birch where it grows. It is not exclusively an Alaska species though
that is the only place where it touches the territory of the United
States. It is supposed by some to be closely related to the white
birches of northern Asia, but the relationship, if it exists, has not
been established. In Alaska it grows as far north as any timber extends.
It was first discovered and reported in 1858 on the Saskatchewan river,
east of the Rocky Mountains, and its range is now known to extend down
the valley of the Mackenzie river toward the Arctic ocean to a point
more than 100 miles north of the Arctic circle. It is common in many
parts of Alaska both along the coast and in the interior. In some
portions of that territory it is an important source of fuel. Trees are
from twenty-five to sixty feet high, and from six to eighteen inches in
diameter. The bark is thin and often nearly white, separating into thin
scales. The tree bears typical birch cones, but larger than those of
some of the other species. No tests of the wood’s physical properties
have been made, but it looks like the wood of paper birch, and will
probably attain to considerable importance in the future, since it grows
over a large area, and in many parts is abundant. There remain many
things for both botanists and wood-users to investigate concerning this
tree which has a range of more than half a million square miles.
WESTERN BIRCH (_Betula occidentalis_) is believed to be the largest
birch in the world, and yet it is not of much commercial importance in
the United States, because of scarcity, occurring only in northwestern
Washington and in the adjacent parts of British Columbia, as far as its
range has been determined. It resembles paper birch, and has often been
supposed to be that tree. The people in the restricted region where it
grows speak of it simply as birch. The largest trees are 100 feet high
and four feet in diameter, clear of limbs forty or fifty feet. A height
of seventy feet and a diameter of two are common. The general color of
the trunk is orange-brown, the new bark, exposed by exfoliation, is
yellow. The tree prefers the border of streams and the shores of lakes.
Though it is the largest of the birches, its seeds are among the
smallest. They are provided with two wings and are good flyers.
Manufacturers of flooring and interior finish in Washington reported the
use of 315,000 feet of this birch in 1911. That was the only use found
for it in the only state where it grows. Information is meager as to the
probable quantity of this birch available. It has been reported in
Idaho, but exact information on the subject is lacking.
MOUNTAIN BIRCH (_Betula fontanalis_) is a minor species concerning
which there has been much contention among botanists. It has finally
been called mountain birch because it grows on mountains, as high as
10,000 feet among the Sierra Nevadas in California. It has many
local names for a tree so small as to be almost a shrub throughout
most of its range: Black birch, sweet birch, cherry birch, water
birch, and canyon birch. Its bark is of the color of old copper;
wood is light yellowish-brown, with thick white sapwood; trunks
seldom exceed ten inches in diameter and thirty feet high; range
extends from northern British Columbia to California, and along the
Rocky Mountains to Colorado and possibly further south. The uses of
the wood are few.
[Illustration]
PAPER BIRCH
[Illustration: PAPER BIRCH]
PAPER BIRCH
(_Betula Papyrifera_)
This tree is called paper birch because the bark parts in thin sheets
like paper. It is known as canoe birch from the fact that Indians and
early white explorers and travelers constructed canoes of the bark. The
name silver birch is an allusion to the color of the bark; and big white
birch is the name used when the purpose is to distinguish it from the
white birch with which it is associated in the northeastern part of its
range. It grows as far north as Arctic British America, east to
Labrador, south to Michigan and Pennsylvania, and west nearly or quite
to the base of the Rocky Mountains. This indicated area exceeds
1,000,000 square miles. The quantity of birch of this species in the
forests is unknown, but it runs into billions of feet, probably
exceeding any other single species of birch. The tree sometimes grows
dispersed through forests of other woods, sometimes in nearly pure
stands. Persons well acquainted with the species have expressed the
opinion that paper birch exists in larger quantities now than at the
time when the country was first explored by white men. That can be said
of few other species; but probably holds true of lodgepole pine in the
West, loblolly pine in the Southeast, and mesquite in the Southwest.
Each of these species took advantage of man’s presence and influence to
extend its range. Cattle spread the mesquite; the lodgepole pine came up
in fire-burned tracts; loblolly pine spread into abandoned fields; and
paper birch profited by fires which destroyed large tracts of timber.
The seeds are light, are furnished with wings which sail them long
distances through the air, and they are quickly scattered over the
burned areas where they spring up. In the contest, they are competitors
of aspen. Birch often captures the ground, but does not always do it.
Some of the largest stands in the Northeast occupy tracts bared by fire
half a century or more ago. When paper birch does not find open tracts,
it contents itself with sharing ground with other species. That was the
usual manner of its growth in the original forests; but it has been
quick to seize opportunities to take full possession.
It does not like shade and, if crowded, one of the first things it does
is to rid its lower trunk of all branches. Only limbs remain which are
at the top where they receive plenty of light. Therefore, forest-grown
paper birches have long, clean trunks, though they are not always
straight. The largest trees are seventy feet high and three in diameter,
but those fifty feet in height and eighteen inches in diameter are above
rather than under the average.
The bark of paper birch has played an important part in American
history, story, and poetry. It was the canoe material, the roof, and the
utensil in its region. The Indians had brought the art of canoe making
to perfection before white men went among them. The bark peels from the
trunks in large pieces, and may be separated into thin sheets, which are
very tough, strong, and durable. The Indians sewed pieces of bark
together, using the long, slender roots of tamarack for thread. The bark
was stretched and tied over a frame, the shape of the canoe, and made of
northern white cedar, or some other light wood. Holes in the bark, and
the partings at the seams, were stopped with resin from balsam fir, wax
from balm of Gilead, or resin from pine. The forest supplied all the
material needed by the Indian, and a canoe thus made, and large enough
to carry 800 or 1,000 pounds, weighed no more than fifty pounds. Frail
as it seemed, it was good for long service on rivers and lakes, and
could weather storms of no small severity.
White men adopted the bark canoes at once, and learned from Indians how
to make them. The daring explorers and venturesome fur traders who
threaded every river and navigated every important lake of British
America, found the birch canoe equal to every requirement, even to
attacking whales in the tidewater of the Arctic ocean. The bark from
this birch was used for tents and the roofs of cabins; vessels in which
to store or carry food were made of it, as well as beds on which to
sleep, and wrapping material for bundles. These uses have now
practically ceased; but as sport, recreation, and for the novelty,
articles, from canoes to visiting cards, are still made of the bark.
The wood of paper birch is valuable for certain purposes. The trees are
largely white sapwood, which is without figure. It is as plain a wood as
grows in the forest, but it may be stained. That, however, is seldom
done. The heartwood is dark or red, and is made into brush backs and
parquet flooring, but the hearts are small, and no large quantity of
that wood is used. The largest use of paper birch is for spools, the
common kind for thread. Some of larger size are made for use in mills.
The sapwood only is accepted by makers of spools. The heart is cut out,
and most of it is thrown away or burned under the boilers. The qualities
of paper birch which appeal to spool makers are, white color, small
liability to warp, and the ease with which it may be cut without dulling
the tools. The logs are worked into bars of the various spool sizes, and
are carefully seasoned. One of the problems that must be constantly
solved is the prevention of sap stain while the bars are seasoning. The
wood discolors quickly and deeply.
Tooth picks, shoe pegs, and shoe shanks are other important commodities
manufactured from paper birch. It has not yet been satisfactorily
converted into lumber, because it is more valuable for spools, tooth
picks, pegs, and the like. This wood is frequently listed as a pulpwood,
and it is quite generally believed that its use for that purpose is
important. This is apparently an error, as the wood is not even
mentioned in statistics of pulpwood output in this country.
Paper birch weighs 37.11 pounds per cubic foot, is strong, hard, tough;
medullary rays are numerous but very small and obscure; wood is
diffuse-porous, and earlywood blends gradually with latewood in the
annual rings which are not very distinct.
This is one of the woods which does not threaten to become soon
exhausted. A supply for half a century, at present rate of use, is in
sight, if no more should grow; but in fifty years new forests, now
young, will be large enough to use.
KENAI BIRCH (_Betula kenaica_) is an Alaska species concerning which
comparatively little is known, except that its botanical identity
and something of its range have been established. Its small size,
and the remote regions where it grows, do not necessarily indicate
that it can never be important. Scarcity of other woods may give it
a place which it does not now occupy. No reports on the properties
of the wood have been made. The bark is deep brown in color. Trees
are from twenty to thirty feet high and from twelve to eighteen
inches in diameter. The trunks are very short. Cones are an inch or
less in length and the double winged seeds are very small. The name
applied to this species relates to the region where the best
developed trees have been found. As far as known, the species is
confined to the coast region of Alaska and to adjacent islands from
the head of Lynn canal westward. It has been reported on Koyukuk
river above the Arctic circle.
WHITE BIRCH (_Betula populifolia_) is known also as gray birch,
old-field birch, poverty birch, poplar-leaved birch, and small white
birch. It is chiefly confined to the northeastern part of the United
States, but grows as far east as Nova Scotia, and west to the
southern shore of Lake Ontario. It occurs on the Atlantic coast
south to Delaware, and along mountain ranges to West Virginia. The
names describe either the habits or the appearance of the tree. The
bark is white, and is the most prominent feature of a thicket of
these graceful but practically worthless little birches. It is
called an old-field species because it quickly scatters its small,
winged seeds over abandoned farmland and takes possession when it
does not have to compete with stronger species. Poverty birch is an
allusion, either to the poor ground it occupies or the unpromising
nature of the tree itself. The resemblance of its leaves to those of
cottonwood leads some people to prefer the name poplar-leaved birch.
The tree at its best is seldom more than forty feet high and
eighteen inches in diameter. A height of twenty or thirty feet is
the usual size. The stem is generally clothed with branches nearly
to the ground. The wood is light, soft, not strong or durable, heart
light brown, thick sap nearly white. The form and size of the trunk
exclude it from sawmills, but it has some special uses: Spools, shoe
pegs, and hoops. Its small size does not disqualify it for service
along those lines. The tree springs up quickly, grows with fair
rapidity, and dies young. It is cut for cordwood in New England and
makes good fuel. It takes possession of areas bared by fire, and
protects the ground, furnishing shelter for more valuable species
which come later.
BLUE BIRCH (_Betula cærulea_) is a small tree of which more
information is to be desired. It is rarely more than thirty feet
high with a diameter of eight or ten inches. Its leaves are
long-pointed, its cones about an inch in length, the bark is thin,
white tinged with rose, and is lustrous. Bark is not easily
separated into layers, in that respect differing from the paper
birch. The inner bark is of light orange color. It is probably put
to no use, unless for fuel or as hoops. It is smallest of New
England birches, and its range has not been fully determined, but it
is known to grow in Maine and Vermont, and probably will be found in
other parts of New England and in the adjacent regions of Canada. It
has been compared with a European species of birch, the _Betula
pendula_.
[Illustration]
RED ALDER
[Illustration: RED ALDER]
RED ALDER
(_Alnus Oregona_)
Many species of alder are found in various parts of the world, and on
both sides of the equator, but chiefly in the northern hemisphere. Some
of these are trees, others are shrubs. Six species belonging in the tree
class grow in the United States, besides others which remain shrubs.
Some trees are burdened with names, changing them with locality, but not
so with alder. An adjective may accompany the name, as red, white,
seaside, or mountain, to describe it, but it is always alder, no matter
where it grows. The different species cover much of the United States,
and few large areas are found which have not one or more species. It
grows from sea level up to 7,000 feet or more, but some species thrive
at one elevation, and others above or below.
The alders are old inhabitants of the earth. They had a place in the
Eocene and Miocene forests of the old world and new. It is not apparent
that they have either gained or lost in extent of range during the
hundreds of thousands of years which measure their tenancy on the earth.
They have not been aggressive in pushing their way, nor have they shown
a disposition to retire before the aggression of other trees. Some
alders bear seeds equipped with wings for wind distribution, others
produce wingless seeds which depend on water to bear them to suitable
situations and plant them. Of course, the water-borne seeds are planted
on muddy shores or on the banks of running streams, and the trees of
those species are confined to such situations. The alders belong to the
birch family.
Red alder is the largest of the alder group in this country. Mature
trees are from forty to ninety feet high, and from one to three feet in
diameter. The northern limit of its range crosses southern Alaska; its
southern border is in southern California. It is a Pacific coast tree,
with a north and south range of 2,000 miles. Trunks are straight, and
branches are generally slender. The largest specimens grow in the
vicinity of Puget Sound. The bark is thin, leaves are from three to ten
inches long, cones from one-half to one inch in length, seeds have very
narrow, thin wings, and are about the size of radish seeds. The cones
remain green in color until the seeds are fully ripe, but they finally
turn brown, and seeds are liberated during the fall and winter.
Red alder is given that name because the newly cut wood is liable to
change quickly to a reddish-brown. This applies to the whitish sapwood
only; but since the trunk is largely sapwood, it is an important matter.
It is not apparent whether the change in color is due to attack by
fungi, or to some chemical change in the sap. It is not believed that
the change in color weakens the wood, at least it does not appear to do
so immediately. The heart is reddish, and when dressed and polished, it
presents a fine appearance.
Red alder when thoroughly air dry weighs about thirty pounds per cubic
foot, which is slightly above the weight of basswood. It is strong for
its weight, rating only eight per cent below white oak, while in
stiffness or elasticity it is about twelve per cent above white oak. It
is not difficult to season, is soft, stands well when made up, and is
one of the most important hardwoods of the northwest Pacific coast. More
than 2,000,000 feet a year go to wood-using factories in Washington and
Oregon.
The Indians of the Northwest, when they had only stone hatchets or the
crudest kinds of metal tools, found red alder a wood which worked so
easily that they specialized with it. They made canoes of the largest
trunks, and all manner of troughs, trays, trenches, platters, and
dugouts, some of no more than a pint in capacity, others holding three
or four bushels. The Field Museum in Chicago has a collection of these
Indian utensils made of alder. The workmanship shows considerable skill
mixed with barbaric art. There are carvings of eagles and bears which
are not entirely grotesque. The utensils were designed primarily to
contain food at ceremonial feasts, or it was stored for times of
scarcity. Among them are cooking vessels of alder in which meat was
boiled by filling the troughs with water and dropping in hot stones.
Furniture manufacturers are the largest users of red alder. Carefully
selected heartwood, finished in the proper color, looks much like
cherry, though it lacks something of the characteristic cherry luster.
The sapwood in its natural color resembles the sapwood of yellow birch.
The annual rings are defined by narrow bands of dense summerwood. The
pores are small and diffused through the entire ring, as with birch.
Medullary rays are very thin and do not show much figure; neither do the
rings of growth, in tangential sawing, display much contrast. It is,
therefore, a figureless wood, entering into practically all grades of
furniture, in the region where alder is plentiful, but it shows to
particularly good advantage in panels.
Reports on wood-utilization on the Pacific coast list this wood for
archery bows but particulars as to amount used, and why it is used at
all, are not given. The physical properties of the wood do not seem to
fit it for that use. It is wanting in both strength and elasticity which
are the prime, almost the only, factors considered in selecting bow
wood. No account has been found of any employment of alder for bows by
Indians of the region where it grows.
Broom handle turners in Washington use 350,000 feet of alder a year. The
smooth finish which may be imparted to the wood constitutes its chief
value for broom handles. It is well liked for porch columns. When the
center is bored out, the wood seldom checks. In that respect it
resembles yellow poplar. It takes paint well and holds it a long time.
Comparatively large amounts are converted into interior finish. It is
made into spindles, newel posts, railing, panels, molding, ornaments,
and pedestals. Occasionally it is finished in the wood’s natural color.
Many minor places are found for red alder. Frames of pack saddles are
made of it; it forms parts of pulleys; is available for small turnery;
and it is sometimes worked into bodies and compartments for business
wagons, such as butchers and bakers use. The bark is rich in tannin and
is said to be employed in local tanneries, but no statistics are
available showing the annual supply.
WHITE ALDER (_Alnus rhombifolia_) is known simply as alder in the region
where it grows. Where this tree and red alder occupy the same range they
are commonly supposed to be the same. The range of white alder extends
from northern Idaho to southern California. It is the common alder of
central California where it attains its best development, and the only
alder at low altitudes in southern California. Trees vary in height from
thirty to eighty feet, and in diameter from one to three. A common size
is fifty feet high and fifteen inches in diameter. Like most alders, it
sticks close to water courses, and is usually found in the bottoms of
gulches where water flows most of the year. The flowers begin to appear
in midsummer as dark, olive-brown catkins less than an inch in length.
By midwinter they are fully developed, and the tree is loaded with
catkins from four to six inches long and thick as lead pencils. In the
gulches among the elevated foothills it is not unusual for trees to be
bending beneath snow and flowers at the same time. That is about the
period when the seeds of the preceding year complete their dispersal.
The cones hang closed nearly a whole twelve months, and when they give
up their seeds, they often do it slowly. The seeds are the size of pin
heads, and seem to have had wings once, but lost them. The remnants
remain, but are of no use. If running water does not carry seeds to new
grounds they lie beneath the parent tree. The wood of white alder is
five pounds lighter per cubic foot than red alder. Its structure is less
satisfactory. Medullary rays are irregular, some being thin as those of
sweet birch, while others are as broad as rays of chestnut oak. Those of
large size seem to be scattered at haphazard, and are so irregular and
uncertain that no dependence can be placed in them for figure. Trees are
largely sapwood, which is nearly white when freshly cut, but it quickly
turns brown; heartwood is pale, yellowish-brown. This is said to be one
of most quickly-decaying woods of the western forests when logs are left
lying in damp woods. The white alder ought to be suitable for nearly
every purpose for which red alder is used.
MOUNTAIN ALDER (_Alnus tenuifolia_) is too small to contribute much
to the lumber supply of the country, though it may yield fuel in
some localities where there is little else. Its range extends from
Yukon territory to Lower California, a distance of 4,000 miles, and
it nearly touches both the torrid and frigid zones. It is found from
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific in the United States. Few trunks
exceed twenty-five feet in height or six inches in diameter; but the
form is generally brush, in tangled thickets along the courses of
mountain streams, and on boggy slopes, up to 7,000 feet in altitude.
The wood is light brown, and there are no reports showing its use
for any purpose except firewood.
SITKA ALDER (_Alnus sitchensis_) is one of the smallest of the
arborescent species, and in most instances it is a shrub a few feet
high. At its best it is thirty feet high and eight inches in
diameter. It grows from Alaska to Oregon, and eastward to Alberta
and Montana. It is found in mountain regions 4,000 feet above the
sea. The wood is valuable for fuel only. This species was discovered
about eighty years ago, but was practically lost sight of until
recently. Many persons saw it but supposed it to be one of the other
alders.
LANCELEAF ALDER (_Alnus acuminata_) is a southwestern species,
ranging through southern New Mexico and southern Arizona and south
4,000 miles to Peru. In the United States it ascends to altitudes of
4,000 or 6,000 feet where it fringes the banks of streams, and
flourishes in the bottoms of canyons. The largest trees are thirty
feet high and eight inches in diameter. Flowers open in February
before the appearance of the leaves. The seeds have small wings
which are of little or no use.
SEASIDE ALDER (_Alnus maritima_) grows in Maryland, Delaware, and
Oklahoma, and the largest trunks are thirty feet high and five
inches in diameter. It is found on the banks of ponds and streams.
The flowers appear in July, and the seeds of last year’s crop ripen
at the same time. The wood is light, soft, and brown, heart and sap
being scarcely distinguishable. The wood is not used.
The European Alder (_Alnus glutinosa_) has been naturalized in a few
places in the United States, and several varieties are distinguished
in cultivation. A native shrubby species (_Alnus rugosa_) is common
in many parts of the eastern states. It is not usually listed as a
tree, being too small, but it is sometimes twenty-five feet high and
three or four inches in diameter. In Europe the charcoal made from
alder is considered excellent material for the manufacture of gun
powder, and considerable areas of alder in England are held in
reserve against an emergency. It is probable that the American
alders would answer as well as the European species.
[Illustration]
HORNBEAM
[Illustration: HORNBEAM]
HORNBEAM
(_Ostrya Virginiana_)