cree the lightness and airiness of the birch
family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
English poet has called this tree the

"'most beautiful
Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"

The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
description of a slender, graceful tree.

[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]

"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"

"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
into stone too?"

"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
used for timber."

"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.

"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
sweeping streets and courtyards."

"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.

"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it