The generic name, _Betula_, probably comes from the Celtic name for the birch, _betu_, or it may possibly have come from the Latin _batuere_, in reference to the birch rods with which the Roman lictors drove back the crowds of people. The specific name, _papyrifera_, refers to the paper-like bark which peels off in thin lateral strips. This birch is found in the mountains of New England and generally throughout the Northern and Northwestern States. [Sidenote: American Gray or White Birch _Betula populifolia_] _A small, slender tree, 15 to 30 feet high, with an erect trunk, It grows in poor soil and is found growing commonly along sandy roadsides. Several shoots spring from the trunk near the ground. Bark close fitting, with a chalky white surface. Black triangular spaces below each branch. The ends of the twigs are very rough to the touch. Alternate leaf-scars._ This little birch is perhaps the least interesting member of a most attractive family. It is found commonly growing along the sandy banks of country roads and in waste, barren places where pitch pines and blueberry bushes and scrub oaks are found. It is invariably associated with sterility in our minds, and seems to demand nothing of the soil on which it grows, adapting itself immediately to its surroundings, and thriving where other trees would die. [Illustration: BLACK BIRCH _Betula lenta_ Page 63 ] Although the bark is white and might be confounded with that of the canoe birch at first sight, the trees can easily be told apart. The gray birch has a close-fitting bark which is dirty white in color, with triangular black blotches under the branches, it is exceedingly chalky to the touch and never peels off as it grows old, while the bark of the canoe birch peels off in thin lateral strips, is clear white in color, and seldom shows any dark blotches on the trunk, The bark of the recent shoots of the gray birch is rough to the touch, and that of the canoe birch is smooth and sticky where the buds join the stem. Its wood is soft, light, and neither strong nor durable. It is used for wood pulp, shoe pegs, spools, barrels, and for fuel. The specific name, _populifolia_ (poplar-leaved), refers to the leaves which quiver in the wind and show light under surfaces like the aspens. The gray birch is found throughout the Northeastern States. [Sidenote: Black or Sweet Birch _Betula lenta_] _A tall, round-headed tree. The branches twist in different directions, but are pendulous and graceful. The young shoots are brown, dotted with white, and smooth. The bark is smooth, dark brown, and resembles that of the garden cherry. The buds are conical and pointed. The twigs have an aromatic taste. Alternate leaf-scars._