Question
I have birch tree about eight inches in diameter in my front yard. The leaves have already fallen off and I would like to know how to determine if the tree is alive or dead.

Answer
To tell if a tree is still alive start at the end of an outer limb (as far up the tree as you can reach) and scrape a small bit of bark off the branch. If the color under the bark is green the branch is alive at this point on the branch. If the color is not green--brown-the branch is dead at this point on the branch. If brown- continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green. When you find green stop scraping. If there is green under the bark the branch is alive. If you did find some brown sections I would wait until spring and prune the dead branches off.