“That is an excellent reason,” replied Miss Harson, “and the canoe birch it shall be.  There is more to be said of it than of any of the others, and it also grows in greater quantities.  Thick woods of it are found in Maine and New Hampshire—­for it loves a cold climate—­and in other Northern portions of the country.  The tall trunks of the trees resemble pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.  The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green turns to golden tints in autumn.  The bark of the canoe birch is almost snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk.  This bark is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin sheets.  For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none other can be had.”

“Oh, Miss Harson!” exclaimed Clara; “did you ever see any that was written on?”

“Yes,” was the reply; “I once wrote a letter on some myself.”

“Did you really?” cried two eager voices.  “How could you?  Oh, do tell us about it!”

“I was making a visit at a village in Maine,” said their governess, “where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch bark.  So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it together.  I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and finally I accomplished my letter.  It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people would be to get such a letter.  They were surprised, and they told me afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it.”

The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled to try the experiment for themselves.

“Now,” continued Miss Harson, “I am going to read you an account of canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put: 

“’In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a more impenetrable covering for their houses.  Baskets, boxes and portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of different colors.  Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of the hat it is a defence against dampness.  But the most important purpose to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of no other tree, is in the construction of canoes.  To procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest