THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 15 



forms of plants whose fruits are normally red. Thus the 

 holly and winter-berry {Ilex) have yellow fruited varieties, 

 and so has the belladona whose fruits are usually black. The 

 yellow trilliums that are reported from time to time are with- 

 out doubt due to this cause. If red were not such a rare color 

 in our flora, it is probable that numerous other yellow forms 

 would be known. Since white flowered forms are due to the 

 absence of all color, it would seem that the red and yellow 

 usually fade together for white forms of red flowers are much 

 more abundant than yellow ones. 



The Sudden Sawlog. — The so-called North Carolina 

 poplar, a tree believed by some to be a distinct form of poplar 

 and by others to be merely a staminate cottonwood, has the 

 reputation of being the fastest growing tree in America. It 

 is common to find trees that have attained heights of fifty 

 feet in fifteen years. But even this marvellously rapid growth 

 is both literally and figuratively put in the shade by the black or 

 Norway poplar (Populus nigra) of Europe. According to 

 Forestry and Irrigation a tree of this species has been known 

 to grow to a height of 20 feet with a diameter of four inches 

 at the base in three years. The tree has been called the "sud- 

 den sawlog" and comes pretty near deserving the name. 



The Poplar. — This tree always comes to mind when the 



editor reads in Longfellow's "Voices in the Night" the lines 



"And all the broad leaves over me 

 Clapped their little hands in glee 

 With one continuous sound." 



It is almost worth while planting a poplar near one's 



dwelling for the cool sound of its rustling leaves in summer 



which move with the slightest breeze. The Roman's called 



some species of poplar, arbor populi and this is said to have 



given the name Populus to the whole genus reappearing in 



another form in the common name. There are manv. howev- 



