<unk>  plywood Finnish bath broom called vihta, braided from<unk>  twigs Because of the hardness of<unk> , it is easier to shape it with power tools; it is quite difficult to work it with hand tools. *<unk>  wood is fine-grained and pale in colour, often with an attractive satin-like sheen. Ripple figuring may occur, increasing the value of the timber for veneer and furniture-making. The highly decorative Masur (or Karelian)<unk> , from Betula verrucosa var. carelica, has ripple textures combined with attractive dark streaks and lines. *<unk>  plywood is made from laminations of<unk>  veneer. It is light but strong, and has many other good properties. It is among the strongest and dimensionally most stable plywoods, although it is unsuitable for exterior use.<unk>  plywood is used to make longboards (skateboard), giving it a strong yet flexible ride. It is also used (often in very thin grades with many laminations) for making model aircraft. * Extracts of<unk>  are used for flavoring or leather oil, and in cosmetics such as soap or shampoo. In the past, commercial oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) was made from the sweet<unk>  (Betula lenta). *<unk> -tar or Russian oil extracted from<unk>  bark is thermoplastic and waterproof; it was used as a glue on, for example, arrows, and also for medicinal purposes. * Fragrant twigs of wintergreen group<unk> es are used in saunas. *<unk>  is also associated with the feast of Pentecost in Central and Eastern Europe and Siberia, where its branches are used as decoration for churches and homes on this day. * Ground<unk>  bark, fermented in sea water, is used for seasoning the woolen, hemp or linen sails and hemp rope of traditional Norwegian boats. *<unk>  twigs bound in a bundle, also called<unk> , were used for<unk> ing, a form of corporal punishment. * Many Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada prize the<unk>  for its bark, which because of its light weight, flexibility, and the ease with which it can be stripped from fallen trees, is often used for the construction of strong, waterproof but lightweight canoes, bowls, and wigwams. * The Hughes H-4 Hercules was made mostly of<unk>  wood, despite its better-known moniker, "The Spruce Goose". *<unk>  plywood was specified by the BBC as the only wood that can be used in making the cabinets of the long-lived LS3/5A loudspeaker. *<unk>  is used as firewood because of its high calorific value per unit weight and unit volume. It burns well, without popping, even when frozen and freshly hewn. The bark will burn very well even when wet because of the oils it contains. With care, it can be split into very thin sheets that will ignite from even the smallest of sparks.<unk>  wood can be used to smoke foods. *<unk>  seeds are used as leaf litter in miniature terrain models. *<unk>  oil is used in the manufacture of Russia leather, a water-resistant leather. As food The inner bark is considered edible as an emergency food, even when raw. It can be dried and ground into flour, as was done by Native Americans and early settlers. It can also be cut into strips and cooked like noodles. The sap can be drunk or used to make syrup. Tea can be made from the red inner bark of black<unk> es. Cultivation White-barked<unk> es in particular are cultivated as ornamental trees, largely for their appearance in winter. The Himalayan<unk> , Betula utilis, especially the variety or subspecies jacquemontii, is among the most widely planted for this purpose. It has been cultivated since the 1870s, and many cultivars are available, including 'Doorenbos', 'Grayswood Ghost' and 'Silver Shadow'; 'Knightshayes' has a slightly weeping habit. Other species with ornamental white bark include Betula ermanii, Betula papyrifera, Betula pendula and Betula raddeana. Medical Approved topical medicine In the European Union, a prescription gel containing<unk>  bark extract (commercial name Episalvan, betulae cortex dry extract (5-10 : 1); extraction solvent: n-heptane 95% (w/w)) was approved in 2016 for the topical treatment of minor skin wounds in adults. Although its mechanism of action in helping to heal injured skin is not fully understood,<unk>  bark extract appears to stimulate the growth of keratinocytes which then fill the wound. Research and traditional medicine Preliminary research indicates that the phytochemicals, betulin and possibly other triterpenes, are active in Episalvan gel and wound healing properties of<unk>  bark. Over centuries,<unk>  bark was used in traditional medicine practices by North American indigenous people for treating superficial wounds by applying bark directly to the skin. Splints made with<unk>  bark were used as casts for broken limbs in the 16th century. Paper A<unk>  bark inscription excavated from Novgorod, circa 1240–1260 Wood pulp made from<unk>  gives relatively long and slender fibres for a hardwood. The thin walls cause the fibre to collapse upon drying, giving a paper with low bulk and low opacity. The<unk>  fibres are, however, easily fibrillated and give about 75% of the tensile strength of softwood. The low opacity makes it suitable for making glassine. In India, the<unk>  (Sanskrit: भुर्ज, bhurja) holds great historical significance in the culture of North India, where the thin bark coming off in winter was extensively used as writing paper.<unk>  paper (Sanskrit: भुर्ज पत्र, bhurja patra) is exceptionally durable and was the material used for many ancient Indian texts. The Roman period Vindolanda tablets also use<unk>  as a material on which to write and<unk>  bark was used widely in ancient Russia as notepaper (beresta) and for decorative purposes and even making footwear (lapti) and baskets. Tonewood Baltic<unk>  is among the most sought-after wood in the manufacture of speaker cabinets.<unk>  has a natural resonance that peaks in the high and low frequencies, which are also the hardest for speakers to reproduce. This resonance compensates for the roll-off of low and high frequencies in the speakers, and evens the tone.<unk>  is known for having "natural EQ". Drums are often made from<unk> . Prior to the 1970s, it was one of the most popular drum woods. Because of the need for greater volume and midrange clarity, drums were made almost entirely from maple until recently, when advances in live sound reinforcement and drum microphones have allowed the use of<unk>  in high-volume situations.<unk>  drums have a natural boost in the high and low frequencies, which allows the drums to sound fuller.<unk>  wood is sometimes used as a tonewood for semiacoustic and acoustic guitar bodies, and occasionally for solid-body guitar bodies. It is also a common material used in mallets for keyboard percussion.<unk>  tree forest at Ishkoman, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
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