EUROPEAN TIMBER 59 



Venice, which fell in 1902, some of the piles were found to 

 be white poplar, and in such good condition that they were 

 allowed to remain. 



Grey Poplar (P. canescens) is very similar to the white 

 variety, but the wood is harder and better and makes good 

 flooring, and by some is preferred to pine near fireplaces, as 

 it is said to be less liable to take fire. It is used sometimes 

 for rough doors, barrows, carts, and packing cases, and is 

 much esteemed by turners. It is not liable to split when 

 nails are driven through thin boards. 



Black Poplar (P. nic/ra) is used for much the same pur- 

 poses as the white and grey varieties. It grows in England 

 and is fairly common in Ireland, but there it is -mostly used 

 locally for rough cart sheathing, as it is not liable to 

 splinter ; sometimes used for flooring and roofing. It 

 shrinks a good deal and is not durable. It is largely used 

 for sabots in Holland, where it grows plentifully. 



Lombardy Poplar (P. fastiyiata), another well-known 

 variety, is now largely planted in gardens and public places 

 in English towns because of its speedy growth, but the 

 wood is of little value. 



In the case of poplar, as of so many of our native timbers, 

 the wood used under this name mostly comes from America, 

 and much which goes by the name of poplar is not poplar 

 at all. The wood of the beautiful Aspen (P. treiiuda), which 

 is soft, light, white and smooth, is used for turning, and 

 made into pails and trays, whilst in France it is used for 

 sabots. It was once highly esteemed as a wood for the 

 making of arrows, and in Henry V.'s time an Act was 

 passed, which was not repealed until the time of James I., 

 forbidding the use of the timber for any other purpose 



