POMEGRANATE. 



POPLAR. 



POMEGRANATE (Punica, from punicus of 

 " Carthage," near which city it is said to have 

 been first found; or from puniceus, scarlet; 

 alluding to the colour of the flowers). A beau- 

 tiful, hardy, deciduous shrub, growing from 12 

 to 15 feet high. There is no tree more showy 

 than the pomegranate. P. granatum, and its 

 varieties, produce their splendid flowers and j 

 fruit very plentifully from July to September, I 

 when planted against a south wall. They all 

 grow well in a light, rich loam, and strike root 

 freely from cuttings or layers ; the rarer varie- 

 ties are sometimes increased by grafting on the" 

 common kinds. The pomegranate requires 

 shelter from frost. The pulp of the fruit is of 

 an agreeable acid, and the rind is highly 

 astringent. 



POPLAR (Popuhis; some derive the word 

 from paijHillo, to vibrate or shake ; others sup- 

 pose it obtained its name from being used in 

 ancient times to decorate the public places in 

 Rome, where it was called Arbor populi, or the 

 tree of the people). Most of the species of 

 poplar are very ornamental, more especially in 

 early spring, when the catkins of the males are 

 produced. Their favourite place of growth is 

 in moist soil, near a running stream ; but they 

 do not thrive in very marshy situations. All 

 the species are readily increased by cuttings 

 or layers, and some by suckers. There are in 

 England four indigenous species of poplar: the 

 white poplar, already noticed under the head 

 ABELE THEE; the gray or common white pop- 

 lar (P. canescens}', the trembling poplar (See 

 ASPEX) ; and the black poplar (P. nigra~). 



The black Italian, or necklace-bearing poplar 

 (P. nionilifcra), appears to have been first intro- 

 duced into Britain from North America^ in 1772. 

 Of all the poplars hitherto introduced, it is by far 

 the most valuable, looking to it in the light of 

 a useful and profitable timber tree, as it grows 

 with astonishing rapidity, and produces a tim- 

 ber of large scantling and excellent quality, 

 equal, if not superior, to that of any other of 

 its genus. The wood is of a grayish-white 

 colour, tough when seasoned, and, if kept dry, 

 very durable; its great size renders it fit for 

 the largest buildings, and as flooring for manu- 

 factories and other erections, nothing can sur- 

 pass it; for, in addition to the property of not 

 splitting by percussion, it possesses the pecu- 

 liar advantage of not easily taking fire, and, 

 even when ignited, burning without flame or 

 violence. As an ornamental tree, it well de- 

 serves a place in extensive grounds, its spiry 

 height and pyramidal form, before it becomes 

 aged, being well calculated to break long hori- 

 zontal lines, or the monotonous effect of round- 

 headed trees : it also in a great measure, from 

 its semi-fastigiate growth in the young state, 

 supplies the place of the Lombardy poplar in 

 such scenery, either of wooded landscape or 

 in combination with buildings, as is improved 

 by the presence of that tree. 



The Lombardy poplar (P. fastigiata). In its 

 close fastigiate growth and cypress-like form, 

 which seems to be retained during the whole 

 of its existence, the Lombardy poplar is too 

 conspicuous not to be immediately recognised 

 and readily distinguished from all other spe- 

 cies of the genus. As a useful and profitable 

 628 



timber tree it is greatly inferior to some of the 

 species already described, the twisted and 

 deeply-furrowed trunk, even of the tallest and 

 largest trees, cutting to much waste, and afford- 

 ing boards of only a moderate size when sawn 

 up. The wood is also softer and more spongy 

 than that of the black and the black Italian 

 poplars, and rapidly decays unless kept per- 

 fectly dry. In Britain, therefore, it is cultivated 

 almost exclusively as an ornamental tree, for 

 which its towering height and spire-like form 

 eminently qualify it. 



The Athenian poplar (P. Graca} as an or- 

 namental tree is superior, in many respects, to 

 the aspen (to which it is closely allied). It 

 grows rapidly, young trees often making shoots 

 in one season of 5 or 6 feet in length, and, 

 though a slender-stemmed tree, it has the valu- 

 able property of resisting the wind, and is never 

 seen, even in the most exposed situations, but 

 an erect and perpendicular trunk. 



The bark of all the poplars is more or less 

 antiperiodic and tonic, containing an alkali, 

 which can be procured separate, and is known 

 by the name of Salicina. It may be used for 

 curing agues in the same manner as Quinine, 

 an alkaloid got from Peruvian bark. 



There are many North American species of 

 poplar, among which is the tulip tree (Lirio- 

 dendron tulipifera), one of the most majestic 

 trees of the American forests, but which has 

 been improperly classed among the poplars. 

 See TULIP TREE. 



The other and more genuine species is the 

 Carolina poplar (P. angulata}. The lower part 

 of Virginia, says Michaux, is the most northern, 

 point at which this species is found. 



In the shape of its leaves and other charac- 

 teristics, it bears a very strong resemblance to 

 the cotton tree. The two species may, how- 

 ever, be readily distinguished by their buds, 

 those of the Carolina poplar being short, of a 

 deep green, and destitute of the resinous, aro- 

 matic substance which covers those of the 

 cotton-wood, and of which the vestiges remain 

 till late in the season. The wood of the Caro- 

 lina poplar is white, but so very soft as to be 

 of little value. 



The Cntton-ivood (P. Canadcnsis}. I have 

 found this tree, says Michaux, in the upper 

 part of the State of New York, on the banks 

 of the Genesee, in some parts of Virginia, and 

 on several islands in the Ohio, always on a 

 fat, alluvial soil. 



The leaves of this tree are trowel-shaped, 

 approaching to heart-shaped. The seeds are 

 surrounded with a beautiful plume which has 

 the whiteness of cotton, and the young buds 

 are covered with a resinous, aromatic sur> 

 stance of an agreeable odour. In the Atlantic 

 States this poplar is rare, and has received no 

 specific name. 



American poplar (P. Huflsonica}. This species, 

 Michaux says, he found only on the banks of 

 the Hudson, above Albany, where it attained 

 a height of 30 or 40 feet, with 12 to 15 inches 

 in diameter. Several large poplars of this 

 kind grow in and near the city of New York, 

 where it is usually called American black 

 j poplar. 



Virginia poplar (P.monilifera). This species 



