124 



VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



Flanders in the seventeenth century. The poplar 

 arrows very rapidly. In favourable situations it will 

 make shoots three inches in diameter, and sixteen feet 

 long;, in the course of a sinc;le season. The loppings 

 of the poplar are not very inflammable, and thus they 

 are superior to those of the elm, and many other 

 trees, for heating ovens, and for other purposes in 

 which the loppings of trees are used. 



JVhitc Poplar — Populus canescens. 



The wood of the poplar is soft, and it is far from 

 diu'able ; but it is not apt either to swell and shrink, 

 or to warp, and it is vei-y light, so that it is em- 

 ployed for butchers' trays, hogs' troughs, and other 

 articles, in which lightness and cheapness are pre- 

 ferred to durability. It is possible, in consequence 

 of the rapidity with which the poplar grows, and the 

 ease with which it can be worked, that, on the spot 

 where it is produced, it may be more economical for 

 common household purposes, and for casks and 

 packages for dry goods, than more durable timber. 

 It is a tree largely cultivated by the Dutch, being 

 well adapted to their moist soil and climate. On the 



