There you may see what a birch can be!
The product showeth plain and free
How nobly plants can grow
With nine months’ winter slow.
’Tis fitted to survive in that position,
Developed by the force of bad condition.
See now what life the tree doth keep,—
Branchless, three-leaved, and tough;
In June the leaf-buds peep, flowers in July dare creep
To bloom, the fruit in August, and then sleep.