REPORT ON THE MANAGEMENT AND VALUE OF POPLAR, 125 



that is required, nnd pay the proprietor better than any other 

 known species. For the sake of variety, however, or ornamental 

 effect, the following kinds might also be added — the Canadian, 

 the long-leaved, and the Ontario poplars. Indeed, the latter 

 might in some instances be advantageously substituted for the 

 former. For example, I would sometimes be inclined to substi- 

 tute the Canadian poplar in place of the black Italian, the long- 

 leaved in place of the black poplar, and the Ontario in place of 

 the Abele tree. Even the balsam might be substituted with ad- 

 vantage in place of the gray poplar, and the angular or Carolina 

 in place of the aspen. 



The order of time in which the plants appear in leaf, disposi- 

 tion to produce suckers, comparative value of wood for outdoor 

 as well as indoor purposes, diseases to which the various species 

 are liable, sorts of soil to which each species is best adapted, &c., 

 will be given in a tabular view at the close of this paper. 



The following is the practice adopted by the writer in prepar- 

 ing the soil for receiving the plants so as to ensure the best crop, 

 founded upon experience on a large scale. In planting black or 

 black Italian poplar, the ground should be drained of superfluous 

 water. Although the tree grows well, even luxuriates, in a 

 lather wet soil, yet it does not live long on such, in consequence 

 of decay of the root. Thus strong dry clay is preferable. Drain- 

 ing by means of four-feet tile drains, with one foot of small 

 stones or gravel upon the tile, is the best plan. Such draining 

 acts well, and evidently conduces to the growth of the tree in 

 other respects than that of merely carrying off water. The 

 writer has watched attentively for many years the difference in 

 growth between trees grown upon tile-drained ground and trees 

 grown amid open drains or undrained ground, and can vouch 

 for the decided superiority of the former in point of growth. 

 The superiority, however, is more apparent in one class of trees 

 than in another. Those of the poplar tribe that benefit most by 

 draining are the aspen, Lombardy, white Egyptian, and small- 

 leaved white poplar. Those which thrive best in wet ground 

 are the balsam, black Italian, large-leaved white and black 

 poplars. Tile draining is, no doubt, sometimes objected to, on 

 account of the roots entering and obstructing the water in the 

 tiles. But by the time the roots of the trees have reached the 

 bottom of a four-foot drain and choked it, the trees themselves 

 will be so far advanced as to act both mechanically and chemi- 

 cally in ways conducive to the drainage of the ground. Me- 

 chanically, by the leverage power the trunk exercises over the 

 roots during wind or storm, in breaking up, shaking, and pul- 

 verising the subsoil, thereby enabling the water to find its way 

 to a depth where it cannot injure the roots ; and chemically, by 

 absorbing the water, drying the ground, and evaporating the 



