192 



P0PULUS. 



trees become of a considerable size and age, is very 

 smooth, and of a pale greenish grey colour, and the 

 leaves which are round- 

 ish-ovate in shape and 

 terminate in a sharp 

 point, are of a pleasant, 

 deep, and rather glaucous 

 green ; they expand early 

 in spring, immediately 

 succeeding those of the 

 Balsam Poplar, and have 

 the advantage of being- 

 retained till a late period 

 in autumn. The catkins 

 are shorter than those of the Aspen, and come out at a 

 much earlier period. 



It grows rapidly, young trees often making shoots in 

 one season of five or sis feet in length, and, though a 

 slender-stemmed tree, has the valuable property of resist- 

 ing the wind, and is never seen, even in the most ex- 

 posed situations, but with an erect and perpendicular trunk. 



The same objection, however, attends the cultivation of 

 this species, as that of the Aspen, viz., the throwing up 

 of numerous suckers from the surface roots, and on this 

 account its cultivation as an ornamental tree must always 

 be limited, and of the propriety of planting it in mass 

 with a view to profit, in outlying situations, we caunot 

 venture an opinion, having had but little experience of 

 the properties and qualities of the wood. 



It is readily propagated by the suckers it throws tip, 

 and by layers, being one of the few belonging to the genus 

 that does not not succeed by cuttings. The leaves are 

 a favourite food of the caterpillar of the Poplar Hawk 



