Though the people of more favoured places rather despise the birch-tree, and leave it to the turner, out of which to make some of the smaller of his wares, or employ the shoots as mop-handles and the twigs as brooms, there are situations in which it is among the most valued and valuable productions of

In those parts of the highlands of Scotland where pine is not to be had, the birch is a timber for all uses. The stronger stems are the rafters of the cabin; wattles of the boughs are the walls and the door; even the chests and boxes are of this rude basket-work. To the Highlander, it forms his spade, his plough, and, if he happen to have one, his cart and his harness; and when other materials are used, the cordage is still withies of twisted birch. These birch ropes are far more durable than ropes of hemp; and the only preparation is to bark the twig, and twist it while green.

In ancient times, both in Britain and other parts of Europe, strong and light canoes were made of the

tough bark of the birch; and it is still used for the same purposes in the northern parts of America. The species used for canoes by the Indians and French Canadians, is called the canoe-birch (Betula papyracea or Betula nigra). In good soils it reaches an elevation of seventy feet. The weight of a canoe that will hold four persons does not exceed fifty pounds.

The peasantry in some parts of Northern Europe thatch their houses with the birch, weave the long fibres into mats and twist them into ropes, and even grind the inner bark to mix with their bread. The bark is used in the simple dyes, and also in tanning. The Laplanders use it in the preparation of their rein-deer skins; and in Russia the hides which are so esteemed for binding books are prepared with the empyreumatic oil of the birch. A weak but not unpleasant wine may be obtained by draining the sap in March, boiling it, and then fermenting it. The Northern people also make very neat baskets and boxes of the bark, the Laplanders carving the large knots which the trees put forth, into vases, which, although fashioned with their rude knives, have much of the beauty of turnery. In Kamchatka also it is formed into drinking-cups. The wood of the birch on the banks of the Garry, in Glengarry, Scotland, is cut into staves, with which herring barrels are made. It is an excellent wood for the turner, being light, compact, and easily worked; and for undressed palings and gates, such as are used in the sheep countries, few timbers are superior to it. It is not very durable, however, but very cheap, as it thrives upon soils that are fit for little else, and sows itself without any assistance from art. It grows upon rocks which one would think absolutely bare; and such is the power of its roots, that we have seen them separate stones several

tons in weight to reach the soil. The black birch of America has been imported into this country. It is compact and rather handsome, but it soon decays. Birch makes a very good charcoal.

Alder-Alnus glutinosa.

The Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is not so handsome a tree as the birch, and the timber is not applicable to so many useful purposes. The alder is a native of almost every part of Europe. It thrives best in marshy situations, and by the margins of lakes and rivers, where it is generally a large shrub rather than a tree. As its shade rather improves than injures the grass, coppices of it afford good wintering for the out-door stock on mountain grazings.

The bark of the alder contains a good deal of tannin; and the young shoots dye a yellow or cinnamon colour, the wood a brown, and the catkins of the flowers a green. The twigs of the alder are brittle, and so is the stem when green. In that state it is more easily worked than any other timber. When of considerable size, the timber of one of the varieties

(there are several of them) is red, and often so finely streaked, that it is called Scotch mahogany in the north, and furniture is made of it. That which is got out of the bogs, in an undecayed state, (and though it be not so durable in the air as birch, it lasts much longer in water,) has the colour, if not the consistency of ebony. Of birch or holly, which are very white, of juniper, which has a slight cinnamon tinge, and of the bog alder or the bog oak, both of which are black, the coopers in the north of Scotland form variegated cups, some of which are very handsome. In moist situations alder does very well for foundation piles; and from the ease with which it can be perforated when green, and from its not being liable to split, it is well adapted for wooden pipes.

On the banks of the Mole, in Surrey, the alder grows very luxuriantly; and it adds great beauty to the landscape in the neighbourhood of Dorking and Esher.

MAPLE.

Of the Maple (Acer) there are about thirty-six species, natives of various countries. Six are indigenous to Europe, about twelve to America, and the remainder to various parts of Asia. Most of them are deciduous trees, but one is an evergreen shrub. It will be necessary to notice only two-the Great Maple, or Mock-plane (Acer pseudo-platanus); and the American Sugar Maple (Acer saccharinum)-—the first on account of its timber, and the last on account of its sap.

The Great Maple, called also the sycamore and the plane-tree, is hardy; stands the salt spray of the sea better than most trees; grows rapidly, and to a great height. The timber is very close and compact, easily cut, and not liable either to splinter or to warp. Sometimes it is of uniform colour, and sometimes it is

very beautifully curled and mottled. In the latter state, as it takes a fine polish, and bears varnishing well, it is much used for certain parts of musical instruments. Maple contains none of those hard particles which are injurious to tools, and is therefore employed for cutting-boards; and not being apt to warp, either with variations of heat or of moisture, it is an eligible material for saddle-trees, wooden dishes, founders' patterns, and many other articles both of furniture and of machinery. Before the general introduction of pottery ware, it was the common material for bowls and platters of all sorts; and many are still made of it. As the juice of the maple, both in the leaves and in the tree, is sweet, it attracts numbers of insects. At certain seasons, the wild bees and wasps may be seen about it in crowds; and if the timber be placed so that insects are allowed to