LIST OF FOREST-TREES. 



109 



POPLAR. 



POPULUS. 



(Subordo, BetulincB.) Nat. Sys. 



Eng. Name. 



ALDER-TREE. 



base of each footstalk, one from the 



centre of the base, and one from each . Atheniau Grceca 



side of it. The leaves being arranged Canadian \ \ mom iif e ra 



alternately on the shoot, and these Aspen ..tremula.. 



angles or wings falling or proceeding Abele-tree, sue. ..alba 



from the base of each, and terminating 



at or just before they reach the next 



bud, or leaf, form five angles of the 



shoot. When a shoot is divided, the 



pith exhibits five angles, corresponding 



to these nerves of the leaf-stalk. A 



similar arrangement takes place on the 



shoots of the Canadian poplar, with 



this exception, that the angles are 



seven in number instead of five ; they 



are also much less prominent. The 



botanical characters are specifically 



distinct; but as these are not often 



within the reach of the inquirer, th 

 above may be found useful in distin- 

 guishing these two species, often con- 

 founded together. The magnificent 

 broad shining leaves of the Carolina 

 poplar, with the peculiar habit alluded 

 to, its rapid growth, and general ap- 

 pearance, when advanced to the size 

 of a timber tree, render it well worthy 

 a place in sheltered glades of planta- 

 tions. The lower part of Virginia, Mi- 

 chaux informs us, is the most northern 

 point at which this species is found 

 in America, it being more common in 

 the two Carolinas, in Georgia and 

 Lower Louisiana, on the marshy banks 

 of the great rivers, where it attains to 

 eighty feet in height, with a propor- 

 tional diameter. He terms the Ca- 

 nadian poplar Populus Canadensis; 

 and he gives our monilifera to another 

 species, having a smooth cylindrical 



Native of 



. N.Amer. . 

 . Greece .. 

 .N.Amer.. 

 .Britain . 



Ft. 



.40 

 . 

 .30 

 .50 



40 



Bot. Name. 



ALNUS. 



Moncscia Tetrandria. Linn. 



MALE FLOWER receptacle of the ament, 

 wedge-shaped, truncated, composed of three 

 flowers ; calyx, scaly ; corolla, four-parted ; 

 stamina, four. FEMALE FLOWER Ament 

 calyx, scaly, or two-flowered ; corolla, none ; 

 seed, compressed, oval, naked. 

 Time of sowing seed Autumn or spring: 

 if left until spring, preserve them in 

 dry sand. Soil Moist or damp soils 

 are the most fit for the growth of the 

 alder. Uses This tree is the most 

 valuable of the sub -aquatic forest-trees. 

 The wood (see p. 9, fig. 1.) is esteemed 

 for under-water-work, as piles, pipes, 

 pumps, sluices, &c. The charcoal 

 made of its wood is highly valued for 

 the manufacture of gunpowder. The 

 bark and young shoots afford a yel- 

 low dye, and also afford a basis for 

 black colours. 



stem, but similar to the Populus l&vi- Besides the uses just mentioned of the 



guta. He calls our Canadian poplar 

 cotton-wood, and states that it rises 

 to seventy or eighty feet in height, and 

 three or four feet in diameter ; and it 

 is preferred as a useful tree. The 

 Ontario, or smooth-leaved poplar, may 

 rank next in order to those just now 

 mentioned, for rapidity of growth and 

 beauty of its foliage. The compara- 

 tive value of its timber remains to be 

 determined by time. Those other 

 species enumerated below are all de- 

 serving of a place in plantations to 

 prove the comparative value of each. 

 Timber or Forest Species. 



POPLAR. POPULUS. Native of Ft. 



Com. grey, sue., .cantscens. . .Britain . . .40 



Black, sue. cut. . . . nigra 30 



Lomlardy, cut, . . dilatdta, , . , Italy 70 



wood of the common alder, the roots 

 and knots furnish a valuable material 

 for cabinets, this part of the wood 

 being often beautifully veined. The 

 bark is used by dyers, tanners, and 

 leather dressers, and for tanning nets. 

 An ounce of the bark powdered and 

 boiled in three-fourths of a pint of 

 water, with an equal quantity of log- 

 wood and solution of copper, tin, and 

 bismuth, six grains each, and two 

 drops of solution of sulphate of iron, 

 will dye a strong deep boue de Paris. 

 The Laplanders are said to chew the 

 bark, and dye their leathern garments 

 with their saliva. The shoots cut in 

 March are said to dye a fine cinna 

 mon colour and a handsome drab or 

 tawney when previously dried and 



