1642 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



abeles at once sent over into England from Flanders, and transplanted into 

 many counties ; and Mortimer, writing in the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 

 tury, says that the best sorts of abele trees come from Holland and Flanders. 

 Evelyn mentions the tree as being raised in abundance from cuttings.truncheons, 

 and suckers ; adding, 'that "there is a finer sort of white poplar, which the Dutch 

 call abeel ; and we have of late much of it transported out of Holland." The 

 Dutch, he adds, " look upon a plantation of these trees as an ample portion 

 for a daughter." {Hunter's Evelyn, vol. i. p. 209.) 



History. The abele was known to the Romans, as we have already noticed 

 when giving the history of the genus. As a road-side tree, it has been much 

 planted, in modern times, in Holland, Flanders, and in some parts of France 

 and Germany. In the forests of France, it is so abundant, in some places, as 

 to form the prevailing tree over extensive tracts of country ; and it furnishes 

 fuel for the adjoining towns ; more especially for bakers' ovens, those of Paris 

 being almost entirely heated with the wood of this tree, which is there called 

 le bois blanc. In Britain, the white poplar has been propagated in nurseries 

 since the time of Miller ; but it does not appear to have been ever very exten- 

 sively planted in masses, though there are trees of it to be found here and 

 there throughout the country. In Scotland, it was a popular tree about the 

 beginning of the present century ; more especially, as Sang informs us, for 

 moist situations, which it was not thought advisable to drain. In such 

 situations, however, though it will grow, it never attains a large size. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the white poplar weighs, when green, 

 58 Ib. 3 oz. per cubic foot ; and in a dried state, 38 Ib. 7 oz. : it shrinks and 

 cracks considerably in drying, losing one quarter of its bulk. The wood of 

 P. (a.) canescens is said to be much harder and more durable than that of P. 

 alba; in the same manner as the wood of the T'ilia europae v a parvifolia is finer- 

 grained and harder than that of T. e. grandifolia. The wood is the whitest of 

 any of the species ; and it is used, in France and Germany, for a variety of 

 minor purposes, particularly when lightness, either of weight or colour, is thought 

 desirable ; or where an artificial colour is to be given by staining. It is excellent 

 for forming packing-cases, because nails may be driven into it without its split- 

 ting. It is used by the turner and the cabinet-maker, and a great many toys 

 and small articles are made of it. The boards and rollers around which 

 pieces of silk are wrapped in merchants' warehouses and in shops are made of 

 this wood, which is peculiarly suitable for this purpose, from its lightness, 

 which prevents it much increasing the expense of carriage. The principal use 

 of the wood of the white poplar in Britain is for flooring-boards; but for this pur- 

 pose it requires to be seasoned for two or three years before using. According 

 to Mitchell, when felled at the point of maturity (see description above), abele 

 wood is good for any kind of building purposes, especially on farms, where it 

 is very suitable for the large folding doors for barns, as it is light, and never 

 warps. It is also used as a substitute for the wood of the lime tree by musical 

 instrument makers, and by carvers in wood. In Scotland, it is sometimes 

 used in mill-work, and by the cabinet-maker and turner ; and it is frequently 

 used by the cooper, for making wooden dishes and casks. The leaves are 

 eaten by cattle in Sweden, and are considered wholesome. As an ornamental 

 tree, it is chiefly to be recommended in scenery on a large scale; since its great 

 height and ample head overpower most artificial objects, such as buildings; 

 and most exotic trees, from the comparative slowness of their growth. The 

 fittest trees to plant along with the white poplar are other rapid-growing 

 poplars and willows ; and the fittest situations are the margins of broad rivers, 

 or that of a large lake. In many situations in England, specimens of this tree 

 exist, which, though fine in themselves, injure, by their disproportionate size, 

 the effect of all the surrounding objects. Perhaps the most valuable purpose 

 to which the tree can be applied in Britain, next to that of planting it by rivers 

 and lakes, is for planting it in avenues, or by road sides : for the former, it is 

 recommended on account of the rapidity of its growth; and for the latter, be- 

 cause its trunk is generally clear of branches to a considerable height, and, 



