ORNAMENTAL TREES- 



called so, probably, from their shedding a short, cottony fibre from the pod inclos 

 ing their seeds, which, in this latitude, 45° north, is about the 20th of June, 



When in good grounds, it is a noble, stalwart tree, attaining the largest size, 

 with a high, spreading top, the limbs striking out at some distance apart, the leaf 

 heart-shaped, and about three inches broad, and, like other poplars, with a tremu- 

 lous, vibrating motion in the slightest breeze. It luxuriates in a free, open, moist 

 soil, and, in river bottoms, is unsurpassed in size and grandeur. It grows thriftily 

 in all good uplands, preferring a clayey loam, but not averse to even thin and 

 hungry soils. On the deep and rich alluvions of the western rivers, I have seen 

 young trees, of a single summer's growth, fifteen feet high. The upper wood of 

 the limbs is sometimes brittle, and more liable to break in tempests than the elm ; 

 yet they withstand the winds quite as well as most others. They are tenacious of 

 life, and bear mutilation of the roots, in transplanting, with little injury to their 

 growth. The color of the stems and branches is a light drab, producing a beau- 

 tiful contrast with the elm and maple; and, although not affording so dense a 

 shade as they, yet sufficient for all common purposes. To produce a rapid cover- 

 ing, no tree is its equal. For avenue, lawn, or front planting, they should not be 

 abundant ; yet, thrown in occasionally with others, in spreading grounds, their 

 effort is noble and imposing. Like the Lombardy poplar, standing alone, they 

 are a conspicuous laud-mark, partaking of the grand, while the other is pictur- 

 esque. In February and March, they throw out numerous clusters of brown 

 flower buds, and leaf out with the earliest, while they retain their foliage among 

 the latest of our forest trees. Near a stable, a barn, or an out-building, they 

 produce a fine effect, withstanding the rubbing and tramping of animals, and 

 throwing their shadows far and wide, while their strong and hardy habits are in 

 keeping with the homely uses of the buildings they thus adorn. They should not 

 be planted in too close contiguity with the dwelling, as their strong roots will 

 penetrate under the walls, if not laid deep, and with strong mortar ; yet, at a 

 distance of fifty or a hundred feet, they give no inconvenience. Song-birds love 

 to perch on their lofty limbs, and sing by the hour among their fragrant tops, for 

 they are delightfully fragrant when in flower, and, at this time, are enlivened with 

 the constant hum of bees. I have a noble one near my stable, sixty feet high, and 

 about thirty years old, in which a pair of orioles have nested for several seasons, 

 swinging their cosy habitation from one of the high outer limbs, and taking a 

 world of delight in trilling out their songs on a sunny morning. 



Of a rapid growth, no tree will form so ready a shade as this, and, to cover a 

 naked spot, they are the most available. They are wonderfully suited to prairie 

 planting in the west, both for protection and fuel : and, as adding to variety in 

 any grounds, the use of the cotton-wood should not be neglected. Flourishing, 

 too, as they will, in all the climates of the United States, they can be safely adopted 

 everywhere on our farms and pleasure-grounds, with a trifling cost. Nurserymen 

 should plant them, and they should be cheaply distributed ; and, although they 

 both grace and ennoble the grounds of the rich, they can as well orn 



