THE ASPEN. 337 



were not for the scarcity of small branches, which are so 

 far apart as to give the tree a meagre appearance, even 

 when full of leaves. The leaf is beautiful, being round 

 ovate, deeply serrate, and put in motion by the slightest 

 breeze. As a standard the Great Aspen is not highly 

 prized. It is easily broken by the wind, and is without 

 symmetry, a necessary quality in a tree of the poplar 

 tribe, which possesses none of the properties of grandeur. 

 But when the trees of this species form a dense wood, 

 they are unsurpassed in the beauty of their perfectly 

 straight shafts, with their smooth, greenish bark extend- 

 ing upward to an immense height without a branch. 

 The Great Aspen is very common in the woods of Maine 

 and New Hampshire, where the second growth of timber 

 predominates. 



The specific name of this tree, grandidentata, always 

 affected me ludicrously, when I considered that it was 

 applied to it merely from the deep indentations on the 

 edge of its serrate leaves. Excelsa would be a more ap- 

 propriate name for the species, on account of its superior 

 height. 



THE SMALL AMEEICAN ASPEN. 



This tree resembles the great aspen in almost every 

 particular except size. It is a very common tree in our 

 woods, but is so little esteemed that it has received no 

 protection and is seldom planted by our roadsides. It is 

 found chiefly in copses on the sides of some gravelly 

 bank, growing almost alone, with a few cherry-trees 

 and white birches, and an undergrowth of brambles and 

 whortleberry-bushes. It is often abundant on little dry 

 elevations that rise above an oak wood standing on a 

 clay level. It is remarkable for its slenderness of habit 

 and the smoothness of its pale-green bark, which be- 

 comes whitish and rough as the tree grows old. Its 



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