CHAP. CIII. SALICA‘CE. PO/PULUS. 1643 
consequently, the light and air are more freely admitted tothe road, than when 
the road sides are planted with trees that branch to the ground, such as oaks, 
elms, or limes. On the Continent, the nakedness of the trunks of road-side 
trees is an objection rather than an advantage, on account of the superior 
dryness of the climate. In the Nouveau Cours d Agriculture, it is recom- 
mended to substitute white poplars, in old elm or oak avenues, for any trees 
that may have died from accident or disease, on account of the rapidity of its 
growth, and the short time which will be requisite for it to attain an equal 
height with the elms or oaks remaining. 
Poetical, mythological, and legendary Allusions. According to the ancient 
mythology, the white poplar was consecrated to Hercules, because he destroyed 
Cacus in a cavern adjoining Mount Aventinus, which was covered with these 
trees; and, in the moment of his triumph, bound his brows with a branch of 
white poplar (that being the only tree near him), as a token of his victory. 
When he descended into the infernal regions, he also returned with a wreath 
of white poplar round his head. (Stackh. Comm. de Theophrast., p. 217.) It was 
this, says the fable, that made the abele leaves of the colour they are now. The 
perspiration from the hero’s brow made the inner part of the leaf, which 
touched his forehead, white; while the thick smoke arising from some parts of 
the infernal regions turned the upper surface of the leaves almost black. 
Persons offering sacrifices to Hercules were always crowned with branches of 
this tree; and all who had gloriously conquered their enemies in battle wore 
garlands of it, in imitation of Hercules. The poets frequently mention the 
white poplar. Homer, when describing the shield of Ajax, son of Telamon, 
states that it was made by Tychius, a skilful currier of Hyle; and it is said 
that the Tychius thus immortalised was a real person, beneath the poplar tree 
at whose door Homer had often sat, reciting his poems, while the kind- 
hearted currier gave him food, and relieved his necessities. In another part 
of the Ziad, Homer compares the fall of Simoisius, when killed by Ajax, to 
that of a poplar : — ’ 
** So falls a poplar, that in watery ground 
Raised high its head, with stately branches crown’d.” 
Ovid mentions that Paris had carved the name of GEnone on a poplar. Virgil, 
in his Georgics, gives directions for the culture of this tree, and mentions it in 
his Eclogues ; and Horace, in his Ode to Dellius (lib. ii.), speaks of the white 
poplar as a tree which delights to grow on the banks of rivers. Modern ° 
poets have also noticed this tree. Cowper sings of — 
“ The poplar, that with silver lines his leaf ;” 
and Barry Cornwall says, — 
** The green woods moved, and the light poplar shook 
Its silver pyramid of leaves.’ 
Sterne, in his Sentimental Journey, represents Maria as sitting under a poplar. 
In the Sentiment of Flowers, it is said that the ancients consecrated this tree 
to time, because the leaves are in continual agitation ; and, being of a blackish 
green on one side, with a thick white cotton on the other, they were supposed 
to indicate the alternation of day and night. 
Soil, Situation, Propagation, and Culture. For the abele to attain a large 
size, the soil in which it is planted should be loamy, and near water; though 
on a dry soil, where the tree will grow slower, the timber will be finer-grained, 
and more durable. In France, it is found to grow, not only in marshy places, 
but in dry sands ; and it is a mistake to suppose that it will thrive in stagnant 
marshes in any climate. The French writers recommend it strongly for 
avenues, planted at a distance of 24 ft. tree from tree, on the side of a road 
from 60 ft. to 100 ft. wide; and, for filling up blanks in grown-up avenues, the 
white poplar is considered the best tree known. (See above; and Dict. des Eaux 
et Foréts, art. Avenue.) In British nurseries, it is commonly propagated by 
layers; which, as they seldom ripen the points of their shoots, or produce 
