THE ABELE 37 



5. P. pyramida'lis Roz , Lombardy Poplar : Differs 

 from the last mainly in its erect, or " fastigiate," mode 

 of branching, and in having suckers. 



The Poplars form one of the exceptions to the 

 rule that roots do not produce leaves or leafy shoots. 

 This characteristic is most obvious when one of these 

 trees has been felled, for then a small forest of suckers 

 springs up, often at a distance of many yards from 

 the parent tree. These are true root-suckers, and 

 not merely ascending subterranean branches, like 

 those of the Rose ; and, as has been seen in the 

 list just given, the leaves on these suckers are 

 often different in form from those on the branches 

 of the tree. 



The rapidity of their growth renders Poplars very 

 useful for forming screens ; and, though all the 

 species like a moist soil, or the neighbourhood of 

 running water, they will thrive under the very 

 different conditions of a crowded city. The wood of 

 all species is soft and light and white, or pale yellow 

 with broad annual rings, but with neither the pith- 

 rays nor the vessels at all conspicuous. Poplar wood 

 is not splintery, and ignites with difficulty ; for which 

 reasons, and for the readiness with which it can be 

 scoured white, it has been used, like Willow, for 

 flooring. It is employed to a considerable extent on 

 the Continent and in the United States for packing- 

 cases, blindwood and small turnery, such as the heels 

 of ladies' shoes, ribbon reels, pack-saddles, sabots, 

 clogs, milk-pails, herring-casks, and butchers' trays. 

 The polishing-wheels used by glass-grinders are made 

 of horizontal sections cut across an entire tree of the 



