252 SYLVA AMERICANA. 







This character also belongs to the cotton tree, but, besides the 

 difference of their general appearance, the two species are 

 distinguished by their buds ; those of the Carolinian poplar are 

 short, of a deep green, and destitute of the resinous, aromatic 

 substance, which covers those of the cotton wood, and of which 

 the vestiges remakftill late in the season. The Carolinian poplar 

 blooms in March or April. 



The wood of this tree is white, soft and considered unfit for 

 use either for fuel or in the arts. 



Cotton Tree. Populus argentea. 



This species is scattered over a great extent of country, 

 comprising the Middle, Western and Southern States. But it is 

 so rare as to escape the notice of their inhabitants, and it has 

 received a specific name only on the banks of the river Savannah, 

 in Georgia, where it is called Cotton Wood. The same 

 denomination is applied also to the Carolinian poplar which -grows 

 in the same place. In New Jersey, not far from the city of New 

 York may be considered the most northern point at which this 

 tree grows. It is also found in Virginia, but less commonly than 

 on the banks of some of the rivers which traverse the maritime 

 parts of the more Southern States. It is still more abundant in 

 the Western Country. Near the junction of the Ohio with the 

 Mississippi, M. Michaux mentions a swamp six miles in diameter, 

 which is entirely covered with these trees. 



The cotton tree is sometimes 70 or 80 feet in height and 2 or 

 3 feet in diameter. On trunks of these dimensions the bark is 

 very thick and deeply furrowed. The young branches and 

 annual shoots are round, instead of being angular like those of 

 the Carolinian poplar and of the cotton wood. The leaves while 

 very young, are covered with a thick, white down, which gradually 

 disappears, leaving them perfectly smooth above and slightly 

 downy beneath. They are borne by long petioles, are often six 

 inches in length and as much in breadth, of a thick texture, 

 denticulated and heart-shaped, with the lobes of the base lapped 



