THE POPLAR READILY PROPAGATED. 31 



slender foot-stalks, they are agitated by the gentlest 

 breeze, so that their quivering is very perceptibly 

 heard, as well as seen, during comparatively calm 

 weather. 



The Balsam Poplar (P. balsamifera) does not 

 attain a very great height in Britain, though in North 

 America it rises to eighty feet. It is solely adapted 

 for ornament, and grows vigorously only for a few 

 years while it is young. The trunk has an ash-coloured 

 bark, the young wood being of a rich chestnut colour, 

 while the buds are large, and encased in a glutinous 

 balsam to which the tree owes its name. Its leaves 

 are of a pale yellow, which diffuse a rich balsamic 

 odour throughout the air, eventually changing to a 

 rich dark green colour. The tree is readily propa- 

 gated either from cuttings, or by suckers which it is 

 in the habit of throwing out; and there are several 

 varieties which differ in the size, shape, and colour of 

 the leaves, also in the relative vigour of their growth, 

 and again in the time at which they expand their 

 foliage. All the varieties will readily grow in any 

 description of soil, but they prefer that which is 

 moderately sheltered, and which is soft, rich, and 

 moist. 



TJte Ontario Poplar (P. candicans). This tree is 

 almost useless as timber, for when it ceases to 

 grow vigorously, the branches become brittle, and 

 it is then comparatively worthless. It bears a 

 strong family likeness to the balsam poplar, but 

 is of a much more rapid and vigorous habit of 

 growth. 



From the varieties I have named, it will be seen 

 that the poplar is one of the most useful and most 



