214 POPULUS 



in 1837, and is now one of the most remarkable objects in that famous establish- 

 ment. I saw it in, July 1904, and Mr Jouin gave me its dimensions as 

 follows : Height, 150 ft. ; girth of trunk at base, 38 ft. ; girth at 4 ft. up, 23 ft. 

 The extraordinary vigour indicated by these figures seems to show that this 

 tree should be tried as a timber-producing tree in this country in places where 

 there is a demand for soft wood suitable for packing-cases, toys, etc. Even 

 in poor soil at Kew a tree planted in 1888 is over 80 ft. high and 5 ft. in 

 girth of trunk. It produces remarkably little brushwood in proportion to 



its trunk. 







P. FREMONTII, 5. Watson. FREMONT'S. COTTON WOOD. 



This is the common cottonwood of California, and of other W. United 

 States, which does not appear to have been introduced to Britain previous 

 to 1904. It is one of the black poplars with the characteristic compressed 

 leaf-stalk of that group. Leaves broadly diamond-shaped, triangular, or 

 somewhat kidney-shaped ; i^ to 4 ins. wide, usually less in length ; the margin 

 coarsely round-toothed, except at the short, abrupt point, and at the straight, 

 broadly wedge-shaped or slightly heart-shaped base ; stalk i J to 3 ins. long, 

 and, like the young shoots and leaves, soon quite smooth. Catkins 2 to 4 ins. 

 long. From the black poplars of Eastern N. America (P. monilifera and 

 P. angulata) this appears to differ in its proportionately broader leaves with- 

 out glands at the base. According to Jepson it is 40 to 90 ft. high in 

 California, having a round-topped, massive head of branches. It appears to 

 be quite hardy, but so far as is known has no particular value for the garden. 



P. WlSLlZENIl, Sargent, differs from P. Fremontii in having the stalks of 

 the female flowers conspicuously longer ; they are \ in. long, but only -fa to 

 in. long in P. Fremontii. Its habitat in Texas, New Mexico, etc., is soutb 

 and east of that of P. Fremontii. 



P. GRANDIDENTATA, MichdUX. LARGE-TOOTHED ASPEN. 



A tree up to 60 or 70 ft. high in a wild state, but never so high in this 

 country ; young shoots at first downy, becoming smooth and glossy later ; 

 winter buds coated with fine down. Leaves roundish ovate, the smallest 

 sometimes oval ; i^ to 5 ins. long, mostly short-pointed, and with a broadly 

 tapered or rounded base, the margin set with large broad teeth ; at first they 

 are covered with a loose grey wool which soon falls away, leaving them dark 

 green above ; stalk I to i\ ins. long, slender, compressed towards the top. 

 Catkins \\ to i\ ins. long, the female ones becoming 'twice the length at 

 maturity. 



Native of Eastern N. America ; introduced in 1772, according to Loudon. 

 The tree is exceedingly rare in Britain at the present time, and does not 

 appear to thrive well. It appears to be most closely allied to P. tremula, 

 from which it differs in the downy young shoots and more downy winter buds. 

 Its deep toothing distinguishes it from P. tremuloides. It appears to be 

 difficult to increase by cuttings, and is usually grafted on P. canescens. 



P. HETEROPHYLLA, Linn<ZUS. SWAMP COTTONWOOD. 



A tree 40 or more ft. high, young branches clothed at first with a thick 

 felt as in P. alba, much of which falls away by late summer ; winter buds 

 slightly gummy, bright red-brown. Leaves heart-shaped, up to 7 or 8 ins. 

 long and nearly as wide, rounded at the apex, shallowly and rather evenly 

 toothed, covered on both surfaces when they unfold with a thick whitish 

 down, which soon falls away from the upper surface, leaving it dark green, 



