"The fragrant birch above him hung Hor tassels in the sky." - Bryant.

In the August number of the Horticulturist, I noticed an article entitled "Shade Trees in Cities," and headed, " Down with the Ailantus;" on which the writer (who I suppose to be the late A. J. Downing,) seems disposed to encourage the planting of more of our native forest trees in preference to those of foreign production, and it is a feeling in which I strongly sympathise; but among the trees enumerated I see no mention of the black birch, which is one of my favorite trees, and which I think holds a high rank in our forests, and is deserving the attention of every horticulturist The beauty of its foliage from the time it first "hangs its tassels in the sky," to the end of summer, when its numerous and stately branches with its dense mass of fibrous ' boughs, and its still thicker mass of beautiful leaves, through which the rays of the sun cannot penetrate, its neat appearance, its cleanly habits, together with its sweet fragrance, render it to my taste, one of the most inviting shades in the American forest.

There is a cry raised in my neighborhood, "Down with the tulip tree;" but I say, "Woodman, spare that tree." Norman Porter and Roswell Moore, both of Berlin, make serious complaint of the filthy habits of this tree, rendering every thing dingy and even black for several yards around it, and say they must cut it down. I plead for it "yet a little longer," endeavoring to persuade them "not to hack it down;" for whether it is owing to some obnoxious insect which it invites, (as appears to be the case,) which might be exterminated, or to peculiar seasons, to location, proximity to buildings, especially to white, or whether it is its nature to shed this blight from its own foliage, is a question which you probably or some of your correspondents can answer. Please enlighten your readers upon the subject.

The common soft maple is another beautiful tree, and for most grounds it appears to me it has not received that attention it deserves. It makes an excellent shade for man or beast, and what more beautiful than its foliage, its flowers in the spring, and its leaves in autumn! There are seasons in the year I would gladly have my house surrounded with them in one dense forest, with the red-winged blackbird among their branches, pouring forth its melodious strains, giving place occasionally only to the fragrant birch.

Since writing the above I have seen several articles on the subject of shade trees, and various kinds of forest trees named as being worthy of transplanting, and the black birch not among them. I think it deserving of more notice.