THE BIRCH
We have only to glance at the birch to realize that its name “the lady of the woods” is well deserved. Its chief characteristic is slender gracefulness, and we cannot mistake the silvery white bark, quite unlike any other tree.
Cork Oak or Cork Tree (Quercus suber), is a species of oak, native of southern Europe and northern Africa, the spongy bark of which is the common cork of commerce. It ranges from twenty to forty feet in height, attains a diameter of five feet, and sometimes lives three hundred to five hundred years, producing crops of bark for one hundred and fifty years.
Cypress (Cupressus), is an evergreen tree of the pine family, with small, imbricated leaves and globular cones, comprising about twelve species, in northern regions of the world. The Common Cypress of Europe is famous for its durable wood and is believed to be the cedar or gopher wood of the Bible. The Monterey Cypress, a beautiful tree sometimes one hundred and fifty feet high and eight or ten feet in diameter, grows near the sea in California and three others occur on the Pacific Coast. The so-called Cypress or White Cedar of the Eastern States, and the Bald Cypress of southern swamps, valued for timber, are distant varieties of cypress.
Dogwood (Cornus), is a shrub or small tree, the wood of which is exceedingly hard and is used for many purposes. The astringent bark and sometimes the leaves are used in medicine. There are about eighteen species in the United States. The Flowering Dogwood is a small tree, native of the Eastern States. It has showy white petal-like bracts surrounding its clusters of small flowers.
Ebony (Efenaceæ), is chiefly a species of tropical trees. The hard, dark colored heartwood of these is the source of most of the ebony of commerce. Those of India, Ceylon, and other tropical countries, furnish the best quality.
Elm (Ulmus). There are about six species which are native to the United States. They attain a height of forty-five to ninety feet, and blossom before their leaves appear, in March and April. The American White Elm is a large tree ninety to one hundred feet high, growing from Newfoundland to Florida and Texas. The wood is tough, strong, and largely used for wheel hubs, in cooperage, and for shipbuilding. It is a fine street and park tree. The Cork Elm is a tree seventy to ninety feet high, growing from Quebec and Vermont westward to Nebraska and Tennessee. The wood is considered the best of American elms, and is much used for agricultural implements and bridge timbers. The Slippery, or Red Elm is a tree sixty to seventy feet high, growing from Ontario to Florida, westward to Nebraska and Texas. The wood is durable in contact with the soil and is much used for fence posts and railway ties. The mucilaginous inner bark is used in medicine.