The Poplars 



elegans is a dainty tree with small, bright, twinkling leaves and 

 ruddy twigs and petioles. The following variety is much more 

 extensively known, though it has less horticultural merit. 



The Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra, var. lialica) is the 

 exclamation point that marks by its soldierly rows so many 

 familiar boundary lines of farms and village properties. It has 

 the merit of infringing but slightly even by its shade on the rights 

 and premises of others. Indeed, that such a tree should be 

 planted for the shade it gives is scarcely probable. The pencil- 

 like form and the twinkling of the green leaves are attractive. 

 Italian villas were punctuated with them, and any piece of planting 

 may well be diversified and accented by a group of these trees. 

 But they need to be flanked by trees of diffuse habit never set 

 alone or in rows! The great fault of these poplars is the early 

 dying of their limbs, because of much crowding. The tree retains 

 these dead limbs, and so loses its youthful beauty and becomes 

 scraggy topped. As the scientific name points out, these trees are 

 an Italian variety of the black poplar. 



154 



