The Republican journal., 1908-07-23
CONCERNING THE GRAY BIRCH.

WASHINGTON. d. c., July 20, 1908.
Probably there are very 10" lnhaol-
more or less intimately acquainted
with the gray birch, one of the COM
monest and most widely known trees
| of the northeast States, and at the
same time one of the least understood
and least popular. 1t is distinctlvely a
tree of the open, anG as such is so
conspicuous that one can not help
noticing it, In any open field, any old
pasture. any sand plain. on the border
of any swamp or sluggish stream, one
is almost sure to find the gray birch.
In the woods and in old forest growths,
the chances are that one will have to
hunt long while before he finds
single representative of this species.
LAT first thought this may appear
strange and rather puzzlipg. There is
really no mystery about the case, how
ever. and the explanation is simply
that the birch is crowded out OF the
forest, 1t is peculiarly intolerant of
any shade and will not grow under
other trees, and in addition to this 1t
is a small tree. As a result there is no
chance for it in the forest, and 1t has to
| content itself with the open, especially
with more or less barren, waste places
where other trees establish themselves
with difficulty.
Yet in spite of the fact that it is so
widely known, it has few friends or ar
| dent supporters. This is not because
it is without good qualities, out rather
| because these are not generally recog-
nized. On the other hand, its falllngs
are quite apparent. 1t is not partlcu-
larly beautiful or ornamental Tree. ltS
light foliage is rather dellcate ana
graceful, but it is much TOO small ana
| too thin. crowned ever to be OF any use
as a shade tree. Its whitish, closely
oppressed bark usually has somewhat
| dirty appearance. and cannot compare
in beauty with the thin, creamy layers
of paper birch bark. In addition to
this, the tree is frequently injured by
snow and ice storms and Its broken
branches and bent stems do not help to
beautify the landscape.
| Moreover, the gray birch most GER
tainly cannot be classed as one OF our
important timber trees, and is far out
stripped in this respect by others OF
the same genus. Its big brother, the
yellow BIRCH has the proud distinction
of being one of the largest declduous-
leaved trees of eastern North America,
with hard, strong wood much valued
| by lumbermen Its more delicate sis
ter, the paper BIRCH is not so large nor
so abundant but it is one of our most
beautiful forest trees, and its wood is
also highly priced for the manufacture
of spoos, shoe shanks, shoe pegs,
toothpicks and other articles.
The gray birch is at present used
practically only for fuel. 1t is a small,
short-lived tree, very rarely 40 feet high,
and seldom exceeding a foot in diane
ter Then, too, its numerous, more or
less contorted branches give rise to
many knots and the wood is of poor
quality and hard to work, SO that it
would be of but little value for lumber
even if it attained sufficient size.
| The prejudice against it is based
rather on the lack of virtues than on
| the possession of actual vices. The
only vice that can be charged to the
gray birch is that it sometimes usurps
good forest soils to the exclusion OF
better species This is indeed OCCASION
ally true, bnt more often this apparent
1t has a remarkable capacity for flour
which would seem to be unsuited for
any tree growth. Its light, winged
seeds are carried to great distances by
the wind and terminate readily in such
| localities. Frequently these young
seedlings are burned back by ground
fires, but the birch refuses to be killed
out in this way and quickly sends up
vigorous sprouts which continue the
work of reclamation. For this is just
what they are doing, retaining the
land and making it available for other
species.
AS the trees develop, their crowns
gradually come together and form a
rather open forest cover, the leaf litter
that they produce forms a layer OF
humus, or vegetable mold, and the soil
is constantly protected and enriched.
This changed condition gives other
species chance to come in, and before
long they begin to take advantage OF
it. The upper story of birch protects
these young seedlings from wind, frost,
drought, and other unfavorable intiu-
ences, while at the same time its light
foliage is not dense enough to prevent
their development. In time these young
trees force their way up through the
birch, kill it out, and take possession
of the ground themselves.
The birch is of course not found ex-
clusively on the very poorest soils. 1t
often takes possession of old fields
and other open spots which have good
soils, but here, too, the same process al
most invariably takes place. The birch
acts as nurse for other species, which
in time completely suppress it and kill it
out. White pine is particularly quick
to take advantage of this protection,
and may frequently be seen coming up
through stands of gray birch. 1t has
only one complaint to make against the
birch, and this is that its slender, whip
like branches act as a scourge, and in
many cases have been known to actual
ly whip the needles from the slender
twigs of the pine, and kill it. This
danger is not a very great one, how
ever, and the pine usually succeeds in
establishing itself at the expense of the
birch. Many other species are also
protected in the same way and owe a
debt of gratitude to the birch for their
presence there.
So it can be seen that in spite of its
many failings the gray birch is not
wholly useless and really has a distinct
mission to perform. Humble as it is,
it plays an important part in the ex-
tension and establishment of the for
q