103 



LIST OF FOREST-TREES. 



in time, becomes a handsome tree, 

 with the branches of the top more 

 compact than in that of the abele. 

 The leaves of the abele are densely 



ny underneath, as are also the 

 young shoots and footstalks of the 

 The root is powerfully creep- 

 ing, which unfits the tree to be planted 

 in fields where pasturage or tillage 

 ts. The creeping roots send up 

 suckers, used in propagating the tree. 

 Layers are also used, as well as cuttings 

 of the branches, for the same purpose. 

 It having been doubted whether this 

 or the former was the true abele of 

 the Dutch, where in Holland the abele 

 is highly valued, we procured speci- 

 mens from a celebrated grower in that 

 country, and these proved, beyond a 

 doubt, that the abele of Holland is the 

 Populusalba, or abele of Britain, and 

 not the Pojmlus canescens, or grey 

 poplar. The value of this tree, in peaty 

 and low damp soils, is well worthy the 

 attention of the forest-tree planter. 

 Besides the uses of the wood before 

 remarked, it is considered good for 

 wainscoting, floors, laths, and pack- 

 ing cases, indeed, from the boards of 

 it not splitting by, but closing on, the 

 heads of nails, it is considered superior 

 to deal for the latter purpose. The 

 wood of the Lombardy poplar is held 

 in esteem for the like purpose. The 



of the abele is recommended in 

 the cure of intermittent fevers. It 

 should be gathered in summer, when 

 full of sap, and dried by a gentle heat, 

 ^'hen powdered, a dram of it is given 

 v four hours between the fits. A 

 white poplar in St. John's College 

 "Walks, Cambridge, blown down in a 

 hurricane, Nov. f>, ]7'.>.~>, was forty- 

 two feet in length, and nine feet ten 

 inches in circumference, which, with 

 the limbs, gave 328 cubic feet of timber. 

 The Mack Italian poplar attains to a 

 large size in a comparatively short 



of time, as is proved at page 89. 



It delights in moist situations, but 



t in almost every kind of 



It is a more valuable tree than 

 .inly poplar, and for up- 

 land soils superior to the abele. The 

 tim!> for the like purposes 



a-> those of the former. The pro- 



. of slow combustion seems 



; ;il in the wood of all the different 



's ot poplar, and this property, 

 which renders the wood valuable for 



floors and internal works in buildings 

 in case of accidents by fire, renders it 

 of inferior value for fuel. 

 The'aspen, aspe, or trembling poplar, at- 

 tains to a large size and succeeds well 

 in almost every description of soil, ex- 

 cept clay. The roots are very im- 

 poverishing to the land, and the aspen 

 is, therefore, confined to local sites. 

 The well-known property of being 

 moved by the slightest current of air 

 possessed by the leaves of this tree, 

 appears to originate in the structure 

 of the petiole, or footstalk of the leaf, 

 the planes of which (being a com- 

 pressed petiole) are at right angles to 

 those of the body of the leaf, which is 

 itself furnished with two glands, run- 

 ning one into the other. Such are the 

 opinions of Linnaeus and of Dr. Stoke 

 regarding: this point. But the flattened 

 footstalk is common to all the poplars 

 with which we are acquainted, and all 

 are more or less subject to have the 

 1 leaves easily put in motion ; in fact the 

 structure of the petiole, as now de- 

 Ascribed, will readily explain the matter 

 to the observer, and that in proportion 

 to the length and slender structure, of 

 a petiole so constituted to that of the 

 body of the leaf, depends its sensi- 

 bility of any cause of motion. Light- 

 foot mentions, that this almost con- 

 stant trembling of the leaves of the 

 aspen had given rise to a superstitious 

 opinion in some parts of the High- 

 lands of Scotland, that our Saviour's 

 cross was made of the wood of this 

 tree, and that therefore its leaves could 

 never rest. 



Among the North American species of 

 poplar, the Canadian (monillfera) of- 

 fers great merits, as far as experience 

 in its culture in Britain nti'onls the 

 means of drawing satisfactory con- 

 clusions. It affects a moist, deep, 

 rich soil; such are fertile peat and 

 alluvial soils. Mr. Hursthouse of 

 Tydd, near Wisbeach, planted trees 

 of the Populus woni/ifrra; in 1822, 

 and nine ywirs afler he had trees of a 

 size to saw into scantlings, which, for 

 toughness of texture, his carpenter 

 stated to exceed any he had before 

 met with. This species is more nearly 

 allied to the /'/;// ///.v u/t^ul-ata, or Ca- 

 nada poplar, than to any other species. 

 The Canada poplar is distinguished 

 at i.r>t Mi;ht by its angular branches. 

 These arise from the lower side of the 



