6o 



expand in May, and are retained till late in the 

 autumn, when they turn to a lemon yellow colour. 

 The male catkins, which are very large and of a 

 purplish red, appear about the end of March. 

 Owing to their long and thin footstalks, the pale 

 green, shining leaves of the poplar become agitated 

 by the slightest breeze — a feature still more 

 observable in the asp, on which the footstalks of 

 the leaves are flattened. 

 " When Zephyrs wake, 



The aspen's trembling leaves must shake." 



In the white poplar, the leaves are lobed and 

 covered with a white down underneath. As the 

 tree grows up, the bark on the upper portion of 

 the stem and branches becomes a greyish white. 

 The leaves of the black poplar are not lobed ; the 

 edges are serrated, they are smooth on both sides 

 and of a paler green beneath. The black poplar 

 is the more common of the two, and it produces 

 the best timber, which would be more extensively 

 used for rough boarding if it were not for the 

 large importations of cheap foreign deal. It is 

 very adaptable for boards on which wheelbarrows 

 are run, the tough nature of the wood rendering 

 it less liable to splinter than deal. In point of 

 fact, the cost of falling and sawing is as much 

 as poplar timber is worth in the present day, 

 unless it lies very handy. The timber of the asp 

 is comparatively worthless. 



