CHAP. CII. SALICA‘CEH. PO'PULUS. 1637 
tinge of their anthers, and from their being produced very early in spring, 
when the trees are leafless, and when flowers are particularly valuable from 
their rarity. The catkins are also, in most species, so numerous, that the 
effect of the mass of red, when the tree is seen from a little distance, and in a 
strong light, is very striking. The colour of the anthers of some of the 
species is so deep, and their size is so large, that a correspondent of the 
Magazine of Natural History compares them, when torn off by a high wind, 
and lying on the ground, to “ great red caterpillars.” (See vol. vi. p. 198.) 
The females of all the species have their seeds enveloped in abundance of 
cottony down; which, when ripe, and the seeds are shed, adheres to every 
object near it ; and is so like cotton wool in appearance and quality, that it 
has been manufactured into cloth and paper, though it has been found de- 
ficient in elasticity. The buds of P. balsamffera, and all its allied species, 
are covered with a viscid matter, which is said to be of use in medicine. P. 
alba, P. (a.) canéscens, and their varieties, are easily distinguishable from all 
the other species, even at a considerable distance, when their leaves are 
ruffled by the wind, from the thick white cottony down which covers their 
under surface. The tremulous motion of the leaves, which is common, 
in a greater or less degree, to all the poplars, proceeds from the great length 
of the petioles, in proportion to the size and weight of the leaves to which 
they are attached. Pliny speaks of three kinds of poplar: the black, the 
white, and the poplar of Libya. He mentions that the poplar was cultivated 
as a prop to the vine (Piin., lib. xvi. cap. 23. and cap. 37.); and that the 
trees were planted in quincunx, in order that they might obtain more light 
and air. He also says that the wood of the poplar, like that of the willow, 
and of all the aquatic trees, is particularly suitable for making bucklers, 
from its lightness; and because, when struck, the blow only indents 
the soft wood, without piercing or cracking it. The poplar buckler 
thus acted like a shield of Indian rubber, or any other elastic substance, 
and repelled the blow. The ancients applied the leaves of the poplar, 
macerated in vinegar, to parts affected by the gout; and they dried the 
young shoots with the leaves on during summer, and laid them by, to 
serve as winter food for cattle. The wood of the poplar is soft, light, 
and generally white, or of a pale yellow. It is but of little use in the arts, 
except in some departments of cabinet and toy making, and for boarded floors; 
for which last purpose it is well adapted, from its whiteness, and the facility 
with which it is scoured; and, also, from the difficulty with which it catches 
fire, and the slowness with which it burns. In these respects, it is the very 
reverse of deal. Poplar, like other soft woods, is generally considered not 
durable; but this is only the case when it is exposed to the external atmo- 
sphere, or to water ; and hence the old distich, said to be inscribed on a poplar 
P mk, * Though heart of oak be e’er so stout, 
Keep me dry, and I’ll see him out,” 
may be considered as strictly correct. One of the most valuable properties of 
the poplar is, that it will thrive in towns in the closest situations ; and another 
is, that, from the rapidity of its growth, it forms a screen for shutting out ob- 
jects, and affords shelter and shade sooner than any other tree. The females 
of several of the exotic kinds of poplar have never been introduced into 
Britain; and, consequently, little opportunity has been found for raising new 
varieties from seeds; but all the kinds, whether indigenous or foreign, are 
readily propagated by cuttings or layers, and some of them by suckers. _ They 
all like a moist soil, particularly when it is near a running stream ; but none 
of them thrive in marshy or undried soil, as is commonly supposed. On very 
dry ground, the leaves of the poplar grow yellow, and fall off much sooner than 
when they are planted in a more congenial situation ; but the timber, in dry’ 
soils, is said to be more compact, fine-grained, and durable. P. alba and 
its varieties produce their leaves much earlier than P. nigra and its varieties. 
The species and varieties belonging to this genus are in a state of confusion, 
bo 4 
