Birch bark

“ A fir-tree loves a water border, loves a long wind in a draughty canon, loves to spend itself secretly on the inner finishings of its burnished, shapely cones. Broken open in mid-season the petal-shaped scales show a crimson satin surface, perfect as a rose.
The birch—the brown-bark western birch characteristic of lower stream tangles—is a spoil sport. It grows thickly to choke the stream that feeds it; grudges it the sky and space for angler's rod and fly. The willows do better; painted-cup, cypripedium, and the hollow stalks of span-broad white umbels, find a footing among their stems. ”

“ The bark of the common birch is much more durable, and industrially of greater value, than the wood. It is impermeable to water, and is therefore used in northern countries for roofing, for domestic utensils, for boxes and jars to contain both solid and liquid substances, and for a kind of bark shoes, of which it is estimated 25 millions of pairs are annually worn by the Russian peasantry. The jars and boxes of birch bark made by Russian peasants are often stamped with very effective patterns. ”

“ They know it well enough. They have eaten birch bark, many a time; and, for ought I know, some [46] of them have felt a tingling sensation in the region of the back and legs, brought about by the use of birch twigs in the hands of some schoolmaster.
Well, Moses Ramble was crossing Billy Birch's woods one day in the spring of the year. For awhile, he whistled along, as merry-hearted as the blue birds that had just returned from their southern tour, and who were chirping on the branches over his head, breaking off, now and then, a few sprigs of birch, from the trees along his path. ”

“ I never thought of using birch bark for such things,” declared Elena.
“Make a record of it in the Tally!” teased Zan, for Elena was acquiring the habit of entering everything in that book.
“If we should find any sweet grass on our walks while here, we must be sure and gather it, as it is what is needed to sew up the seams of birch bark. If the grass is wound about with red linen thread it makes it much stronger and looks pretty, too. The bark must be punched with a row of holes so the grass-binding can pass through without tearing. ”

“ The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but, like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for sweeping streets and courtyards. ”

“ Our minds anywhere, when left to themselves, are always thus busily drawing conclusions from false premises.
I asked the Indian to make us a sugar-bowl of birch bark, which he did, using the great knife which dangled in a sheath from his belt; but the bark broke at the corners when he bent it up, and he said it was not good; that there was a great difference in this respect between the bark of one canoe birch and that of another, i. e., one cracked more easily than another. I used some thin and delicate sheets of this bark which he split and cut, in my flower-book ”

“ Everything or anything can apparently be made of birch bark in Finland—shoes, baskets, huge or small, salt bottles, flower vases—even an entire suit of clothing is hanging up in Helsingfors Museum, manufactured from the bark of the silver birch.
The bark thus used, however, is often cut from the growing tree, but this requires to be carefully done so as not to destroy the sap. As one drives through the forests, one notices that many of the trees have dark-brown rings a foot or more wide round their trunks, showing where the bark has been stripped away. ”

“ Spruce or birch bark are excellent for this purpose, and the pieces may be secured with nails, and kept flat by the weight of another series of poles rested against them. The sides of the shelter should be treated similarly, the front being usually left open to face the fire, which the trapper generally builds a few feet distant. In constructing a bark shanty, it is well to select some spot protected from the wind, close to the foot of a mountain or in the midst of trees, always letting the open side face the direction most sheltered. ”

“ If, however, he wants a canoe in which he goes fishing, and which, in consequence, must be of a stronger make, he still adheres to the stringy bark as his material, though he takes more care in the manufacture. The bark is bent, like the birch bark of the North American Indians, by moisture and heat ”

“ It happened that one evening we pitched our tent near a small stream, in a grove composed principally of young birch, but interspersed with large and shaggy ones. Everyone at all familiar with the birch knows there is much of it, on which the outer bark peels naturally, and it is no uncommon thing to be able to peel, with the use of the hands only, large quantities of the bark. ”

“ So he took a large flat piece of hemlock bark, which he found upon the ground, and began tearing off strips of birch bark from the old tree, and piling them upon it.
“What are you going to do?” said Lucy.
“O, I am going to play steam-boat on fire,” said he; and he took up the piece of bark with the little pile of combustibles upon it, and carried it down to the edge of the brook. Then he went back and got his torch stick, and put a fresh piece of birch bark in the split end, and lighted it, and then came back to the brook, walking slowly lest his torch should go out. ”

“ These bark shoes have in fact many advantages. They are very cheap, costing really nothing; they are strong and durable, and warm, with the help of hay and wrappings. In moist ground they let the water in and out without softening, and, by changing the hay or wrappings, are easily dried. Many other uses are found for birch-bark. The sheath in which the peasant carries his inseparable knife is made of it. ”

“ The facsimile of the Tübingen birch-bark manuscript (1901) .—A magnificent facsimile of the birch-bark manuscript has now been published by the care and enterprise of Bloomfield and Garbe. [24] The technical perfection of the work is such as to show with marvellous clearness not only every stroke of the writing and every correction, but even the most delicate veinings of the bark itself, with its injuries and patches. ”

“ The wood makes excellent fuel, and is much used for that purpose in some of the large cities of America. The bark, too, is excellent for tanning—almost equal to that of the oak.
The “red birch” is still another species, which takes its name from the reddish hue of its bark. This is equal in size to the canoe-birch, often growing seventy feet high, with a trunk of nearly three feet diameter. Its branches are long, slender, and pendulous; and it is from the twigs of this species that most of the “birch-brooms” used in America are made. ”

“ A large bark cornucopia with bark strap-handle can be made and carried on the arm in place of a basket when off berrying.
Variations of circular, oblong, and rectangular bark dishes may be worked out from strips and rectangular pieces of birch bark, and all dishes can be turned into baskets by adding handles. When necessary to sew the edges of bark together, always have the bark wet and soft; then lap the edges and use a very coarse darning-needle with twine of inner-bark fibre or rootlets ”

“ The Indian method of drawing out patterns on the birch bark, is simply scratching the outline with some small-pointed instrument, Canadian thorn, a bodkin of bone, or a sharp nail. These outlines are then pierced with parallel rows of holes, into which the ends of the porcupine quills are inserted, forming a rich sort of embroidery on the surface of the bark.
The Indian artistes have about as much notion of perspective, or the effects of light and shade, as the Chinese or our own early painters; their attempts at delineating animals, or birds, are flat, sharp, and angular ”

“ The white, or common birch-tree, is not of a large growth, but when cultivated in a favourable soil, and a good situation, it rises to a considerable height. There is a degree of elegance in its general appearance, in summer, and the bark in winter is frequently variegated with red and white. It is easily cultivated by the usual method; but, when raised from seed, the young shoots of the birch should remain two years in the seminary, and then be transplanted in rows. ”

“ But in the open spots of the wood—in the glades where life most prevails—are the beautiful birches, with their striped, silvery bark. Well does this tree merit its appellation of "lady of the woods." There is none so frail, so graceful, nor so generally beautiful. Almost every part of the birch is used and for a great variety of purposes. In spring the delicate green of the larch hangs in trailing tassels, and contrasts well with the dark green foliage of the indigenous pine. ”

“ The male and female blossoms of this tree also grow separate on the same plant. Its seeds are small and plumed, whereby they are particularly adapted for being sown by the aid of the wind. There are about thirteen species in North America. Common Birch, abounding in northern Europe, is a beautiful tree sixty to seventy feet high. The bark is used in medicine and dyeing, and it yields the birch tar employed in the preparation of Russia leather. Red or River Birch grows in the United States from Massachusetts to Iowa and Kansas, south to Florida and Texas. ”

“ When secured cut thin slices down part way all around the elongated knot and circle it with many layers of shavings until the knot somewhat resembles a toy tree. The inside will be absolutely dry, and this branching knot will prove reliable and start your fire without fail. Birch bark will start a fire even when the bark is damp, and it is one of the best things you can have as a starter for an outdoor, rainy-day fire. ”

“ To look at this tree is like looking at a picture or reading a poem: one feels somehow refreshed. Nor is the black birch without charm; its bark has a dusky beauty, and again shows fine wood colors and metallic tints similar to the black cherry. This fine luster the birch has in an eminent degree while most trees show it only on their small branches, if at all.
Club-mosses appear to be a lesser growth of pines, a pygmy folk dwelling at the feet of the elder race. Here are miniature trunks and branches bearing miniature cones, perfect little conifers no higher than a chickadee. ”

“ A circular piece of wood or board is sometimes drawn upon, showing the human face, and placed upon a pole, and facing in a certain direction, to show the course taken by the survivors of a settlement which has been attacked by an enemy. See Figure 50, page 152.
BARK.
The Ojibwa have, until very recently, been in the habit of tracing characters of various kinds upon the inner surface of birch bark. These records are usually mnemonic, though many pertain to personal exploits. An illustration is given in Figure 139, page 218. ”

“ It is a great pity that so many beautiful trees are girdled and killed to supply the needs of camping parties. If the bark were stripped but part way around it would not kill the tree.
The yellow birch has a silvery yellow tint in the outer bark, which curls back in ragged ribbons until the tree gets old. The red birch writes its name in the rusty red colour of its papery bark, which splits into tatters in true birch fashion, and flutters the ragged ends from each branch throughout the year. ”

“ The general outlines of the Yellow Birch often resemble the Elm, the root-spurs rise high up the trunk, protruding much beyond the regular circle of its shaft. It is very firmly rooted, capable of withstanding a violent blast. It attains to the height of seventy or eighty feet, and often measures from nine to ten feet in circumference three and four feet from the ground. Its wood is very useful for cabinet purposes, and is excellent for fuel.
The White or Canoe Birch is most remarkable for the beautiful thin sheets of bark which it affords, from which the Indian canoe is constructed. ”

“ A number of birches are cultivated as ornamental trees, the weeping birch being extensively planted in this country. They are graceful of form, fair appearing from bark to least tremulous leaf. They are easily propagated by seeds and grow rapidly.
The American White Birch has a short life, but is a graceful tree and plucky one, springing up in deforested land and abandoned fields. It grows south as far as Pennsylvania. It is a small tree, from 25 to 45 feet high, the bark smooth and white, not readily peeling ”

“ The paper or canoe birch is the most valuable American kind. Cabinet makers sometimes use the wood, but it quickly decays when exposed to climatic changes. It sounds strange, but the bark is most esteemed because of its durable nature. Many times I have come upon a fallen birch which appeared to be perfectly sound, but on examination, I found the wood entirely rotted away, with the bark as firm and perfect as when the tree stood erect and was growing. ”

“ All birches are subject to quick decay, if conditions are right to produce it. Yellow birch in the woods sometimes dies standing, and when that happens, the wood falls to pieces so quickly that the bark may remain standing with very little inside of it except powder of decayed wood. This tree is seldom mentioned in early accounts of lumber operations, and practically never with a good word. Operators generally left it standing when they cut the timber which grew with it. ”