498 THE NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS OF CARNARVONSHIRE. 
reticulated leaves, and blooms earlier than any other native 
species, the short, silky catkins being produced before the leaves. 
In the dwarf and creeping willows will be found low-growing, 
straggling shrubs, from a few inches in height to seldom over a 
foot, the former being known as our smallest native shrub, It is 
tolerably abundant on the mountain heaths of Carnarvonshire 
after an altitude of about 500 ft. has been reached, indeed in some 
favourable districts the ground is almost carpeted with its half- 
underground stems and twigs. 
72. The White Poplar (Populus alba). 
73. The Aspen Poplar (P. tremula). 
74. The Black Poplar (P?. nigra).—The first two species occur 
in a truly wild state throughout the county generally, but the 
latter, although naturalised in many out-of-the-way places, can, 
perhaps, hardly be considered as indigenous. The white poplar 
is a handsome, fast-growing tree, with ovate-cordate leaves, which 
ave thickly covered with a cottony down on the lower surface, 
thus imparting to the tree a distinct and ornamental appearance 
when agitated by the wind. For producing effect on the margins 
of lakes and ponds this tree is particularly valuable; while as a 
standard on the lawn and park it has, for diversity of appearance, 
few equals. The black and aspen poplars, the former in particular, 
are large, fast-growing trees, and of but little value as timber pro- 
ducers, or rather the quality of timber produced is not such as to 
cause its being much in demand. For bottoming carts, flooring, 
and in the manufacture of toys the latter class of poplar wood is, 
however, still in use. A damp soil, but not surcharged with 
stagnant moisture, is that in which poplars thrive best. 
ConIFER# (Four Species, belonging to Three Genera). 
75. The Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris).—Except the yew and 
juniper this is the only member of the pine family that is a native 
of Britain, and there only truly wild in*some of the northern 
Scottish counties. Whether as regards its hardy nature, growing 
in severe northern climes, and in soils ungenial to almost every 
other kind of tree, or to its value in the production of useful 
timber, the Scotch pine must rank high amongst our forest trees. 
It is also one of the most beautiful and picturesque of trees, with 
an erect stem of from 60 ft. to 100 ft. in height, covered with 
brown or coppery bark. On many of the Carnarvonshire hills it 
