whose bark
whole tribes of these people fashion their bowls, their pails, and their
baskets; with which they cover their tents, and from which they even
make their soup-kettles and boiling-pots! This, then, was the
canoe-birch-tree, so much talked of, and so valuable to the poor Indians
who inhabit the cold regions where it grows.

Our young Southerners contemplated the tree with feelings of interest
and curiosity. They saw that it was about sixty feet high, and somewhat
more than a foot in diameter. Its leaves were nearly cordate, or
heart-shaped, and of a very dark-green colour; but that which rendered
it most conspicuous among the other trees of the forest was the shining
white or silver-coloured bark that covered its trunk, and its numerous
slender branches. This bark is only white externally. When you have
cut through the epidermis you find it of a reddish tinge, very thick,
and capable of being divided into several layers. The wood of the tree
makes excellent fuel, and is also often used for articles of furniture.
It has a close, shining grain, and is strong enough for ordinary
implements; but if exposed to the weather will decay rapidly.

The "canoe-birch" is not the only species of these trees found in North
America. The genus _Betula_ (so called from the Celtic word _batu_,
which means birch) has at least half-a-dozen other known representatives
in these parts. There is the "white birch" (_Betula populifolia_), a
worthless tree of some twenty feet in height, and less than six inches
diameter. The bark of this species is useless, and its wood, which is
soft and white, is unfit even for fuel. It grows, however, in the
poorest soil. Next there is a species called the "cherry-birch"
(_Betula lento_), so named from the resemblance of its bark to the
common cherry-tree. It is also called "sweet birch," because its young
twigs, when crushed, give out a pleasant aromatic odour. Sometimes the
name of "black birch" is given to this species. It is a tree of fifty
or sixty feet in height, and its wood is much used in cabinet-work, as
it is close-grained, of a beautiful reddish colour, and susceptible of a
high polish.

The "yellow birch" is a tree of the same size, and is so called from the
colour of its epidermis. It is