Populus 1785 



large trees at Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, the seat of Lord Newlands, which in 

 191 1 measured 100 ft. by 21 ft. 3 in. at two feet from the ground, and 117 ft. by 16 ft. 

 5 in. at two feet nine inches from the ground. Both these trees suffered severely in the 

 great gale of October 5, 191 1, the larger tree losing one of its heavy limbs. Walker, 

 Essays of Natural History, 49 (181 2), states : " In the year 1769 there was a row of 

 abeles at Stevenston, East Lothian, which was soon after cut down. It contained 

 122 trees, all about 80 ft. high and from 20 to 30 ft. of clear trunk, without a branch. 

 The trunks were 5 to 7 ft. in circumference, and yet they stood only 7 ft. distant 

 from each other. They were planted in a deep moist soil, were then eighty years 

 old, and afforded a great quantity of timber. It is doubted whether or not the abele 

 is a native of England. It certainly has the appearance of being an indigenous tree 

 in several parts of Scotland. It was planted in many places about the end of the 

 last and in the beginning of the present century, but it has since been neglected." 

 The tallest recorded in the Old and Remarkable Trees of Scotland was, at Glenarbuck 

 in Dumbartonshire, and was said to be no ft. by 12 ft. in 1867. 



In Ireland the grey poplar is found on the banks of the Suir, Nore, Barrow, 

 and other rivers in the south, where it may very possibly be wild ; and Mr. R. A. 

 Phillips has sent us specimens of several trees, one of which, growing near Birr, was 

 90 ft. by 12 ft. in 1910. I measured a tree at Markree Castle, Sligo, which in 1909 

 was 120 ft. by 13 ft. There are two fine trees at Abbeyleix, one of which was 

 100 ft. by 13 ft. 4 in. in 1910. 



In Belgium and France this tree is known as grisard, and is often mistaken 

 for the white poplar. I have not noticed any of remarkable size. 1 



Timber 



I am inclined to think that the timber is of superior quality to that of the 

 black Italian poplar ; and from what I heard in Belgium and France, 2 that opinion 

 is also held there. But this may depend on the age of the trees and the rate of 

 growth, which, according to Crowe, 8 who paid much attention to this tree in Norfolk, 

 is slower than that of any other British poplar. It is rarely distinguished by the 

 timber merchants in England. Messrs. Howes and Sons, Norwich, however, inform 

 me that " it is the only poplar found to be of any service in the coach-building 

 trade. It is light in weight, exceedingly strong, and can be cleaned up into a nice 

 finish to receive the paint." They pay for the best quality of the wood of this tree, 

 which they know under the name of abele, about 2s. 6d. per foot, as compared with 

 about is. 3d. for the wood of the black Italian poplar, which is much less durable 

 and not so firm in texture. I prefer to use it at home for cart bottoms and linings, 

 and for flooring cottage bedrooms, for which its toughness and non-inflammable 

 nature make it valuable. (H. J. E.) 



1 In Mitt. D. Dendr. Ges. 1904, p. 18, a tree was recorded at Schloss Dyck, near Dusseldorf, which, at about 95 years 

 old, was 48 metres high by 3J metres in girth. The height is evidently much exaggerated. 



2 Mouillefert, Essences Forestiires, 301 (1903), says that its fine-grained wood is one of the best of the poplars. 



3 Smith, Eng. Flora, iv. 244 (1828), who obtained his information from Crowe, states that " the wood is much finer 

 than that of any other British poplar, making as good floors as the best Norway fir in appearance, and having moreover the 

 valuable property, that it will not, like any resinous wood, readily take fire." Cf. Card. Chron. 1848, p. 1 72. 



