I lo Water-Side planting 



After Willows, the Poplars come in best in all northern 

 countries. The White Poplar is beautiful in colour as 

 a river-side tree, and superb in form when well grown. 

 The supposed pyramidal variety of it is neither so good 

 nor so lasting. The Poplars of the French rivers are 

 also beautiful, though none are prettier than the Aspen. 

 The Lombardy Poplar is sometimes very fine in valleys 

 near water, but is apt to sicken. The Grey Poplar 

 comes next to the White in beauty, and the Black 

 Poplar is often grand beside water. 



Some of the American marsh trees are very pretty 

 near water, in particular the one called the Tupelo 

 {Nyssa sylvatica), of which there is a fine tree at Strath- 

 fieldsaye, lovely in colour in autumn ; but the summer- 

 leafing trees of the American woods have been much 

 neglected since the vogue for planting conifers came in, 

 so that we can point to but few examples of good results 

 in our country. The Western Arbor-vitae and the Hem- 

 lock Spruce thrive in wet ground, as do the Norway 

 Spruce and the Sitka Spruce. We resort to trees of 

 the Pine tribe to clothe sandy or stony hills, but it is as 

 well to know that for low and wet land we are not 

 obliged to confine ourselves to Willows, Alders, and 

 Poplars, if for any reason we prefer evergreen trees. 

 In southern parts of Britain where (after its first youth 

 is past) the Norway Spruce is often a failure, it will yet 

 grow well beside streams and in wet bottoms. The 

 Sitka Spruce— a valuable tree— is good also, and the 

 Douglas Fir thrives in the hollows of wet woods. Even 

 the Silver Fir, a tree that is not always happy in stiff 

 soils, makes fine growth near water, and our native Yew 

 is not averse to the water-side where dense evergreen 

 covert is desired. The Red Cedar also grows well near 



