_Betula_, the classical Latin name. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 30'-80', and even higher; diameter, 1', even 5'; trunk, often divided low; bark, dark brown, marked by horizontal lenticels, peels into paper plates, curling back; leaves, doubly serrate, often almost lobed; fruit, pubescent, erect, strobiles. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, thick sap-wood, whitish; diffuse-porous; rings, not plain; grain, close, rather crooked; rays, numerous, obscure. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, medium (36th in this list); 35 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.5762; strong (22d in this list); very elastic (19th in this list); medium hard (37th in this list); shrinkage, 6 per cent.; warps, .......; not durable when exposed; hard to work, tough; splits with difficulty, nails well. COMMON USES: Shoe lasts, yokes, furniture. REMARKS: Prefers moist land. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 37 CHERRY BIRCH. SWEET BIRCH. BLACK BIRCH. MAHOGANY BIRCH. Cherry, because bark resembles that of cherry tree; sweet, refers to the taste of the spicy bark. _Betula lenta_ Linnaeus. _Betula_, the classical Latin name; _lenta_, meaning tenacious, sticky, may refer to the gum which exudes from the trunk. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in Tennessee Mountains. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 50'-80'; diameter, 2'-5'; trunk, rarely straight; bark, dark reddish brown, on old trunks deeply furrowed and broken into thick, irregular plates, marked with horizontal lenticels; resembles cherry; spicy, aromatic; leaves, ovate, oblong, 2"-6" long, irregularly serrate; fruit, erect strobiles. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, dark, reddish brown; diffuse-porous; rings, obscure; grain, close, satiny, polishes well, often stained to imitate mahogany; rays, numerous, obscure. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (6th in this list); 47 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.7617; very strong (4th in this list); very elastic (6th in this list); hard (11th in this list); shrinkage, 6 per cent.; warps, little; not durable if exposed; rather hard to work; splits hard, tough. COMMON USES: Dowel pins, wooden ware, boats and ships. REMARKS: The birches are not usually distinguished from one another in the market. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 38 YELLOW BIRCH. GRAY BIRCH. Yellow and gray, both refer to the color of the bark. _Betula lutea_ F. A. Michaux. _Betula_, the classical Latin name; _lutea_ refers to the yellow color of the bark. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in northern New York and New England. [Illustration: Leaf.]