THE WILLOW AND POPLARS 



planted in gardens and may be distinguished by 

 its very slender, long drooping branches, which 

 in every limb suggest the sentiment of a hun- 

 dred years ago. In allusion to its place among 

 other trees in landscape composition, Mrs. Van 

 Rensselaer says in " Art Out of Doors " : 



"As soon as we see a weeping willow it 

 almost shouts out its contrast to the simpler 

 shapes of the trees which determine the general 

 character of all our landscapes or garden 

 pictures. Yet we see it everywhere, in every 

 kind of situation. 



" In all my wanderings I never once have seen 

 it rightly placed; I never once have seen it 

 where it did not hurt the effect of its surround- 

 ings, or, at least, if it stood apart from other 

 trees, where some tree of another species would 

 not have looked far better." 



The black willow {Salix nigra) is the only 

 one anong our native willows which grows to a 

 good size, but even this is seldom more than 

 thirty feet high. 

 Aspen Ameri- ^ medium sized tree, 30 to 60 



can Aspen feet high, with a smooth, greenish 

 popuiustr em uioides gray bayk and tapering trunk. 



The twigs are slender. The buds are long, 



sharppointed, with smooth, glossy scales covered 



with a gummy substance. Alternate leaf -scars. 



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