£26

A DISCOURSE

being planted at four or five feet interval, in small twigs, will suddenlyrise to trees, provided they affect the ground, which cannot well be toobarren or spun gy; for It will thrive both in the dry and the wet, sandand stony, marshes and bogs; the water-galls, and uliginous parts offorests that hardly bear any grafs, do many times spontaneously produceit in abundance, whether the place be high or low, and nothing comesamifs to it. Plant the small twigs, or suckers having roots, and after the

Paper Birch; 3. Poplar-leaved Canada Birch; 4. Low-growing Canada Birch. The liquorflowing from wounds made in this tree is used by the inhabitants of Kamptfchatka withoutprevious fermentation, in which state it is said to be pleasant and refreshing, but somewhatpurgative. In this manner the crews of the Resolution and Discovery used it duringtheir stay in the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul. Tire natives of Kamptschatka convertthe bark into domestic and kitchen purposes, and the wood is employed in the constructionof sledges and canoes. : Kraschininikoff, in his “ History of Kamptschatka,” says, that thenatives convert the bark into a pleasant and wholesome food by stripping it off when it isgreen, and cutting it into long narrow stripes, like Vermicelli, drying it, and stewing itafterwards along with their Caviar.

4. BETULA (nigra) foliis rliombeo-ovatis acuminatis duplicato-serratis. Lin. Sp.Plant. 1394. Btrch-tree with rhomboid, oval., pointed leaves, which are doubly saiued. Betula nigraVirginiana. Pluk. Aim. 67. Black Virginia birch-tree.

This being of foreign growth, is propagated for wildernefs and ornamental plantations; butas it begins now to become pretty common, it is to be hoped it will soon make a figureamong our forest-trees, for it is equally hardy with our common Birch, and arrives at a muchgreater magnitude. This species will grow to upwards of sixty feet in height. The branchesare spotted, and more sparingly set on the trees than the common sorts. The leaves arebroader, grow on long foot-stalks, and add a dignity to the appearance of the tree. Thereare several varieties of this species, differing in the colour, size of the leaves, and shoots; allof which have names given them by nurserymen, who propagate the different sorts for sale;such as,—1. The Broad-leaved Virginian Birch; 2. The Poplar-leaved Birch; 3.The PaperBirch; 4. The Brown Birch, &c.

5. BETULA (alnus) Pedunculis ramosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1394. In the Flor. Lapponic,it is termed simply, Alms . The common alder.

Linnaeus has thought proper to clafs this tree with the Birch; but as Mr. Evelyn makesa separate chapter of it, I have in this place only mentioned its botanical description.

In the Linnaean System the Birch belongs to the clafs and order Monoccia Tetrandria,there being male and female flowers separately on the same plant, the male having fourstamina. In general, the leaves are fully displayed by the beginning of April. Theflowers appear in blow about the twenty-seventh of the same month, and about the eleventh

of September the catkins are formed.

There are two good ways of propagating this tree, either by layers or seeds. If fromseeds, they should be carefully gathered in the autumn, before they drop from their scales,