The _bark_ is mostly light brown or reddish-brown, and finely divided
into thin scales by which the tree, after a little acquaintance, can be
easily recognized.
The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, generally oblong with narrowed tips,
sharply toothed along the margin, sometimes doubly toothed, from 2 to 3
inches long.
The _flowers_ are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in
drooping catkins which form the previous summer, the pistillate, in
erect catkins on the newly formed twigs. The _fruit_, which resembles
that of common hop vine, consists of a branch of leafy bracts 1 to 2
inches long containing a number of flattened ribbed nutlets.
The _wood_ is strong, hard, durable, light brown to white, with thick
pale sapwood. It is often used for fence posts, handles of tools,
mallets and other small articles.
The white birch, _Betula papyrifera_ Marsh., of the North Woods is
rare in Illinois. It is found in Jo Daviess and Carroll counties and
along the shores of Lake Michigan. The white papery bark distinguishes
it from all other trees and was used by the northern Indians for
covering their canoes and for making baskets, bags and other useful
and ornamental things.
+RIVER BIRCH+ _Betula nigra_ L.
THE river, or back birch, is at home, as the name implies, along water
courses, and inhabits the deep, rich soils along the borders of the
larger rivers of the State and in swamps which are sometimes inundated
for weeks at a time.
[Illustration: RIVER BIRCH