POPLAR 103 



horizontally arranged or somewhat drooping branches 

 and rather large, glossy green leaves, which are 

 slightly paler on the under side. ' Trembling like an 

 Aspen leaf ' has passed into a proverbial comparison, 

 and the peculiar tremulous motion of the foliage, which 

 is more or less present in all the Poplars, but especially 

 noticeable in the Aspen, is caused by the length and 

 slender footstalk, which is flattened vertically, thus 

 giving to the leaf such freedom of motion that the 

 least agitation of the air causes it to quiver. In the 

 Black Poplar the leaves, which are produced in May, 

 are of a pale green and the footstalk is yellowish 

 in colour. 



By the banks of the Regent's Canal the Black 

 Poplar has attained to large dimensions, some of the 

 trees containing fully 200 cubic feet of timber. 



The White Poplar or Abele Tree (P. alba), which has 

 long been cultivated in Britain, is readily recognised 

 by the white under surface of the leaves, this being 

 caused by a thick coating of downy or cottony sub- 

 stance ; while the Grey Poplar (P. canescens) has less 

 deeply indented leaves, which are more sparingly 

 covered with white or grey down on the under surface. 

 Both trees thrive well in London, some of the largest 

 and most ornamental specimens being those in the 

 City of London Cemetery, the largest of which is 80 

 feet in height, with a well-rounded stem which girths 

 9 feet 7 inches at a yard from ground-level. In the 

 Hampstead district both the White and Grey Poplars 

 have attained to large dimensions, and in Mill Lane 

 the latter species is used as a street tree. For avenue 

 planting both species are to be recommended on 

 account of their compact growth and ornamental 

 appearance, and for crowded thoroughfares as being 



