=15. Yellow Birch= (_Betula lutea_) (Gray Birch, Silver Birch). Medium- to large-sized tree, very common. Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood nearly white, close-grained, compact structure, with a satiny luster. Wood heavy, very strong, hard, tough, susceptible of high polish, not durable when exposed. Is similar to _Betula lenta_, and finds a place in practically all kinds of woodenware. A large percentage of broom handles on the market are made of this species of wood, though nearly every other birch contributes something. It is used for veneer plates and dishes made for pies, butter, lard, and many other commodities. Tubs and pails are sometimes made of yellow birch provided weight is not objectionable. The wood is twice as heavy as some of the pines and cedars. Many small handles for such articles as flatirons, gimlets, augers, screw drivers, chisels, varnish and paint brushes, butcher and carving knives, etc. It is also widely used for shipping boxes, baskets, and crates, and it is one of the stiffest, strongest woods procurable, but on account of its excessive weight it is sometimes discriminated against. It is excellent for veneer boxes, and that is probably one of the most important places it fills. Citrus fruit from northern Africa and the islands and countries of the Mediterranean is often shipped to market in boxes made of yellow birch from veneer cut in New England. The better grades are also used for furniture and cabinet work, and the "burls" found on this species are highly valued for making fancy articles, gavels, etc. It is extensively used for turnery, buttons, spools, bobbins, wheel hubs, etc. Maine to Minnesota and southward to Tennessee. =16. Red Birch= (_Betula rubra_ var. _nigra_) (River Birch). Small to medium-sized tree, very common. Lighter and less valuable than the preceding. Heartwood light brown, sapwood pale. Wood light, fairly strong and close-grained. Red birch is best developed in the middle South, and usually grows near the banks of rivers. Its bark hangs in tatters, even worse than that of paper birch, but it is darker. In Tennessee the slack coopers have found that red birch makes excellent barrel heads and it is sometimes employed in preference to other woods. In eastern Maryland the manufacturers of peach baskets draw their supplies from this wood, and substitute it for white elm in making the hoops or bands which stiffen the top of the basket, and provide a fastening for the veneer which forms the sides. Red birch bends in a very satisfactory manner, which is an important point. This wood enters pretty generally into the manufacture of woodenware within its range, but statistics do not mention it by name. It is also used in the manufacture of veneer picnic plates, pie plates, butter dishes, washboards, small handles, kitchen and pantry utensils, and ironing boards. New England to Texas and Missouri.